By Chris Williams: I really like Shane Mosley as a fighter and think he’s had an excellent career, but I’m thinking he might be a little too old to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. when they fight on May 1st. Mosley, 38, hasn’t fought in over a year, beating then World Boxing Association welterweight champion Antonio Margarito by a 9th round stoppage. Mosley has received a ton of praise for that fight, but when you think about it, Margarito was there for the taking on that night.
Not only was Margarito slow and stationary, but he had also had problems making weight for the fight and seemed not prepared for the kind of punch and grab style of fighting that Mosley used on him during that fight. Now, after more than a year off from boxing, Mosley will be facing what many people consider to be the best fighter in boxing in Floyd Mayweather Jr.
This isn’t a fight where Mosley will be able to win using the punch and grab technique. Mosley also won’t be faster than Mayweather, so he won’t have that going for him in this fight. At 5’9”, Mosley won’t have much of a height advantage over Mayweather, meaning that he’s not going to be able to just dominate Floyd with his size. And we really don’t know what Mosley has left after sitting for an entire year.
In some cases, it’s not bad for a fighter to stay out of action for an extended period of time. It least it saves them from taking punishment. But I’m thinking it won’t be good for Mosley, because he won’t be as sharp, and he’ll be facing a much slicker and quicker opponent than Margarito.
We don’t know what we’re going to get from Mosley if Mayweather puts pressure on him and forces Mosley to fight hard for 12 rounds. Mosley is at an age where his conditioning and reflexes could become an issue for him in a fight against a much younger fighter like Mayweather. Mosley struggled with Ricardo Mayorga in September 2008.
If Mosley fights like he did against Mayorga, then Mayweather will easily dominate Mosley. I think Mosley had the perfect opponent to make him look good in his fight with Margarito, a slow, stationary fighter who came into the bout having struggled with making weight. Mayweather is the complete opposite of Margarito. I think we might be seeing father time rearing its ugly head for the 38-year-old Mosley against Mayweather.
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