By Mark Klimaszewski: Once again the paying public line up to be taken for a ride. As a long-time fan and armchair analyst of the sweet science, I now find myself increasingly frustrated and alienated by the direction boxing seems to be taking. Upon announcement of the Manny Pacquiao v Shane Mosley ‘mega-fight’, most boxing fans- myself included- derided the decision of promoter Bob Arum to put the consensus pound-for-pound no.1 in with a clearly faded Sugar Shane Mosley.
Roll on a few months of media hype and self delusion later, and a huge number of fight fans were under the impression that Mosley’s style was so suited to Manny’s, we were in for a stylistic treat and a potential war. Mosley of yesteryear, maybe. The Sugarman of recent form (including the Antonio Margarito win) was always going to be easy pickings for the Filipino typhoon. So many fans looked past the fact that Shane had clearly been unable to pull that trigger for some time now. His supporters referenced the great shot he landed on Mayweather in the second round of their meeting last year, and their logic was simple; Pac-man being easier to hit, those hard shots would land more frequently forcing the action into a trade off. Hell, I even started to buy this myself as the fight got nearer.
Other people hopelessly clung to the Margarito win, stressing the point that Mayweather was always hard to look good against (true) and Sergio Mora was an awkward, stylistic nightmare that would make anyone look mediocre (hmmm); they said that Sugar would use his last shot at glory to come out guns blazing and grab his golden opportunity with both hands. The hard punching, determined adversary that stepped out to dominate Tony over two years ago, would show up for one last hoorah and give Manny hell.
It is never nice to see a legend like Mosley in a fight like we saw last night. Faded, gun-shy, over cautious: shot. At least he walks away from his hall of fame career with a massive payday (which he undoubtedly deserves), but once again the paying public are conned. Arum’s last few choice of opponents for Manny Pacquiao (and several of his stable mates) has been poor, but his ability to delude even hardened critics and fans is scary.
With only a few fights left in his all-time-great career, it’s hard to be excited about who he will face in his next fight. After a run of good match-ups (Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto) the bad run since (Joshua Clottey, Margarito and now Mosley) has left millions with a sour taste in their mouth. A lot of people I speak to now hardly care who Arum (mis)matches Pacquiao with next. People are resigned to the fact that it won’t be someone credible. Admittedly, the list of viable opponents for Pac-man is at an all time low. As the years go on in boxing, I find my interest level waning, and it’s not for want of good talent.
It’s becoming farcical how so many good fights just don’t get made. And as more fans switch off, it makes me sad to think of what’s happening before our eyes. As for who Pac-man should face next? Well……….