By Sean McDaniel: On Saturday night, the outcome between undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley might not come down to who has the better talent, but rather which fighter has the most heart. Mayweather, 33, clearly has the better talent of the two and the better overall physical skills. But what he may not have is the heart needed to get the victory over the 38-year-old Mosley. The crowd will side with whichever fighter shows the most heart, the willingness to mix it and forgo safety to make the happen. I just don’t see that fighter as being Mayweather.

I actually see him being the one that flees from the action and tries to avoid getting hit rather than seeking out Mosley and trying to engage. Mayweather acts very confident on the surface, but he looks uncertain when he’s come head to head with Mosley. I’ve never seen that look from Mayweather. Usually, he’s beaming with confidence and you just know he’s going to win, as he has most of his opposition looking well psyched out before the first blow has been thrown. Mosley has always shown courage in the ring by looking to engage at every opportunity and also by seeking out the best opponents in his career.

You can’t say the same thing about Mayweather, sadly. There are countless opponents that Mayweather never sought out during his career, and seems hard to understand why. He’s also not been one to mix it up unless it was against a wounded or badly overmatched opponent. If Mayweather has an opponent that is hurt or is out of their league before they even enter the ring, then he’s a completely different fighter, showing a killer instinct that is missing when taking on better opponents.

On Saturday night, it’s doubtful that Mayweather will throw any combinations unless he’s absolutely certain that it’s safe to do so. In contrast, Mosley will be attacking from the very start, pouring in two and three punch combinations and looking to take Mayweather. Mosley is not afraid to attack and has no problems about being hit while on the attack. He sees it as part of the game.

Mayweather could end up losing his unbeaten record unless he shows as much, if not more, heart that Mosley on Saturday night. I don’t think Mayweather is going to be able to win this fight just by showing up and throwing an odd pot shot now and then. He’s going to have to go to war with Mayweather. There’s going to be millions of people that will likely purchase this fight on pay per view, and they won’t want to see a timid looking Mayweather run around the ring looking to land an occasional check left hook and win a narrow decision. I think judges will award the decision to whichever fighter wants it more. Does Mayweather want it more than Mosley? We’ll see on Saturday.