Tweet
by David P. Greisman - Sometimes a big fight will become the black hole at the center of the boxing universe. All of our energy goes toward it. We draw closer and closer to it until we cannot escape its gravitational pull.
Sometimes, however, a big fight is announced with a big ****, but then lacks any big buzz until the stars align just right. The talk turns to other fights in the interim.
The time to talk Pacquiao-Mosley – and nothing but Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and the implications of their fight this Saturday – is now.
With the fight just days away, these are my final thoughts:
- I don’t think Shane Mosley is a shot fighter. I do think he’s shown himself in recent years to be skittish around fighters whose punches he can’t see coming as easily.
Mosley looked uneasy against Ricardo Mayorga, whose powerful punches come at wild angles.
After one successful round, he was rendered offensively impotent against Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose elusiveness and sharp counter right hands left Mosley hesitant to throw too often.
He failed to impress against Sergio Mora, whose awkwardness left Mosley tense as he pursued an unorthodox target.
(Antonio Margarito was predictable, even if his punches typically loop.)
Pacquiao will be willing to engage Mosley. That doesn’t mean he’ll just stand in front of him.
Pacquiao’s success is based on in-and-out movement, quick flurries that are followed by ducking to his right and stepping to the side. And if the brief sparring footage shown this past weekend on “Fight Camp 360” is any indication, Pacquiao might also use a similar strategy to that implemented early on in his own bout against Margarito.
In that fight, Pacquiao moved away and forced the taller Margarito to lean down and forward with his shots. That brought him in range and off-balance for Pacquiao’s counters. [Click Here To Read More]
Sometimes, however, a big fight is announced with a big ****, but then lacks any big buzz until the stars align just right. The talk turns to other fights in the interim.
The time to talk Pacquiao-Mosley – and nothing but Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and the implications of their fight this Saturday – is now.
With the fight just days away, these are my final thoughts:
- I don’t think Shane Mosley is a shot fighter. I do think he’s shown himself in recent years to be skittish around fighters whose punches he can’t see coming as easily.
Mosley looked uneasy against Ricardo Mayorga, whose powerful punches come at wild angles.
After one successful round, he was rendered offensively impotent against Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose elusiveness and sharp counter right hands left Mosley hesitant to throw too often.
He failed to impress against Sergio Mora, whose awkwardness left Mosley tense as he pursued an unorthodox target.
(Antonio Margarito was predictable, even if his punches typically loop.)
Pacquiao will be willing to engage Mosley. That doesn’t mean he’ll just stand in front of him.
Pacquiao’s success is based on in-and-out movement, quick flurries that are followed by ducking to his right and stepping to the side. And if the brief sparring footage shown this past weekend on “Fight Camp 360” is any indication, Pacquiao might also use a similar strategy to that implemented early on in his own bout against Margarito.
In that fight, Pacquiao moved away and forced the taller Margarito to lean down and forward with his shots. That brought him in range and off-balance for Pacquiao’s counters. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment