Our friends over at The Ring have a neat, 20-page spread complete with cover art by British artist Richard Slone on the Sugar Shane Mosley-Manny Pacquiao May 7 fight.
Scribe Eric Raskin contributes his "10 Burning Questions" and then Lee Groves offers up a "20 Category Analysis" followed by a statistical breakdown entitled "By The Numbers."
It's a typical, comprehensive Big Fight preview package but conspicuous by its absence is the standard fight predictions segment.
Back in the halycon days at The New York Post, under the aegis of fight nut and sports editor Jerry "Blackie" Lisker, we termed it "Who Will Win And Why." The premise being that, if let's say I picked Fighter A then a colleague would come up with reasons as to why Fighter B would emerge triumphant.
Which reminds me that one night at a ballpark fight, maybe at Yankee Stadium, actor Humphrey Bogart was asked by media types who he liked.
"Me...I like my wife," on screen tough guy Bogart cracked.
When you're married to a lush dame like Lauren Bacall, you can get away with such one-liners. And, no I won't recall the scene in which she asked Bogart if he knew how to whistle. Let's keep this G-rated, if you please.
Neither will Bob Arum trot out the promotional hokum in which they would bring a boxing sage such as Angelo Dundee into the fight media center to pick underdog Mosley. Usually, a second fight guy would be on the spot to pick whoever Expert A did not pick.
No one in his right mind is picking the 39 year old Mosley to beat 32 year old Pacman.
Which is exactly why I've decided to forecast a shocking upset on the seventh night in the fifth month of this year.
Yes, you read that right, I say Mosley will upset Pacquiao's apricot.
You want reason, I have none. You want reasons, let me be creative and toss out a few:
1. Mosley lands a lucky punch in the second round and down goes Pacquiao. Pacman is caught cold before he had a chance to rev up his engine. (Arum is loving the unlikely rematch.)
2. Instead of the usual havoc, backbiting and disharmony, Pacquiao's training camp was Camp Tranquil. This has upset Manny's mental equilibrium and his mind is not right for this fight.
3. Bad judging. Like an aging lion, Mosley fights hard down the stretch and he takes a disputed split decision after 12 rounds or even a draw. (Again, Arum's got the November rematch all planned out.)
3. None of the above so conjure up something equally absurd here.
4. Because I'm an old fool.
5. Come on, that's enough from Fantasyland. (How about Mosley looked horrible on purpose against Sergio Mora? Let's run that up the flagpole.
There, I've done it. I've gone where no other boss scribe or boss of a scribe will go.
I pick Mosley to shock the world by absorbing punches in bunches and notching a victory.
Love to chat further but it's time for my checkup from the neckup.
(And those commercials used to say "Crazy Eddie" and his prices were insane.)
Next stop for me, the fistic funny farm...
Source: Examiner.com
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