Mayweather vs Mosley
April 29th, 2010 By Jarrad Woods
MEGA-BOUT NOW JUST TWO DAYS AWAY!
New York, NY- Saturday’s welterweight (147 lb) match up between the Ring magazine’s #2 and #3 pound for pound fighters, Shane Mosley (46-5 39 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather (40-0 25 KOs) will answer many questions for the boxing purist and the armchair fan alike. Mainly, whether or not Floyd is as good as he believes he is. If Mayweather beats Mosley, particularly in a dominating fashion, who can still claim that Floyd’s skills have not been tested?
DOES FLOYD AVOID/DUCK ‘SIZABLE’ FOES?
When most detractors speak disparagingly about Floyd Mayweather today, many of them say that he has yet to face an elite welterweight. This is underlined by the assumption that Floyd is a ‘cherry picker’ and is avoiding the toughest challenges, particularly in his own division. The truth is, Floyd did face Oscar De La Hoya at jr. middleweight (154 lbs), a division higher than welterweight, resulting in Floyd’s only split decision victory. But is size the difference between Floyd winning or losing or is it simply business that has kept some fights from happening?
ODDSMAKERS SAY SIZE IS NOT AN ISSUE
Given that Mosley will be the perceived bigger man in this bout, it’s strange that the odds-makers are currently showing Mayweather as a 4-1 favorite over his seemingly toughest opponent. According to Emanuel Steward, most of his HBO colleagues, including Jim Lampley, Harold Letterman and Larry Merchant have Floyd winning the bout. The truth is Mosley is much more of a long shot to win because he simply doesn’t look great against technical boxers.
OSCAR FIGHTS WERE ‘TECHNICAL WINS’ FOR SHANE
The closest Mosley came to defeating a prime technical boxer were his victories over De La Hoya in 2000 and 2003. Mosley did beat Oscar De La Hoya, but is also important to note that (at the time) he was also using steroids and both victories were disputed. A drug free Mosley certainly wouldn’t have been expected to do better against a prime De La Hoya, so it’s makes you wonder about the edge the steroids actually gave him in those wins. Mosley has looked excellent against stationary fighters who come forward and brawl, because he has a great chin and usually possesses the faster hands. However, Miguel Cotto (5’6”) proved, skill and ring generalship and not size was the real deciding factor when he outpointed Mosley in 2007.
WAS COTTO THE BIGGEST MISS FOR FLOYD?
For reasons that I still cannot understand, Floyd never fought Miguel Cotto. Cotto was the one welterweight fighter who literally was able to fight everyone of significance at welterweight not named Mayweather. Many would say that it’s Arum’s fault, that Cotto was too green, never called Floyd out, or the money wasn’t there for Floyd, etc. but I believe it was a much needed fight, particularly when Cotto was undefeated and in his prime. It’s a shame, not because I believe Floyd would have had much trouble, but because he never took the opportunity to assert his dominance against the best the sport had to offer. If there is one strike I have against Floyd its not facing Cotto in his prime.
WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES SHANE HAVE?
Mosley beat the guy that beat the guy. Antonio Margarito destroyed Cotto in eleven rounds, making him the best welterweight in 2008. Because Mosley lost to Cotto but then beat the snot out of Margarito, we can really say that styles make fights. Although Margarito is a polar opposite to Mayweather, there is still intrigue because Floyd has not faced many of the bigger threats at welterweight and Mosley also possesses comparable speed. But while these assets look good on paper, they don’t necessarily spell W-I-N for Mosley, considering what he’s up against. In this fight, Mosley will have to rely on another advantage that might count, and that is luck.
Jarrad Woods
Source: ringtalk.com
