Rafael on the Rampage.(Slaughters Bob Arum)

Shane Mosley was one of the best fighters around ten years ago. In his mind, Mosley is still the lighting-fast warrior who would cripple opponents’ bodies with the left hook. But the past isn’t the present and, when Shane steps in to face Manny Pacquiao in 2011, that reality will become painfully clear.

Mosley is fading fast. His career-reviving knockout of Antonio Margarito is just a memory now. He was out-boxed and, strangely, out-toughed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. He looked slow, ponderous and unable to pull the trigger against Sergio Mora. And he’s 39 years old.

The public desire for a Mosley-Manny fight has been absent precisely because it isn’t there. No one wants the fight except for Bob, Manny and Mosley.


Dan Rafael of ESPN made his own feelings clear: “He (Arum) wanted to match him (Pacquiao) with Shane Mosley, and that is what he did, and he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”

Pacquiao is most likely the best fighter in the sport right now. He’s incredibly fast, throws lots of punches, has decent dig at welterweight and his footwork is among the best in the sport right now. He’s in his prime and looking very hard to beat.

Shane’s a brave guy with a lot of heart but he’s a shell of what he was. He won’t quit until he’s been stopped but he can be discouraged. Floyd Mayweather absorbed a huge right hand then spent the next ten rounds disarming and coldly beating Mosley up.

There’s no point being sentimental about the fight game. Fighters almost always have one fight too many because their egos stop them accepting that their bodies can’t behave the way they used to. Reflexes slow by seconds but, for a guy whose bread and butter is his reactions, that’s everything. Against Mayweather and then Mora, they looked to be all gone.

Mayweather can punch and he’s very accurate, something he shares with Pacquiao. But Floyd’s relatively low-output and this meant Shane was never in real trouble. Manny is a buzzsaw in the ring – he’s throws over a thousand punches in a fight. He places shots with precision and intent – when he throws, he wants to hurt you. And Mosley hasn’t shown the best of defences in recent years.

Mosley has been picked for two reasons: he’s a name and he’s clearly not what he was. He’s a prime candidate for a brutal loss which makes Manny look good, fills old Bob’s purse and puts more pressure on Mayweather to take the short-end of a potential mega-fight. That it’s a pointless exercise doesn’t seem to matter. That Shane might get hurt matters even less.

The cynicism is astounding, especially considering there are better challenges and better fighters out there than Mosley. Lightweight king and Manny’s nemesis, Juan Manuel Marquez, was dismissed before he even arrived. Arum claims he asked for too much money, but is happy to give a similar amount to Mosley who hasn’t won a significant fight in two years.

The only meaningful fight for Manny is with Marquez or Mayweather. The second is out of reach because, for whatever reason, Mayweather doesn’t want it. But the first was there for the making. And if that wasn’t good enough, give someone new a chance – make a name for them.

Plain and simple: Arum doesn’t want Marquez or anyone that a) works with Golden Boy Promotions and b) might beat his cash-cow. And Manny isn’t putting his foot down and telling his employee that he wants something better.

Hyperbole is a curse of boxing sites, but I’ll use it here: when the biggest name in the sport fights meaningless bouts against poor opposition, it hurts the sport. Beating the remains of Shane Mosley helps no one but Bob Arum and Manny Pacquiao.

2010 was a slow year for boxing. Fans got their reward when the last three months were packed with great fights. They can be forgiven for expecting a better 2011.

But instead of the Christmas gift we all wanted, we’re left with a lump of coal and a charge to watch it on PPV. Merry Christmas, the label says, love Bob, Manny and HBO.

http://www.theboxingsite.com/2010/12/from-battering-to-worse/

 

all thats going to happen is the fight does less PPV's than Mosley vs Mayweather which gives money may more room at the negotiating table.

I hope we see Mayweather vs Berto in June.

 

De La Hoya did say GBP wouldnt be involved in a Marquez fight.

 

Anyone who says Pacquiao can't fight Marquez again because of size is ridiculous. Marquez wants the fight and he'd be the one with the size disadvantage if any. In their last fights, they both weighted more or less exactly the same in the ring and both looked good. That's who they should be fighting. Shane Mosley hasn't looked good in 2 years and even then that was only one night against a shaken up and caught Margarito. Even before then Mosley looked old and shot.

Manny would be better off fighting someone like Tim Bradley or Andre Berto. At least they would be bang in their prime and well up for a fight. When's the last time we saw Manny in with someone like that? Must have been 3 or 4 years ago at best.

I'm sick of this protective, easy money matchmaking. Pacquiao's clearly one of the best in boxing right now so he's gonna be the favourite for any fight but early odds having Manny at 1/9. That's a joke and Manny should be embarrassed to have apparently 'picked' this as a fight.


Also David, that's another great article mate :good

 

Great article dft!

 

Rafael is right. He made the fight very quickly after the Margarito fight aswell?

 

The current matchmaking for Manny might be making him easy money but he's also in danger of losing a little bit off his legacy because fights against Clottey, Margarito and Mosely back to back aren't exactly great, especially considering the current state of all of them. In fact, all 3 of them were effectively coming off defeats in their last proper fights to Cotto, Mosley himself and Floyd Mayweather/Sergio Mora.

 

Like a Lamb to slaughter, it wont make pleasant viewing once Mosley has punched himself out.