By James Slater: “Sugar” Shane Mosley has said repeatedly that he will shock the world, upset the odds and prove he is no finished fighter at the age of 39-going on-40, by KO’ing Pound-for-Pound king Manny Pacquiao on May 7th. Reportedly, Mosley has hired five or more different sparring partners, so “determined” is he to take Pac-Man out.
Most fans, in all honesty, do not expect the once brilliant but now ageing Mosley, who is coming off two less than impressive showings, to pull it off. But will Pacquiao add yet another achievement to his already incredibly long list of achievements, by scoring a KO himself? No-one – from Oscar De La Hoya to Vernon Forrest to Floyd Mayweather Junior – has ever been able to put Mosley down and keep him there for the count of ten. Will this change come May 7th in Las Vegas?
Ace trainer Freddie Roach, he of the usually spot on pre-fight predictions, has gone on record as saying that Mosley, with the remaining speed and power he does have, will come out fast looking to get the KO he craves. Roach, however, added that it will be his fighter Manny who scores the knockout.
“He can take you out with one punch, the right hand,” Roach said to The Philippine Star whilst speaking on Mosley. “Mosley’s a good counter-puncher. He’ll use his left as a decoy. What he wants to do is land the right. I don’t think he’ll box Manny because he doesn’t have the legs to fight from a distance. He’ll come on strong in the first four rounds, looking to knock out Manny.”
But of course, Mosley will fail. At least according to Roach. Not only that, but “Sugar” will become the man being taken out.
“Mosley’s got power and some hand-speed so we won’t rush things,” he said. “It’ll [the KO of Mosley] probably be after the 4th-round, maybe the 5th or 6th.”
If Roach’s prediction comes true once again, it will be somewhat shocking and somewhat sad seeing the once-sublime Mosley being stopped for the first time in his long and largely brilliant career. But Freddie’s prediction does look like a good one; very possibly an incredibly accurate one. Fans who feel Roach is correct and that the southpaw dynamo will indeed get the job done inside the distance, point to how Mosley today has trouble “pulling the trigger,” so affected have his reflexes been by the ageing process.
Mosley’s supporters maintain their man will go for it and get it due to his giving his all and being extremely dangerous in the early rounds. And, seemingly training for a KO win – feeling perhaps that at age 39 his only chance of victory is to score a quick KO before he fades as he did against Mayweather last May – Mosley can be expected to light up the arena and excite the fans at least for a few minutes. Maybe we will even be treated to a veritable Hagler-Hearns affair on may 7th.
But it will be Pac-Man who plays the Hagler role. Look for Mosley to come out throwing bombs and landing some of them, before he runs out of gas and is taken out while still on his feet – his challenge, his very career, going out with a bang!