By Bill Patrice Jones:In just a few hours the greatest fighter alive today, Manny Pacquiao, will square off against the highly regarded Sugar Shane Mosley. To hear those two names called together, both synonymous with success and world recognition, one might be inclined to immediately jump up in excitement.
Surely this will be another pulsating match-up, a fight to remember, and a worthy clash between two future hall of famers. The unfortunate truth is, once the knowledgeable boxing fan settles down and assesses the situation he realizes that Mosley actually faces a monumental task in re-establishing himself as an elite fighter. The chances of Sugar Shane pulling off the win are slim to none, yet all the while the fight remains in the category of ‘super fight.’
A superfight in boxing is a clash on the highest level of the sport, a fight which takes place amidst glitz, glamour and handsome purses for the two combatants. It is worth considering in the current era whether the so called super fights fans are encouraged to purchase on PPV are actually super fights at all. More worrying is the possibility that a good percentage of such bouts are actually, when analyzed with scrutiny, mismatches.
The two greatest fighters alive today are undoubtedly Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, and Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao. There is no legitimate claim against their ranking as two of the sport’s most accomplished performers. No true boxing fan can watch either fighter in action and not be in thrall to their greatness. However, where lays the genuine and truthful threat to their reigns at the top? In recent times when have either fighter been matched against an opponent where the general public felt there was a realistic chance of them losing?
If the recent whirlwind reigns of both fighters are analyzed there unfortunately exists a persistent trend. Almost perpetually we are confronted with a challenger who is respected, accomplished, and well trained, but who ultimately is never favoured by the odds or the preponderance of opinion to win. Seldom, if ever, have either Mayweather or Pacquiao recently faced an opponent who either the majority of the public, or the experts felt would win. It begs the question that when all is said and done, what bouts for either fighter will fans and historians looks back upon as the defining proof of their greatness, because their greatness after all cannot be denied.
For Mayweather it may be against Oscar De La Hoya, for Pacquiao it may be against Miguel Cotto. However, as great as either accomplishment was they can hardly be ranked in the category of Hagler Hearns, so accurately dubbed ‘the war.’ The beauty of Hagler Hearns, one of the greatest fights of all time, was the fact that both fighters were legitimate favourites and neither fighter had a distinct disadvantage. In almost every super fight of recent times the opposite has been the case. Oscar De La Hoya was more than past his best when Pacquiao dismantled him. Ricky Hatton was arguably well out of his depth when both Mayweather and Pacquiao destroyed him. Mosley had seen better days when Mayweather dismantled him, and Cotto and Margarito were both fresh off punishing defeats before they stepped into the ring with the phenomenal Pacman.
No disrespect at all is intended towards either Pacquiao or Mayweather, neither is a questioning of their respective abilities. No sane man can watch the former flyweight Pacquiao pursue a dangerous welterweight around the ring and not be astounded. The point is that for all the glitz, glamor and hype surrounding recent ‘super fights’ in boxing, so seldom have those fights turned out to be competitive. The fans are left rightfully wondering if this is purely a result of the brilliance of both men, and not also a result of the quality of the opponent.
When Manny Pacquiao squares off against Shane Mosley tonight almost all fans and commentators will be expecting only one outcome, and they are totally justified in doing so. Does this fight really deserve billing as a ‘super fight?’ Sugar Shane Mosley, a fighter this writer deeply admires, is definitely past his best. He earned his mega fight with Mayweather on the back of his shocking destruction of Margarito. At the time, many including this author, felt he had a legitimate chance against Mayweather. It turned out not to be the case and Mosley was totally dominated over 12 rounds. Since then he was seen struggling dearly against the non world class Sergio Mora. Watching the Mora fight was painful. One could see a once superb athlete struggle to get punches off against an inferior opponent. Mosley was soon breathing heavily and growing in frustration, as an ugly bout reached its conclusion. At the end of the fight no one could seriously envision Mosley once again becoming one of the greatest fighters alive, yet here he is with such an opportunity. In Shane Mosley’s last five fights he has struggled dearly in all but one. He labored against Luiz Collazo, was beaten handsomely by Miguel Cotto, almost lost to a past his best Mayorga, scored a brilliant win over Margarito, was outclassed by Mayweather, and finally labored to a controversial draw against Mora. Looking at the entire series of fights the Margarito performance looks like an anomaly. In every other bout Shane has exhibited stamina problems and deteriorating reflexes. The chances of him somehow being competitive against Pacquiao are justifiably slim to none.
The only possible threat facing Pacquiao is the underestimation of the threats he has recently overcome. Perhaps one could make the case that the public have become too accustomed to him dominating dangerous bigger men. Perhaps his achievements are taken for granted, and lurking around the corner is the hard punching upset minded welterweight to stun his fans. This author sincerely hopes Shane Mosley can be competitive but doesn’t hold out much hope.
Expect Pacquiao to totally out speed Mosley, move in and out, and consistently hurt him with quick combinations drawing a wide points win or late stoppage. The question all fight fans should consider is thus: If Pacquiao and Mayweather do retire without facing one another, which respective bouts will historians and fans point to as the biggest indicators of their greatness. Manny Pacquiao is one of the greatest fighters of all time; no one can take that away from him. However, this author hopes that the Shane Mosley bout will be the last contest unfairly dressed up as a super fight that he is involved in. Sergio Martinez anyone?
The best of luck to both combatants tonight.