By James Slater – As most fight fans probably know by now, pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s next fight, on May 7th in Las Vegas, will now officially be against 39-year-old “Sugar” Shane Mosley. ESPN.com reported this late last night (UK time), and Pac-Man’s promoter Bob Arum is trying his best to suggest the fight will be a tough one for the 32-year-old southpaw tornado from the Philippines.
It seems fight fans know better, though..
According to top scribe Dan Rafael, not one fan has e-mailed him to give the fight a thumbs up. Quite the contrary, fans everywhere are nothing short of appalled that Mosley, a once great fighter who is today a boxer way past his best, has landed such a big opportunity. The shortlist for Pac-Man’s May 7th fight had on it three names: Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.
Marquez (according to Arum) priced himself out, while Berto is not yet well enough known amongst casual fans. That left Mosley, and now the former three-weight champ gets his final shot at the big time – much to the displeasure of almost all fight fans. At least the fight will not be yet another catch-weight affair.
According to Arum, the fight will contest Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title, and the fight will be fought at 147-pounds. Even so, not too many people are giving Mosley much of a chance of winning. But Shane himself, though he will turn 40 four months after the fight, is talking up his chances big time.
“I know that they think I’m an old man and that Manny is going to beat me,” Mosley said to ESPN.com. “Let them think that. I still have power and speed. They thought I was done before I knocked out Margarito. I know what I can do.”
It’s true Mosley scored a reasonably big upset back when he turned in that smashing performance against the tough Mexican – but was that the former lightweight’s last great performance? Mosley sure looked bad in his next two fights – against Floyd Mayweather Junior and Sergio Mora respectively. Okay, Shane entered the fight with “Money” having been out of action for well over a year, and his sharpness and timing could have been affected as a result. And, trying to be fair to Mosley a second time, his draw of a fight with Mora may have come about simply because he was unable to get sufficiently motivated for the former “Contender.” Certainly, this is what Freddie Roach believes. Then there’s “The Latin Snake’s” awkward, make-anyone-look-bad style.
But even taking all this into account, it’s almost impossible to give Mosley much of a chance against Pac-Man. Mosley, as gutsy and as proud as they come, will try his best; but his best came to and end at least a couple of years ago.
Will Pacquiao even become the first man to KO Mosley?