Several Valid Reasons Why Sugar Beats Money

By Dax Ferguson - Well, fight fans, the fight of this decade is apparently going to happen. It’s not that often that two of the three greatest fighters on the planet have the opportunity to meet in the ring. Or that the three greatest fighters are all boxing in the very same weight division. Of course, I am referring to Sugar Shane Mosley, Floyd Money Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio. I, for one, was really looking forward to seeing Manny and Floyd get it on; now it’s Shane and Floyd in what promises to be one of the most important welterweight fights of all time; and that is saying a lot when one remembers some of the great battles in that division in the last half of the century. One of the greatest battles was between all time great Kid Gavilan and unbeaten Gil Turner, who possessed at age 21 a 31-0 record with 25 KO’s and ex-champs Ike Williams and Beau Jack on his kayo roster. Gavilan triumphed in the 11 the round in a bout that drew 47,000 fans to the Philly arena back in July of 1952. Then there were the epic battles pitting Gavilan vs Billy Graham and Carmen Basilio.. And for sheer tenacity and unbridled action, the two Carmen Basilio-Tony DeMarco battle royals are hard to top, both won on knockout by Carmen. In more recent times, Sugar Ray Leonard played the starring role vs Wilfred Benitez in a boxing classic chess match won by Leonard with six seconds to go in the 15th round, which was a classic pre-mature stoppage. Leonard also figured in a couple other great welterweight matchups, against all tjme great Roberto Duran (twice) losing the first and winning the second when Duran turned away, saying “No Mas!” The best Leonard effort however was against the hard hitting unbeaten Tommy Hearns who took him to hell and back before he finally triumphed over the weight weakened Hit Man. Those are some of the matches by which the Mosley-Mayweather fight will be judged by. It shows promise of being a great fight, based more on Mosley’s aggressive style than Mayweather’s slip and slide counterpunching persona. It will be Mosley who will make this an exciting fight if it is indeed to be the classic that most boxing enthusiasts expect it to be. Let’s match these two up potentially on paper: Experience: Have to give Shane the nod here, as overall he has fought better fighters. He has fought a prime DeLaHoya twice, winning the first with no doubt and a controversial close decision in the second. Lost twice to Vernon Forrest when Forrest was at his best. Styles make fights and Vernon had Shane’s number. Pity they never fought a third time, I believe Shane would have won. Shane has also fought Winky Wright twice and lost both. However, as in the Forrest fights, Shane came a lot closer in the second, losing a razor tight decision and having Winky in trouble in the final round. Shane also lost a razor thin decision to Miguel Cotto in a bout I felt he won by one round. Again, he came on strong in the final rounds. Shane’s best win at welterweight undoubtedly was his virtual annihilation of Tony Margarito, a one sided beat down that left Margarito fans dumbfounded. Mosley twice hammered Fernando Vargas into submission, leaving no doubt who was the better man. He also culminated a tough fight with rugged, free swinging Ricardo Mayorga, who not incidentally stopped and decisioned Vernon Forrest in their two matches. Mosley has never turned down the best opponents which is more than can be said for Mayweather, who is well known for looking for soft touches. Mayweather’s most dominant fight was with Diego Corrales when he dropped Corrales five times but that was at 130 pounds and nine years ago. His credentials at 147 pounds are less than impressive. He stopped a used up Shamba Mitchell in six, rallied to beat Zab Judah, one of the best “four round” fighters in the world, shut out oft beaten Carlos Baldomir, barely edged Oscar DeLaHoya. Floyd had fits early with Judah, DeLaHoya and even plucky little Ricky Hatton until Hatton ran out of gas. His return to the ring match up with much smaller and much older Juan Manuel Marquez was a mismatch but feather fisted Floyd couldn’t even put him away, despite a quick knockdown in the second round. Speed: Both these guys have the reflexes of a scalded cat. I would give Mayweather a slight edge but it would be very, very slight. I don’t see speed being a culminating factor either way. Defense: Both are very hard to hit, Mayweather is about as elusive as a tumbleweed in a high Nevada wind storm. Mosley is a little more hittable but is no easy target. Punching Power: If this matchup ends up in a fire fight, Mosley wins by knockout. Mosley is a deadly puncher. According to Joe Goosen, one of the best trainers in the business, his left hook to the body is totally devastating. Goosen claims Shane knocked out a sparring partner with 16 ounce gloves and that takes some doing. Chin: Gotta go with Sugar Shane on this one. He’s been in with bigger and stronger punchers and has only been on the canvas once in his entire amateur and pro career encompassing well over 250 fights. Mayweather on the other hand has been rocked by DeMarcus Corley and Zab Judah. It’s my personal opinion that once a fighter who can punch finds a way to penetrate his shoulder roll defense, Mayweather will be exposed as having a china chin comparable to Roy Jones Jr. Shane just might be that guy. Size and Strength: Mosley wins out on both counts. He is naturally a bigger man and is also a much stronger man. At one time Mosley was credited with being able to bench press well over three hundred pounds. In a case of push and shove, it’s Shane, hats down. Stamina & Conditioning: These two will bring a new level of conditioning to the table. Both have the reputation of getting better and stronger the longer the battle goes. The difference being is that Shane as pointed is the bigger and stronger guy and I believe he will wear the smaller Mayweather down if it gets into a distance fight. Bottom Line: I predict that Sugar Shane will prevail by a stoppage somewhere between the 9th and 12th rounds. Mosley will have a devastating answer for Mayweather’s shoulder roll on the ropes and he will pin Mayweather in this suddenly uncomfortable position with precision power punches, some of which will slip through Mayweather’s guard, evasive as it is. Mayweather is going to find Mosley an entirely different breed of fighter, a better, more skilled fighter than he has ever faced before and he will not have the answers to the challenge.