Photo Courtesy of HBO Boxing
By Randy De La O
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been pretty vocal and critical about Shane Mosley’s comment ”It’s not about the money”. I look at it this way, when Mosley and Mayweather are in the trenches late in the fight and have to reach down deep inside to find the right stuff to keep going, one fighter may say “The hell with it, I got my money” and the other fighter will just keep reaching. One man is fighting for money the other for his place in boxing history, his legacy. There is no such thing as a sure thing but all things being equal I would bank on the pure fighter with a big heart. In this case that would be Mosley.
I think Mayweather will be in for a shock on Saturday. He’s banking on Mosley’s age being a factor. In fact he’s counting on it or he wouldn‘t have taken the fight. Mosley, who could have been a champ in any era, still has a couple of great fights left in him. When it comes to speed, Mosley is right there with Mayweather. The same with boxing ability. When it comes to power Mosley has a big edge. However, the difference between the two is not what you can see on the outside, it’s what’s inside of them that will separate the two when they step into the ring at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this weekend.
To be fair, Mayweather has a lot of talent and has beaten some pretty good guys. He stopped the late Diego Corrales in ten after knocking him down five times. He beat Jose Luis Castillo twice, though most fans and expert alike thought Castillo should have been given the nod in the first fight. He beat him convincingly in the second fight. He stopped crafty Genaro Hernandez in eight rounds, and Arturo Gotti in six. He has wins over Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya and Juan Manuel Marquez. Hatton was stopped in the second round. Mayweather has yet to lose a fight. Still, unless your name is Rocky Marciano, there comes a time in every fighter’s career when he is ripe for a loss. I think this is the time. When Mayweather steps into the ring at the Grand he will be facing his Waterloo.
Mosley is not undefeated, he has lost to both the late Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright, twice by decision to each fighter in very hard fights but the fact that he fought a rematch with both says a lot about what Mosley has inside. He also lost to Miguel Cotto in a grueling fight in 2007. However he beat the man that beat Cotto, Antonio Margarito, in devastating fashion to win the WBA Super Welterweight title, as well as a spot in the pound for pound rankings. Because he has lost, he knows what it feels like and won’t let it happen again. Sometimes a man, a fighter, has something to prove. Not just to the world but to himself. It’s not about the money.
It’s no secret to anyone that knows me that Mosley is my kind of fighter. He’s a throwback fighter with a huge heart and would have fit in nicely in boxing’s last great era, the 1980’s, or any of boxing’s great eras where even contenders were great. Mosley is a West Coast fighter and will always get my support. My hope for Saturday night is that Mosley reaches back in time and stops Mayweather in the late rounds. Then it’s Mosley vs. Manny Pacquiao.
All that being said, let the best man win. That’s what boxing is all about.
Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight Saturday night, May 1st, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The fight will be shown on HBO PPV.
Sugar Shane Mosley's career record.
Floyd "Money" Mayweather's career Record
2 comments:
I'm with you and I also think this is an easy fight to pick;Mosely-unless he suddenly gets old-or screwed by the judges.
I don't think Mayweather's been particularly impressive at 147(plus)-and with the exception of Leonard-Hagler(I'm in a minority of fans who think Leonard deserved the decision),if I were a judge,I'm for the guy that's at least 'doin' the barkin';the judge who voted for Oscar against Floyd in the split decision wasn't insane...For now,I'm hanging onto my other excuses for Mayweather wins-Arturo Gatti should've retired
after the Mickey Ward fights,Diego
Corrales was too weak to fight Floyd at 130-and after seeing Ricky Hatton win a gift against Luis Collazo,I didn't think Hatton had any business at 147.One more point on the issue of heart-nobody had any suspicions about Antonio
Margarito before he was stoppped
by Mosely-and "I think" was a big
factor in Mayweather's "retirement".
Agreed!
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