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great article!!!!Comment
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I've been a boxing fan for a long time. I give Shane his dues, but I don't see him beating Floyd. Thats coming from a student, fan, and a follower of boxing. A great defense does win fights, because it wouldn't be great if it didn't. You are comparing era's from different decades an older Ali who had to bite down and fight with the likes of Foreman, Fraizer, & Norton to someone that Floyd has to fight like Shane is a vast difference. If you were a student of boxing you would understand this. Floyd isn't getting any younger himself, but Leonard was older when he fought Hearns the 2nd time. Floyd can still utlize his boxing and counter punch Shane all day.
Merchant has been completely biased for most of what I seen of his career. He talks as if Floyd doesn't throw any punches, or he doesn't box, if he was a commentator for so long he would have learn to appreciate what he is seeing. He is just someone I truely can't stand.
Why do they even put Pacquiao in this article I don't understand, but at the same token it does get him the promotion he needs off Mayweather vs. Mosley fight.Last edited by tru2boxingfan; 02-18-2010, 12:57 PM.Comment
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Shane struggles with . . .
Shane struggles with educated, well-versed boxers.
I had him tied 5 round to 5 going into the championship stages of his Summer 2000 fight with Oscar De La Hoya. Oscar had a great game plan; go to the body with hard hooks early and often to sap Shane's speed and stamina for the later stages of the fight. However, every time he did so Shane would go over the top with clean right hands, some even double right hands to the head which were more impressive. Shane never did lose his gusto and those flashy double right hands were money in the bank at the end to those judges scoring the fight. Shane had never lost to ODLH in his life and deep down he knew he could take ODLH's best stuff; those amateur TKO losses played right into ODLH's head which is probably why he was so tentative at times lol. Nevertheless, ODLH's supreme boxing ability made it an even fight at the end of the tenth round IMHO (I felt Oscar outworked and outboxed Shane to win the rematch however).
In his fights with Vernon Forest Shane got blasted by the biggest right hand boxer-puncher he had EVER FACED; yes ever (Winter 2001). The clash of heads may have played a part but more than likely Shane had suffered from the same psychological impediments which ODLH suffered from when they fought the previous year - Shane never beat Vernon (lost twice in the U.S. nationals and 1992 Olympic qualifiers) in his life and seemed tentative at times in both bouts with the Viper.
Truthfully, both the Golden Boy and the Viper had the supreme sweet science background to frustrate Sugae Shane who could not just brutalize them with his physical speed and strength as he fired away at will at their torsos like he had over the litany of fallen foes who he stoppen enroute to his 1999 Fighter of the Year Award as HBO's premiere lightweight champion; those guys like Golden Johnson and Jesse James Leija were simply outmatched and they didn't have the boxing base to compensate for it as even when they could catch Shane with power shots, and they did, it was just matter of time before their corner's threw in the towel.
Winky Wright, unlike the aforementioned opponents of Sugar Shane, had to develop his sweet science degree overseas, maybe because he didn't have the benefit of remaining in the amatuer ranks do to financial issues or something. Now when Shane faced Winky he had the same problems which he faced with Vernon and Oscar, Winky was too well schooled in the sweet science for Shane to just outbox and he was too big and strong for Shane to bully and brutalize like he did those lightweights in the ninties. We all know that happened in those fights.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the very best boxer Shane will have ever fought. Now he is not nearly as big and strong as Vernon or Oscar but he won't need to be because Shane isn't nearly the same fighter he was in 1998-2001. Sure he looked great against Margorito but styles do make fights and let's be honest those sluggers have always been in Shane's pocket (see Mayorga, Diaz, and even Vargas at the end of his career) ; it is the well-rounded, talented boxers with DEFENSE who have plagued him in his career.
Sadly, Shane may have defeated Mayweather in 2000 when HBO had the fight good to go, he was a beast at 135lbs but he went after the big money fight with ODLH and you cannot blame him because it made him a multi-millionaire and the #1 PFP fighter in many people's perspective until his lost to Vernon in Winter 2001Comment
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Larry is my dude. I ****s with Merchant. Floyd is gonna box the **** outta Mosley.Comment
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I like and respect your post but i do disagree with some points. It was not just the boxing and olympic pedigree that bothered shane, it was the size of the two that we see bolded. (vernon/winky). pbf does not have the same attributes of those two, other than a deep amature background. if im not mistaken, arent golden johnson and jesse james similar in size to floyd? may doesnt have the tools to keep ssm off him for 12 rounds. floyd is a good boxer but i am not buying everything that mayweather is selling. may is not this unbeatable force that everyone around here makes him out to be. the losses that shane has taken would be taken by floyd as well imho.Comment
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Floyd would have never been so indecisive as Shane was in his bouts with Vernon. Remember the rematch in the Summer of 2002? It was called "No Excuses" I believe due to all the clamoring about the clash of heads that they had in the second round of their first fight. Well in the rematch there was no such controversy but Shane simply could not decide what to do with Vernon; he came out like a demon firing away with passionate power shots at the opening bell then it turned into a grab fest by Forrest for a minute. At the end of the first round Forrest had settled in behind his JAB and his DEFENSE and kept his big right hand at the ready like a viper waiting to strike lol. Shane seemed to be caught between styles for most of the fight; do I box him or fight him?
Floyd would have just stuck with one style against such a tall, capable boxer/puncher - nothing but fluid ring generalship and counter punches with snapping lead left hooks/stinging lead right hands now and then. Floyd would have played that card until Vernon began to show wear and cracks in his defense then Floyd would begin to unleash some different power combos to just to keep Vernon guessing here and there. It would have been like the Diego Corrales fight who IMHO was just as accomplished, maybe even more, in his pro career than Vernon was.
Floyd would have never harboured any delusions of machismo/manhood and attempted to jump on Vernon and like Shane tried to do in first round their Summer 2002 rematch; he would not have been caught between styles like Shane was, because Floyd never been a BEAST scoring stoppage after stoppage to rave reviews but rather he has always embraced the sweet science as "Pretty Boy" Floyd. If the opportunity presented itself for a stoppage sure Floyd would oblige you but he never carried himself as a boxer/puncher like Shane who if you remember prided himself on his KO percentage which had earned him so many accolades from Larry Merchant and the HBO staff enroute to his HBO contract and the multiple awards he recieved in 1999. Floyd however, was and still is to me a finesse fighter, "Pretty Boy" Floyd.
So you see their would be no ambiguity in "Pretty Boy" Floyd's approach towards Vernon "The Viper" Forrest. He would do what he does better than anyone else in the game; he would use his quickness and his experience to outbox Forrest without the slightest bit of indecisiveness or uncertainty. There was no one who Vernon had faced to that point in his career who could puzzle him like Floyd could; remember no one would fight Forrest despite his ties to Main Events not even ODLH. He would have put up a game effort no doubt but who had Vernon faced to make you believe he could figure out 2002's Floyd Mayweather, Jr?
Golden Johnson and Jesse James Leija were handpicked because they were decent, though limited fighters who posed no true risk to Shane who remember was a BEAST as HBO's premiere lightweight champion; he did what he wanted with them and there was nothing they could really do about it. Now consider the 1999 Pretty Boy Floyd versus the 1999 consensus Fighter of The Year Sugar Shane Mosely. Not nearly the same match-up is it? HBO nearly had that fight done believe it or not but Shane's camp didn't really want it ten years ago. They went after the Pay-Per-View Cash Cow instead rather than settle for a decent payday with HBO Championship Boxing at that time.
Floyd is not a good boxer. He is a first ballot HOf master-boxer. Shane will see, yes he will. Floyd may make Shane look like 2004 again.Comment
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