Pacquiao vs. Mosley: Much Ado over Nothing…but Money: the State of Big Fights in America

Get ready, sports fans; the hype machine is all warmed up and this week we will all be treated to endless commercials, infomercials, and fight replays to convince us of the monumental importance of Saturday’s big event between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley.

I won’t provide a preview of next Saturday’s big event between Pacquiao and Mosley, filled with all the cute quotes coming from trainers Freddie Roach and Naazim Richardson and I definitely won’t attempt to examine the scenarios in which Mosley can shock the world with an upset.

What I will do, however, is remind us all of what has changed since the first announcement months ago that boxing’s brightest and most charismatic star would face the aging and once-great Mosley.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. In fact, this whole week will feature much ado over nothing.

Mosley is still just 2-2-1 in the past four years and coming off two dreadful performances in 2010. Pacquiao is still younger, with faster feet and faster hands. Nothing’s changed.

What have all the upsets over the past two months changed in regard to Mosley’s chances in Saturday’s fight? Nothing.

What can Shane Mosley do to change the fact he turns 40 later this year? Nothing.

The fight looks just as bad now as it did when it was announced, despite the fanfare and insane notion that this fight is somehow a step to bringing boxing to network television.

However, I, like so many fight fans, will hold my nose at this steaming pile of nothing and fork out $55 in the hope that the undercard bouts carry the day, and at 1 AM Sunday, we won’t feel cheated because our date deceived us with online photos of a younger, skinnier person from ten years past.

That’s exactly what we’ll get this week, photos and highlights of a younger and better Shane Mosley. We won’t see rounds 3-12 against Floyd Mayweather and we won’t be shown the 12 ugly, boring rounds with Sergio Mora. We’ll see the pretty, new-and-improved, “in the best shape of my life” Shane Mosley.

But all the talk of a great training camp and how their styles make for a great fight and the slick “Fight Camp 360” infomercials will mean nothing when the bell rings at the MGM Grand next Saturday. The reporters desperately trying explain why this is a good fight, sounding as pathetic as university presidents do when justifying the BCS, will make just as significant an impact.

The fight is what it is, a tune-up or stay-busy fight to make some money while not risking a potential huge payday against Floyd Mayweather. While there’s nothing wrong or new about tune-up or stay-busy fights, over the past two decades, we have seen a dramatic change in how these fights are made, marketed, and sold. We’ve reached the point that it’s a big deal for the sport’s biggest names to just merely fight, regardless of the quality of opposition. Today, just appearing on the stage is enough.

But that doesn’t mean the opponent is irrelevant? No. Opponents now are chosen solely on financial considerations. Now we all know that money has always been the driving force when making fights. Pay-per-view and closed circuit fights have been around since Sugar Ray Robinson/Randy Turpin II but in previous decades, the correlation between a great fight and a big-money fight was much closer.

This brings us to Mosley, who remains one of the few fighters left with any name recognition with the average American sports fan. For the past two decades, boxing has so successfully turned its back on the average American sports fan, there are now just a handful of boxers left that the casual sports fan has even heard of. Mosley earned this fight by merely hanging around longer than other fighters of renown.

Perhaps the major turning point was when the horrendous Mike Tyson-Peter McNeely sideshow sold 1.5 million PPV buys and promoters realized that it safer and more profitable to create stars rather than great fights. If there was a big-money fight that never even had the patina of a possibility of a good fight, that was it.

Now what remains are two geese that can lay golden eggs; one is 34, has been inactive for a year and is facing legal issues. The other is 32 and has made it fairly clear that his number of remaining fights can be counted on one hand.

How far has the gap between big-money fights and great fights become? The next potential big-money PPV fight being discussed is Mayweather vs. Paul Spadafora. No, that is not a joke. As my friend and colleague Steve Kim would say. “Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Ray Leonard ain’t walking through that door.”

I will not make the ridiculous claim that boxing is dead in America or even close but nor it is even close to being a mainstream sport any longer. If you need proof of this, try to talk to an average sports fan about boxing; beyond Mayweather and Pacquiao, see how far that conversation goes.

Things will change and most likely change soon; no longer does the boxing fan need to decide between paying $50 and not seeing a fight. Technology has brought us “streaming” of fights and that technology will only get better and easier for people to access. The boxing establishment will have to adjust to it, just as the music industry was forced to.

When all is said is said and done, it will most likely be technology and Moore’s law that ironically brings our wonderful sport back to its traditional roots and back to the regular American sports fan. To this observer, it can’t happen soon enough.

Source: maxboxing.com

Pacquiao – Mosley: Speed Versus Quickness

One interesting take on this weekend’s blockbuster matchup between Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao and ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley is pitting Pacquiao’s overall speed advantage against Mosley’s quick and powerful right hand. We’ve already compared their power and durability and have agreed that Pacquiao owns both departments, but today let’s take a look at speed.

They say speed kills and Pacquiao has made a killing by showing the world what first class speed looks like and how it completely trumps anything opponents have to offer. But will Pacquiao’s speed be effective against a savvy ring veteran like Mosley with killer speed of his own?

Gone are the days when Pacquiao was simply thought of as one-dimensional, today he uses both his hands with equal power and speed. It’s a given, Pacquiao has been blazing fast since the world first took notice of him over 10 years ago in the Bantamweight division, after destroying then elite opposition in Lenoholo Ledwaba. Since then he has used his speed quite effectively in dismantling the best of the best of the sport. Probably none more so than Oscar Dela Hoya.

Prior to the Dela Hoya fight, it was the general consensus that Pacquiao would be too small to face ‘The Golden Boy’. That Pacquiao’s speed would not be enough of an advantage to overcome the huge disparity in size and weight. I for one, was nervously watching in my seat prior to the opening bell, afraid that Dela Hoya would simply be too large for our Pinoy hero.

Boy was I wrong.

Oscar Dela Hoya had the advantage in nearly every category prior to witnessing the colossal upset. Power, size, chin, experience, skills and overall ring generalship were his and he was able to use none of it. None of it! Pacquiao only had speed to his advantage and he used that to completely take Dela Hoya out of his game.

After that, Pacquiao went on to use that same speed in taking apart Hatton, Cotto, Clottey and Margarito.

And it’s not just the hand speed we’re talking about here, it’s more of the overall fleetness of the feet. Pacquiao has that invaluable ability to dart in and launch a flurry of powerful attacks and dart back out or circle away and out of harms way before the counter-attack is initiated. This is something Mosley has to find the answer to once he finally gets a taste of Pacquiao’s freakish speed advantage.

Shane Mosley is no pushover either. His hand speed, even pushing 40 years of age (and experience), is still top notch in the business and is good enough to catch even Floyd Mayweather, who sports the one of the best defenses in Boxing.

In the 2nd round of their fight nearly a year ago, he caught Mayweather with a lead right hand and momentarily buckled the self proclaimed G.O.A.T. Mayweather hung on for dear life. Moments after that, Mosley wobbled him again with the same punch.

Watch the round in slow motion, check out the replay. Mayweather was in complete defensive mode before the punch landed. He had his shoulder ready to roll and deflect, his eyes locked on to Mosley with heightened awareness, expecting Mosley to launch a straight right hand. Mosley’s right hand was so fast and snappy, though telegraphed, it broke right through the defense and for a few seconds separated Mayweather from his senses.

That was Mosley’s chance to score the upset, but lack of agression and the lack of a follow up attack forced him to miss that chance and Mayweather went on to cruise to a shutout in the succeeding rounds.

Still, Mosley’s hand speed is quick enough to catch Manny Pacquiao and if he does, he can end it in one punch.

So which will prove to be a bigger factor come fight night, Manny Pacquiao’s furiously speedy attack, or Shane Mosley’s quickness of the hands?

The answer is obvious. Pacquiao’s speed will once again be the difference in this fight. He’ll be out of there before Mosley can even think about countering. Pacquiao’s speed is what makes him special and everyone knows it. We can take David Diaz’s word for it, “He’s just too fast!”.

But I think Max Kellerman said it best, right after the Cotto fight.

“Whatever your gameplan is, Pacquiao will take you completely out of it.”

Source: fightcardboxing.net

"That's going to be a hell of a fight" - Nonito Donaire on Pacquiao-Mosley

This past Friday night the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas staged a fight card in one of the most unique settings I have seen on the Boulevard pool deck overlooking the strip. Sitting ringside covering the action, with camera in tow, was none other than reigning WBC and WBO bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire, who has been experimenting with his role of a photographer in recent times.

During a quick break from the action I caught up with Donaire and got his take on a few stories in the sport, the first being this weekend's Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley WBO welterweight title fight at the nearby MGM Grand. Pacquiao is a heavy favorite heading into the contest but Donaire seems to feel that his Filipino brethren will have his hands full with his 39-year old counterpart.

"That's going to be a hell of a fight," Donaire claimed. "I think Pacquiao is going to get it. Mosley is going to try to do his last hurrah. I think that Mosley, he can still bring it out there. He still has the speed and the power, definitely. But I think that Manny has this incredible speed as well as power. And Mosley is a tough fighter but I see it as speed and offensive for Manny Pacquiao all the way through for a unanimous decision."

Donaire electrified the masses this past February when he starched Los Mochis' Fernando Montiel inside of two rounds to claim the two titles he now holds. That virtuoso performance left many pondering a possible move from Donaire up to 126 pounds, where such matchups with WBA champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez were fantasized.

Lopez, of course, suffered a shocking upset a few weeks back as rugged Mexican Orlando Salido stopped him in the eighth round of their bout in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Donaire concedes that the loss was something he never saw coming.

"It was shocking," Donaire continued. "With Juanma, he seemed to have a problem with guys coming in if he can't take them down and that was Salido. He did it. But I don't do too much talking because that's just Juanma, ya know?"

At the moment a potentially huge fight in the sport seems to be hanging in the balance as WBC and WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley has seemed to refuse a payday of 1.3 million dollars for a July showdown with WBA champion Amir Khan. I asked Donaire if he thinks we will see that fight come off and what exactly Bradley's motives might be.

"It's just negotiations," said Donaire. "I think a lot of fights can be made if promoters can get a long together, if they can negotiate where everyone is happy. But I think when you are talking about money, fights can happen."

Moments prior to speaking to Donaire I had talked to trainer Roger Mayweather, who told me that his nephew Floyd could be returning to the ring near the end of summer. Mayweather has been inactive for over a year now, with many thinking he won't fight again, and I asked Nonito if he thought we would see him again.

"Definitely, definitely."

Source: Examiner.com

PHOTO: PACQUIAO WINDS DOWN TRAINING AT WILDCARD

LOS ANGELES -- Assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez (L) takes off Freddie Roach's body guard as Roach and Pacquiao end the mitts session during Friday's training at the Wildcard Gym in Hollywood. Pacquiao breaks camp on Monday and after will motor to Las Vegas to take on Sugar Shane Mosley next Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Photo by Dong Secuya.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Sugar Shane Mosley shocks Manny Pacquiao, former promoter Kushner says

Diogenes, he and his crusty, flickering lamp, trudged from street to street, from byway to back alley to broad avenues in ancient Athens in his perpetual search for the truly honest man.

I don't know, frankly, that Diogenes ever met a truthteller in his quest but my own personal search as to the Sugar Shane Mosley-Manny Pacquiao welterweight title bout May 7 at the MGM Grand Hotel ended on 8 East at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan late Friday afternoon.

There, recovering from a serious pair of spinal and back surgeries but with an unflagging spirit, I encountered the solitary man of boxing, the only fistic figure I know of who actually picks 39 year old underdog Mosley to shock Pacquiao and the world.

His name is Cedric Kushner and, as a former promoter of Mosley's, he has great intimacy with his subject.

"I could say that, yes absolutely, Shane has a chance to win," the head of Gotham Boxing said as he pounded down a Diet Coke sans his usual Rose's Lime Juice.

(Kushner's medical rehab is moving ahead with vigor and he's sniffing the flowers thoughtful old pal and fight promoter Kathy Duva sent up.)

"But I will go further than that. I'm picking Shane to win this fight. He's been one of the great fighters of his generation and he retains his power. I also think that this might be the time, might be the fight where as great as Manny is and has been, he's going to impacted negatively from fighting a bigger man," the mustachioed South African native said.

"On the other hand, you ask me if Pacquiao can stop Shane? I'd say that Manny can stop anybody but Shane takes a helluva rap, he's always had a solid chin. Sure, Manny is more than capable of hurting Shane but the opposite is also true.

"I don't wish to speak in riddles so I'll make it plain. I am picking Shane to win this fight over Pacman." Kushner said.

A young Mosley, along with his trainer father Jack, hooked up with Kushner when the Pomona, Ca., fighter was already a 16-0 lightweight.

The 60 year old Kushner said LA boxing man Tom Loeffler, now running the American side of the K2 promotional group for the Klitschko Brothers, brought him together with Sugar Shane and Captain Jack.

"I promoted Kevin Kelley, who Tom managed, and he was peripherally involved with the Mosleys. Jack and Shane flew to New York, we made a deal and I got Shane three solid tune up type bouts. Then, as I promised them, I got him an IBF title shot against Phillip Holliday of South Africa.

"Shane got his first world title and we were rolling along."

Source: Examiner.com

Pacquiao's Quick Feet---Mosley's Pain (in the neck)

Adding Manny's scalp to Shane's list of knockout victims is captivating to the former three-division bigwig who deals his ace on May 7th (Saturday) in a crucial bid to grab Pacquiao's WBO welterweight hat.

It is financially attractive, what with a paycheck worth millions of dollars complemented by substantial ancillary revenues.

Enough to spur Shane to a mind-boggling upset of the favored PacMan?

Adequate to startle the current pound for pound elite? He with that express delivery of metallic punches and one who almost-always succeed in slowing down rivals showing ring savvy in the heat of battle?


Sugar Shane Mosley has to stop Manny Pacquiao or he's deadmeat (to borrow a hackneyed street talk.)

That's his only route to victory since Manny is just too nimble for Mosley.

Pundits suggests that Sugar has a serious chance of beating the Pacquiao owing to his workmanlike versatility.

Not to mention he's at home as an easy welterweight. No weight woes. No extra poundage to shed.No sweat at all.

Yet, no one can bail the L.A.-- born Shane if he blows this one out.

Not his current employer, Top Rank's Bob Arum or his former co-workers at Golden Boy Promotions.

Just his lonesome against the best there is.

Hopeless to salvage his latest stab at greatness?

Not even if Flash Pomona is able to solve the riddle behind the Libyan leader's confounding name?

Unlikely for Mosley to dethrone Pacquiao unless he has new jolts to shock Sarangani puncher,

Shane's urgent wish for now is for redemption from six setbacks.

That can happen if he gets lucky, a week from today at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. nearly put the hall-bound Mosley on the extreme edge of retirement in their May 1st meeting of 2010.

But that washout followed by a desultory draw with Sergio Mora has not slowed down Shane a bit.

The one-time global attraction is in a recovery mood, plugging all stops to reclaim his once lofty perch.


The Pomona resident was, in his prime, the boss of lightweights, junior welterweights and welterweights.

Fact is, he was Oscar de la Hoya's headsman, beating the Golden Boy twice until the compelling PacMan arrived to drive in ODLH's retirement nail.

Pacquiao closes out the stringent phase of his workouts pleased with a sound camp. (Some 100 rounds of hard sparring, obstinate mountain climbing, unbending gym exercises, willful crooning before retiring for the evening) etcetera..

He departs by bus for Vegas ( Monday) well-informed of what Mosley has in his playbook.

Armed with tips and tapes of Shane's fights, Roach and company poured in substantial number of hours reading Mosley's attributes and weaknesses.

"The best training ever for Manny"--- Freddie Roach.

"Both Manny and Shane in excellent shape. Expect a pretty good show " he added.

The freshman sluggin' solon is chompin' at the bit as he whips up for a strenuous 12 rounder with a desperate Mosley.

On the eve of Pacquiao's departure for Nevada's Sin City, Roach was ecstatic in baring a great camp had by all to include Manny's cooks, masseuse, wannabe comedians (stand up or otherwise), off-key singers posing as guards and no notes side-splitting musicians.

"Manny knows what he's looking for in the battleplans of the opposite camp" ---deputy trainer Buboy Fernandez.

And that will make all the difference in the stored world title fight airing live on SHOWTIME-CBS.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

A Pacquiao Victory Over Mosley Will Yield More Questions Than Answers

Many people predict that a victory for Manny Pacquiao on May 7 is almost a foregone conclusion. If this is the case, then Boxing Dispatch takes a look at the questions that will be asked in the fall-out of such an event and why there are more questions than answers.

Why is Manny Pacquiao such a heavy favorite?

For many a victory for Manny Pacquiao on May 7 seems almost inevitable. Out go the cries that Shane Mosley is old, slow(er) and a shadow of the man who ruled the lightweight and welterweight division the previous decade. Some of this is understandable. Mosley was slowly tenderized by Floyd Mayweather for ten rounds, while his fight against Sergio Mora was positively interminable. Manny Pacquiao meanwhile won a belt in a record eighth division and booked Antonio Margarito into a reconstructive plastic surgery appointment. One fighter is being called by many to retire, while the other is facing calls to hold off such talk for as long as possible.

Who does Manny Pacquiao fight next?

According to widespread reports a formal offer was made to Juan Manuel Marquez to face Manny Pacquiao in the fall. After many years as a Golden Boy fighter Marquez is now a free-agent, and more crucially Marquez is free from Golden Boy, the bitter enemy of Pacquiao’s promoter Top Rank. Marquez has been campaigning for a third fight with Pacquiao for the past two years and with good reason. The first fight was ruled a draw, while the second was ruled narrowly in Pacquiao’s favor. However both were seen to be victories for Marquez in many quarters, and both were seen as ‘Fight of the Year’ contenders. The only stumbling block for Marquez now is that Golden Boy has an option to match any offer that Marquez may receive. Marquez has likely turned down a summer fight with Zab Judah to avoid jeopardizing a fight with Pacquiao in the autumn.

If not Marquez then who else can Pacquiao fight?

For a while now Amir Khan, Manny Pacquiao’s stablemate at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym has been on a collision course with Timothy Bradley in the junior welterweight division. Bradley has been offered the fight with Khan, but apparently the money is not right. Cameron Dunkin (Bradley’s manager) and Gary Shaw, (Bradley’s promoter) seem to differ on the financials. Bradley’s promotional deal with Shaw comes to an end in July. Does that free him up for a fight with Pacquiao in the fall should the Marquez fight fall through?

What happens to Shane Mosley?

As court papers revealed in December 2010, ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley’s life is not that sweet. His alimony payments to ex-wife Jin were listed as $20,000 a month. Shane also gave up his equity stake in Golden Boy Promotions to face Pacquiao also. Despite calls from many quarters it look like Mosley will fight on regardless. Shane might be past his best, but as Bob Arum explained once, he is a ‘name’, and a name that can still pay it’s way in the boxing game.

Will Manny Pacquiao fight Floyd Mayweather?

That ships looks like it sailed a while ago, with no one on board as both sides laid blame on each other. Drug tests or no drug tests Mayweather is embroiled in a legal case and is happy to spend his time with 50 Cent. Pacquiao meanwhile is juggling political office, a pop career, acting oh, and yes some boxing.

Source: boxingdispatch.com