By Babatis Banda: There is no doubt anymore, that Shane Mosley’s better days are gone. First, even before the fight, you could see it in Mosley’s eyes that the hunger that characterizes young ambitious fighters was completely absent. All the niceties said from the boxers about each other, really robed the atmosphere of that excitement that drive major fights…..consider the Sugar Ray Leonard versus Tommy Hearns or Marvin Hagler, …..or Muhammad Ali versus George Foreman or Joe Frazer….. or any Floyd Mayweather’s pre-fight hype.

The hype before the fight is important for a combat sport like boxing and the Manny Pacquiao versus Sugar fight was like a golf match in that sense.

Now, get this clear…Mosley was never going to be the accurate measuring stick for Mayweather versus Pacquiao. Sugar’s fight against Floyd came too late, Mosley was already on his way to the bottom of the hill at that point. I must say that the bout should have sent very strong signals about Sugar’s condition and standing that he did not deserve a shot with the current pound 4 pound king, Manny.

Rather, Sugar’s performance against Floyd only became a motivator for the Pacquiao team, and only intended to use Sugar to send a message to Floyd. The intention was clear, knock-out Sugar and you would have done better than Floyd. However, a year after the Floyd fight, Mosley may actually have gotten worse, he could not throw punches, exactly a repeat of the Floyd bout, excerpt of the two or so lucky punches that he landed and wobbled Floyd.

Other than the punch that floored Sugar from the Manny bout, there is really nothing to talk about the fight, Manny rarely touched Sugar with any significance, even when he was available for the taking by effectively cutting off the ring and punishing Mosley’s body, and methodically finishing with the head. I must also mention that Floyd touched Sugar more than Manny did in the last fight, both body and head.

The two best boxers of our era remain locked in a senseless war of egos. Pacquiao possess a rare threat to boxers, he is fast and powerful, and this is his major tool…speed and power. Mayweather is in a world of his own, with the best defence, speed and accurate punching. This leaves us with unanswered questions, ‘what if Manny can touch Floyd that often, can Floyd handle the power?’ and…’What if Manny can’t find Mayweather, and is countered all night, will Manny get schooled and frustrated?’

Until the two best boxers can face each other, nothing is ever going to drive away the controversy of who is better, and it is clear, Sugar is not the right measuring stick for the two. Manny versus Mosley should never have happened. Many people said it and the booing affirmed it. This fight was purely a commercial venture. It is also clear in my view, that Pacquiao may have reigned supreme in an era of mediocre boxers, going by Arum’s statement that it is difficult to find credible opposition for Pacquiao. Would such a statement have made sense in the Ali era or the Ray Leonard era?