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PACQUIAO VS. MOSLEY
Current Fight Odds and Prediction
5/7/11
Sugar Shane Mosley is 39 years old. Not old in the real world, but in the squared circle he's a walking and talking dinosaur. A number of years ago Mosley was considered the best fighter on the planet. He held the junior welterweight crown for almost three years. He moved up to the welterweight division and defeated Oscar De La Hoya. He controversially defeated De La Hoya again in 2003, adding the junior middleweight crown to his achievements. At that point in his career, he had won thirty-eight consecutive fights. Then all of sudden the Sugar went stale. He lost to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright twice. He rebounded to slip past Fernando Vargas, and then knocked the Oxnard fighter out in a rematch. Most experts were whispering about diminished skills after he lost a hard fought decision to Miguel Cotto.
In 2009, he faced off against Antonio Margarito in a fight that many feared for his safety. Instead, Mosley turned back the clock and dominated Margarito, stopping him in the ninth round. A year later, he took on Floyd Mayweather and staggered the undefeated champion early in the fight. The punch seemed to wake Mayweather up, as he dominated the next ten rounds. Mosley is just 2-2-1 in his last 5 outings.
Therefore, the question begs to be asked. Is Sugar Shane Mosley a shot fighter? The easy answer is no. The harder question is how much does Mosley have left.
Nobody questions Manny Pacquiao's skill set. He's the pound for pound number one ranked fighter in the world, sporting a record of 52-3-2, with 38 knockouts. Mosley is 46-6-1 with 39 knockouts. The Pacman's last five fights include a TKO victory of an over the hill Oscar De La Hoya, a vicious knockout of Ricky Hatton, a brutal mugging of Miguel Cotto, a easy decision win over Joshua Clottey and a total beatdown of Antonio Margarito. Pacquiao is 32 years old and logic indicates that he should start showing a little wear and tear, but as of yet all he has shown is an ability to dominate his opponents. With his mega fight with Mayweather seeming to be dead on arrival, Pacquiao continues to fight whomever Bob Arum puts in front of him. Sometimes though, it just looks too easy.
Mosley will enter the ring on fight night at probably a 5-1 underdog. To pull off the upset of the year, he needs to turn back the clock to at least the Margarito fight. He was fluid and smooth that night, raining combinations down on this defenseless opponent. Sugar Shane has historically had problems with bigger fighters who can box a little. He will easily be the bigger man in the ring on May 7, with a nearly three inch advantage in height and close to seven inches in reach.. Of course, none of this will worry Manny who gave up 5 inches in height to Margarito and nine inches in reach. Mosley likes the matchup and feels he can knock Pacquiao out. He even knows the round...
"Any round would do but I think the 7th will be about the time I break him down and be able to get that knock out," said Mosley a couple of days ago".
Confident or not, Shane knows that Pacquiao is no ordinary opponent. The darting southpaw can be an offensive beast, so Mosley will have to weather the storm and counter with some power punches, hoping he can hurt Pacquiao. Working the body could slow the quicker Pacman down, giving Mosley a slightly better chance of landing the home run ball. The same punch that staggered Mayweather, the overhand right is probably his best hope, but you can bet Pacquiao and Freddie Roach have been working on avoiding that punch. Pacquiao is a lean and mean fighting machine. He's faster, younger and more aggressive then anyone Mosley has faced in years, if ever. Pacquiao respects Mosley skills even if they have diminished a bit.
The fight will most likely be a good one. Pacquiao comes to fight, and will stand toe to toe and bomb with Mosley at different times during the fight. Mosley is as tough as they come and will not quit no matter how badly things are going. He also possesses one of the best chins in the game. Pacquiao will stay on the outside and sharp shoot Mosley, likely landing some hellacious shots. Mosley will try to use his size and pound on Pacquiao, but the smaller man is just to fast and strong for the Mosley of 2011.
Current Odds:
Pacquio -800 at Bookmaker
Mosley +600 at 5 Dimes Sportsbook
You can also wager on over or under 11.5 rounds with the under currently getting most of the action.
Look for Pacquiao to win by a unanimous decision.
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