Shane Mosley has been quicker than just about everyone he has fought, with the notable exceptions of Floyd Mayweather last year and Manny Pacquiao this Saturday. Pacquiao will repeatedly beat Mosley to the punch.
Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of the past 20 years, combining boxing ability and intelligence with knockout power. But now he?s 39, and those years are all too evident. The Mosley of 10 years ago would be a slight favorite in this fight, not an 8-1 underdog.
Mosley is 8-6-1 since he turned 30. Yes, there were victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Ricardo Mayorga and Antonio Margarito. But whenever an opponent has been his superior in a single crucial category, Mosley has had problems.
Vernon Forrest?s reach advantage was insurmountable in the first two defeats, and Winky Wright?s size and southpaw stance were too imposing in the next two. Mayweather not only bewildered Mosley with his superior speed, but also appeared to be the larger man.
Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 knockouts) won?t give that impression Saturday as he defends his WBO welterweight title on Showtime pay-per-view, but he will be too much for Mosley. He will outquick Sugar Shane much as Mayweather did.
Mosley (46-6-1, 39 knockouts) did land one big punch on Mayweather and may land one or two on Pacquiao, but Manny will land far more. The fight will be stopped in the sixth or seventh round, Mosley?s first TKO defeat. Advertisement
On one hand, you can scorn Mosley for not having the gumption to retire on top after waylaying Antonio Margarito in 2009.
On the other hand, Mosley is still one of the 10 best welterweights today, so why shouldn?t he keep fighting?
That answer will be evident between rounds Saturday, as it was during the Mayweather fight, with trainer Naazim Richardson bemoaning Mosley?s inability to carry out their game plan. Mosley looked plenty discouraged then, and it will be worse this time.
