Pacquiao doesn’t look spectacular against “Shop worn” Mosley

By Boxing News - 05/08/2011 - Comments

Image: Pacquiao doesn't look spectacular against “Shop worn” MosleyBy Mark Young: Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime – Manny Pacquiao remains the WBO welterweight champion of the world after winning by unanimous decision against hand-picked opponent Shane Mosley. Unfortunately the naysayers predicted the mismatch quite correctly and the best part of the fight was easily the intros, where we were treated to live versions of Momma said knock you out and Eye of the tiger, interest in the fight however petered out pretty quickly.

There’s been a fair amount of debate as to just how far Mosley was from his prime. Well, I think the title sugar is nothing short of nostalgic, shop worn is far more fitting. The money Shane makes from this fight will be more than enough to set Shane up for life, so any more PPV’s from Shane will not see me dipping into my pocket. It’s a little sad to watch someone who’s monicker suggests a slick combination specialist descend into lazy one twos. Shane rarely tried to double up his jab and even more bewildering opted not to follow up successful right hands.

The score cards rightly reflected a shutout. Manny dropped Shane in typical Manny fashion and he should have followed up his work more effectively but being washed up offensively didn’t stop Shane finding his way to the bell, the survival instinct is obviously still there, sadly there was no grim Erik Morales determination coming from Shane and even requiring a KO in the 12th didn’t spur Shane into any kind of frenzy.

I don’t know who else is out there that Manny can pitch himself against. He’s successfully knocked over just about all the tomato cans in the supermarket and after Shane he’s still standing in the isle hoping that blushing bride Floyd Mayweather will skip up to the alter and give him a chance at cementing a genuine legacy. There’s no denying that Manny has a long list of achievements under his belt, but for all his gushing fans the guys in the know tend to find Manny a little bit over hyped.

Manny may well have engineered a shutout, even the knock down that went against him was nothing more than a push by Shane but there were still a lot of questions that hang over Manny’s head. Manny has spent the last few years stalking the big pay cheque, he’s been following the pretty boy Floyd Mayweather money train like a shark winding his way up a blood trail, picking off Floyd’s former opponents then dispatching them in record time almost in an attempt to suggest he beats Floyd because he knocked out guys that took Mayweather to the scorecards, this illusion is a mistake.

Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter. I’m not a fan but I reluctantly accept that he is the real deal when it comes down to leaving the ring as victor. Manny on the other hand is more spectacular, more entertaining and more likely to win by knock out. This, however, does not mean that Manny beats Floyd. Money Mayweather doesn’t care for entertainment, he does have fragile hands and is happy to protect them if he’s comfortably out boxing an opponent, unless pushed Floyd will happily pick away at an opponent until the 12th round then collect his cheque and wander back through the sleeping spectators to the dressing room and this is what would happen with Manny in my opinion.

If Shane did show us anything tonight it was that Manny is beatable, plainly not beatable by Shane, but definitely by someone busier. The few times Shane landed his jab, doubled it up then followed with the right he had success, his decision to then leave it at that cost him and betrayed his age. Manny was caught by a succession of shots that Floyd would have followed up on, I don’t believe Mayweather would be a sociable opponent either, none of this touching gloves business at the start and end of rounds, it would be psychological warfare from the minute the fight gets signed. I certainly don’t think Manny looked exceptional tonight against a guy who could have easily retired after his last fight, Manny missed a lot in this fight and against a busier opponent would have been made to pay for his mistakes.

I can’t blame Manny for fighting Mosley, but you have to acknowledge it for what it was, nothing more than another attempt to put a marquee name on his resume. I do hope the PBF fight gets made and I hope it happens soon, because I’m not into this long drawn out “will they won’t they” waffle you would normally associate with a sitcom love plot. Anyone with a toddler will be familiar with the expression “crap or get off the potty”. It’s certainly time these two hit the ring, because seeing this fight in three or four years just won’t cut it and will allow both sides too many excuses.



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