Mayweather vs Mosley
By Carlo Pamintuan
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 04 Mar 2010
After Manny Pacquiao chose Joshua Clottey, there weren’t a lot of names Floyd Mayweather could choose from. There was Paul Williams but the long-limbed fighter appeared too big for Mayweather who started his career at the super featherweight division. There were rumors that Mayweather was fighting Matthew Hatton but those quickly died down. Then it was Nate Campbell, then Kermit Cintron. But boxing fans all over the world would not take any of these opponents. They wanted someone who would post a real threat to boxing’s most physically gifted son.
Lo and behold, Andre Berto pulled out of his fight against Shane Mosley, mostly due to the stress that the earthquake in Haiti brought about. Mayweather really did not have any other choice but to face Mosley. It would have been an obvious duck if he chose any other fighter other than the age-defying warrior. This fight made so much sense because he is consistently in the list of top 3 fighters in pound-for-pound rankings, he is a well-known fighter who also has his share of fans, he is under Golden Boy Promotions, and he will take any kind of test that Mayweather demanded (Mosley admitted albeit unknowingly using steroids before, so he’ll do anything to clear his name).
Also Mayweather needed to one-up Pacquiao so that he’ll have an advantage should Pacquiao and Mayweather restart their negotiations for a match. Mayweather will say that his opponent was more dangerous than Pacquiao’s opponent, and there is also a strong chance that Mayweather-Mosley will outsell Pacquiao-Clottey in pay-per-views. If both Mayweather and Pacquiao win and Mayweather-Mosley sells more, Mayweather would unquestionably demand a bigger piece of the pie should the two meet down the road.
However, the question I’d like to raise is if Mosley is as good as most portray him to be. Yes, he looked tremendous in dismantling the cheating Antonio Margarito, but will he have enough left to pose a real threat to Mayweather?
Mosley moved up to the super welterweight division after losing back-to-back fights against Vernon Forrest. After winning against the likes of Oscar de la Hoya and Fernando Vargas and losing two fights against Winky Wright, Mosley returned to 147 to beat Luis Collazo. He then lost a close but clear decision to Miguel Cotto before moving up again to 154 to knockout Ricardo Mayorga.
Mosley then had the best performance of his career by beating Margarito from pillar to post. The boxing world raved about Mosley’s performance; it surely seemed that he has managed to turn back the clock by beating a seemingly unstoppable fighter. Here was this old guy who lost to Cotto, who was bludgeoned by Margarito. Common sense would tell you that Mosley should have been easy pickings for Margarito but as it turned out, the old man took the fight to the physically imposing and younger fighter knocked him out. This fight led many people to think that Mosley will be a tough nut to crack for Mayweather or for any fighter at welterweight for that matter. Although I will not argue the case for Mosley being a tough fight for anyone else at 147, I think that Mosley will be beaten by Mayweather.
If you look at Mosley’s five losses, four of them came from two fighters who relied more on skill and rather than power. Forrest and Wright were both very good technical fighters. Both fighters relied more on speed, precision, and movement to beat the iron-chinned Mosley. Though people can’t seem to get over the fact that Mosley obliterated Margarito, they must realize that boxing is all about match-ups. Margarito was beaten up because he was too slow. Mosley could load off three punches in a row before Margarito could even react. There was one particular instance in that fight where Mosley parried Margarito’s attempt at a body punch then swiftly unleashed a wicked counter to Margarito’s head with the same hand, displaying the difference in speed between the two fighters.
Also, there is reason to believe that Margarito was already a beaten fighter before the match even started. Margarito’s trainer was caught trying to pad his fighter’s gloves prior to the fight. Margarito’s confidence was shattered when he was caught cheating. Margarito can deny knowing his trainer was padding his gloves till-kingdom-come but it is really hard to imagine a fighter not knowing what’s being put in his hand wraps. I think he went on to fight Mosley knowing that he did not have an extra advantage, and he was already psychologically defeated, so Mosley chewed him up.
Mayweather, however, has no such problem as Margarito. He owns two of the fastest hands the boxing world has ever seen. His defense is also close to perfection. Mosley may be the first legitimate threat that Mayweather has faced in the welterweight division but it is highly unlikely that Mosley will upend Mayweather.
Mayweather will win this fight by decision. Mosley will have his moments and will most likely have the most success against Mayweather since Jose Luis Castillo in their first fight but it will not be enough for him. Mayweather will dictate the tempo from the onset and use his quick feet to stay out of trouble. Mosley, like all fighters matched up against Mayweather, should be the aggressor. He’ll try to force the action while Mayweather will stay on the outside and pick his shots.
In the end, Mayweather will beat Mosley via a comfortable margin; a career-defining victory but it was against an opponent that he should have fought years ago, when Mosley was still in his physical prime.
Source: PhilBoxing.com
