With the biggest fight (on paper) of the year only 10 days away, I`ve been reading articles left and right about what Mosley needs to do in order to break down Pacquiao. Break down Pacquiao? I`m not sure this would`ve even happened if Mosley was in his prime, and we all know he`s a long way since his prime. When we look back at previous fights of Pacquiao, the only 2 people to have success against him are Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales, 2 counterpunchers. Marquez basically counterpunched his way back into a fight in which he was down at least 3 points on each scorecard after round one, earning himself a draw. He also kept himself in their second meeting with precise counterpunching after going down in round 3 and hurt Manny during the bout with well timed shots only to lose a close, questionable decision. Erik Morales was the last man to beat Pacquiao and it wasn’t because of anything other than Morales being a more complete fighter. Ring smarts, counterpunching, aggressiveness, his ability to utilize both hands, you name it. It was a war and Pac eventually got the better of him in their next 2 meetings but learned a lesson on the way to the top by losing to Morales first.
Was Mosley ever a counterpuncher? He out and over offensed Oscar De La Hoya twice for 2 of his signature wins but that was ages ago. He showed signs of that vs Mrs Mayweather last year, but fizzled soon after with his punch output dropping significantly. After watching the first 2 episodes of Showtime`s Fight Camp 360, the chatter in Mosley`s camp is that when Pacquiao is hit he wont back away, instead he will come to fight, and Mosley stated “I love a good scrap”. Can Mosley still pull the trigger? His last 2 fights don’t suggest that. Also, that Margarito landed “X” amount of punches on Pacquiao and Mosley is much faster than Margarito so blah, blah, blah and yada, yada, yada….. Will Pacquiao be home for Mosley to connect? Maybe that’s a better question for team Mosley to ask themselves. Watching FC360, You can see they way Roach has Pacquiao dropping in quick combinations and body shots as he is rotating to his right away from Shane`s power like they did vs the older, slower De La Hoya. Getting the correct punching angles will be key and Freddie Roach has mastered gameplanning Pacquiao for this over and over. Sure it looked as if Pacman was lumped up in his last 3 outings vs Margarito, Clottey and Cotto for that matter, but much of the damage to Pacquiao was done once he was in control of the fight, He took chances and got wreckless on defense in the later rounds when his opponents weren’t as dangerous.
Mosley has probably never faced a fighter with as much head movement, and foot speed outside of Mayweather than he will on May 7, and as far as I`m concerned Shane better not get tired, because Manny WON`T….Period. The Filipino energizer bunny will be ready for all 12 rounds and 15 if they let it, so Sugar Shane better load up on Balco products, his nickname, coffee, 5 hour energy drinks or whatever else he needs in order to keep up with the “little engine” that could, (and always does). I think this fight was made strictly for money on both sides, and it’s a shame that Pacquiao-Marquez III isn’t happening because that’s the only fight worth making outside of Pacquiao-Mayweather. I`m predicting Pacquiao by KO inside of 8 rds, and also, that Mosley retires after the bout. Mosley is a hall of famer, but there are levels of fame that Mosley will never reach. That is where Pacquiao resides.
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