by Geoffrey Ciani – Looking at Manny Pacquiao’s one-sided victory against Sugar Shane Mosley it is only natural that fans are inclined to compare it with Floyd Mayweather’s one-sided victory over Mosley. Whose win was more impressive? Who inflicted more damage on Mosley? What do these fights reveal about a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown?
So whose victory was more impressive? It is difficult to say. Mosley had Mayweather badly hurt in round two of their fight while at no point did he have Pacquiao in serious trouble despite landing several good right hands and a few sneaky left hooks. Pacquiao seemed to absorb most of Mosley’s punches with ease. Mayweather was staggered, wobbled and he almost touched down, but he persevered and had shifted the tide back to his favor before that round even ended and proceeded to dominate. It is somewhat ironic that Mosley was able to get to the defensive wizard which is Mayweather but was unable to rattle Pacquiao.
Pacquiao and Mayweather each dominated Mosley and each did so differently. Mayweather put on a brilliant tactical display whereas Pacquiao engaged in a seek and destroy approach. Both possessed speed which made Mosley cautious, but Pacquiao was throwing and landing more against Mosley while Mayweather was more precise and accurate. Mayweather mostly relied on speed and reflexes whereas Pacquiao utilized power and aggression. At the end of the day it is extremely difficult to rate one victory over another. Pacquiao had Mosley beat by a slightly wider margin on cards, but for all intent and purposes their victories were equally impressive.
Who inflicted more damage on Mosley? Pacquiao seems to have the edge here. He dropped Mosley with a beautiful one-two combo which started with a brilliant right jab that may have actually done more damage than the left hand that followed. Pacquiao had Mosley in full retreat mode during the championship rounds. Mayweather never dropped Mosley and he never had him in full retreat, but he had Shane fighting far more defensively than we are accustomed to seeing and some of the lead right hands was landing stopped Mosley dead in his tracks. It is still clear that Pacquiao inflicted more punishment based on sheer volume.
What do these fights reveal about a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown? Not a whole lot, really. Styles make fights. Pacquiao and Mayweather each went about taking care of business in his own way and each was extremely effective at operating the strengths of his particular style. This in effect is what makes a potential fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather so intriguing. You have the offensive juggernaut and the defensive wizard. The vastly contrasting styles make for a fight fan’s dream. Will these two boxers ever finally come to terms and make the dream fight the world’s been waiting for? The clock is ticking.
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