Sugar Shane, managed by rapper James Prince, is currently training in Big Bear, California with Naazim Richardson. He shares the same coach with Bernard Hopkins, who will be in the Hopkins vs Pascal rematch on May 21. Shane’s last two fights were anything less than impressive and many deemed that he is already at the end of his career and hanging his gloves is imminent.
Exactly a year ago, Shane fought fellow American Floyd Mayweather Jr. in what many though would be the end of a 40-winning streak of the undefeated champion. Mosley hit Mayweather Jr with a solid right hook in the second round of that fight and was almost out of his footing. Floyd fought back and Shane hit another solid right in the last few seconds of that round. Mayweather almost got knocked out in that second big hit but held Shane’s arm to control his balance. In the following rounds, Mayweather fought back and outclassed Mosley and won the fight in a unanimous decision.
Four months later, eager to climb back in the ring, Mosley fought Sergio Mora. Shane hit the big shots early but Mora was not out of the picture all the time. Sergio also had his share of big punches and rounds. That fight ended in a controversial draw in what many boxing enthusiasts believed Mosley won.
The Pacquiao vs Mosley fight will be on May 7. Shane is hungry to win a get back the attention of the sport. He is mentally prepared for this fight because he wants to prove his critics wrong. Shane will be four months shy from turning 40 years old when he fights Manny Pacquiao next week. The ultimate concern from boxing enthusiasts and fans is his fitness to fight a prime 32-old gladiator.
Many are concerned of Shane’s health. Even though he feels he is physically fit and his body right now is like a 30-year old athlete, his last two fights were a manifestation of the present him already. Mosley had his prime years several years back and even won his first 38 fights, as a professional boxer, mostly by knockouts. But when he fights Pacquiao next week, he will not be physically prepared. His 40-year old body will easily tire against a 32-year old Manny Pacquiao who even hired strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza to improve his speed and power.
Many believed the wear and tear of boxing. As a boxer, you fight and get battered in the ring. You will be hit by heavy blows not only to the face but to the body as well. Shane Mosley’s body has shown deterioration by winning only 2 fights in his last five fights compared to Manny Pacquiao who has won his last 13 fights, since 2005, impressively.
Everyone in Mosley’s camp including his trainer Naazim Richardson and son Shane Mosley Jr. belives Sugar Shane will be able to pull the biggest upset in the history of boxing. But how can he do it if his body is not conditioned to fight a slick and agile Manny Pacquiao?
The one and only reason why Sugar Shane Mosley presented himself to fight Manny in the Pacquiao vs Mosley fight is money and nothing else. He definitely knows he can’t win against the eight division world champion. What Shane Mosley is after is the big amount he will get when he fights the Filipino ring icon, because obviously, boxing is his job.
Prior to the Mosley vs Pacquiao contract signing and final negotiations, there were other options for Manny Pacquiao to fight. They were Andre Berto and a trilogy with Juan Manuel Marquez. Fans were calling for Manny to choose Marquez because their last two fights were both controversial – the first was a draw, the second was a split decision win for Pacquiao. Marquez was asking for a big amount so he was out of the picture. Andre Berto was undefeated during that time, he was a good opponent for Manny but he is not popular to the boxing scene yet. So Pacquiao settled for Shane Mosley and Top Rank Promotions, the promoter of the Mosley vs Pacquiao fight, assured Mosley to get $5 million plus incentives from the pay-per-view buys. So Shane, without a doubt, accepted the fight.
Mosley’s main goal when he fights Pacquiao is to knock the fighting congressman out in the early rounds. The reason for this is that he is at his most powerful in the first 3-4 rounds of the fight. After the first quarter of the scheduled 12-round fight, Shane is expected to loosen up a little bit and get away from Manny Pacquiao’s flurry of punches. Pacman will be very intimidating for Sugar Shane in the middle rounds because everyone knows Manny becomes a more aggressive fighter as the fight goes forward. Shane will then try to put Pacquiao in the ropes and manage him in a phone-booth type of fight, which many doubt he can achieve.
Manny Pacquiao will end his training camp Monday morning and fly to Las Vegas in the afternoon. He is advised to relax a bit because he is just too intense in training. Being too intense might become a disadvantage for him that’s why Freddie Roach decided to give Manny a day off from training. In Las Vegas, they will continue with the mitts session and punching bag and less rounds in sparring.
Pacquiao will defend his WBO Welterweight Belt against Shane Mosley this Saturday, May 7 in front of the 17,000 sell-out crowd inside the MGM Grand Arena. The fight is available live via pay-per-view or you can bookmark and share this site for possible free live viewing.
We hope you don’t miss this entertaining fight. Be sure to come back here on fight night for more real-time news and updates.
Mayweather vs Ortiz on September 17, 2011 and Pacquiao vs Marquez on November 12, 2011
