The biggest fight of 2010 — “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather vs. “Sugar” Shane Mosley — is hours away. I’m super excited for this fight. It will be the biggest challenge in Mayweather’s unblemished career and another stiff challenge for Mosley. Personally, I’m hoping that Shane beats the crap out of Floyd…but I don’t see it happening. Although Shane has a decent chance, I think Mayweather safely boxes his way to a unanimous decision. Here’s why.
Age — Mosley is 38 years old. Although he’s smarter in the ring, he’s clearly a step slower than he used to be. His hand speed and foot speed aren’t what they were five years ago. Mayweather is 33 and much closer to his prime; he’s also one of the fastest and smartest fighters in the history of the sport.
Mayweather’s Jab — All of Mosley’s losses came against fighters with effective jabs — Vernon Forrest, Winky Wright, and Miguel Cotto. Some experts have argued that Mosley has trouble with tall and lanky fighters, which is certainly true in the Forrest and Wright fights. However, Cotto is a pretty…compact fighter that isn’t particular tall and doesn’t have a long reach. He was also able to use his jab to contain Mosley. Mayweather has an excellent jab and I can see him sticking it in Mosley’s face all night.
Mosley’s Win Against Margarito is Overrated — A lot of people have been pointing to this fight as Mosley’s “born again” moment. That’s a bunch of crap. Margarito is a slow, plodding, and uncomplicated brawler that was perfect for Mosley. It was a good win, but entirely overblown and made people forget about Mosley’s other recent fights. It took Mosley a long time to get rid of Ricardo Mayorga. He also went 16 rounds over the course of two fights with Fernando Vargas. Both Mayorga and Vargas were shot fighters when they faced Mosley. A prime Mosley would have gotten both of them out of there in a single round. Again, Mayweather is in his prime and his skills are top notch. He’s on an entirely different echelon than Margarito, Mayorga, or Vargas.
The Mayweathers Know How to Beat Mosley — I believe that Shane Mosley lost his second fight against Oscar De La Hoya. “The Golden Boy” landed more punches and out-boxed Mosley. De La Hoya’s trainer for that fight? Floyd Mayweather, Sr. Although Mosley’s trainer, Nazim Richardson, has been getting a lot of (well deserved) attention for his work with Mosley, a lot of people have forgotten that Mayweather, Sr. was part of the aforementioned De La Hoya camp. Although Mosley won the official decision, a lot of people thought he lost the fight. Either way, Mayweather, Sr. knows what it takes to frustrate Mosley.
Five years ago, I would have taken Mosley over Mayweather…possibly by knockout. That said, I can’t pick a 38-year old Mosley over Mayweather. I’d love to be wrong and I’d love to see Mosley inflict some permanent damage to Mayweather, but I can only see this fight ending in a unanimous decision for Mayweather. There will be some moments where Mosley’s speed and power will challenge Mayweather, but ultimately Floyd’s speed, smarts, footwork, and defense will allow him to pot shot his way to a win. I hate that guy.
. The man formerly known as Johnny Ballgame reported: