Mayweather vs Mosley

[H2O Man]

will be on May 1. Good fight. Mosley agreed to the Olympic-style testing, which is good for boxing. No matter who wins -- and surely, either fighter could win this fight -- it will make it impossible for Pacquiao to refuse to submit to accurate testing in the fight with the winner.

[H2O Man]

1. Paul Williams vs Kermit Centron

This fight is not definite yet, but will probably be held on May 8. It looks like May is going to be an outstanding month for boxing. It will be interesting to see if the winner of this will meet the winner of the Mayweather vs Mosley fight.

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. That will easily be the fight of the decade. n/t

[H2O Man]

3. It's classic.

I've always cheered for Shane Mosley, who I have great respect for. But I am hoping for Mayweather in this one. Still, any time Mosley goes into the ring, there is a very real chance that he will win. I think he ranks with the greats, and could have fought well against the best of any era.

My son had thought the Mayweather v Pacquiao fight would be a modern version of Leonard v Benitez. I think this one fits that description even more. Both "Sugars" were extremely talented, smart fighters. Both face a very tough time against a foe with uncanny reflexes. One obvious difference is that Benitez didn't train hard after winning his first title at age 17. For Duran, he trained a couple days. With Leonard, it was less than two weeks. That defines over-confidence. Mayweather is the most discipled fighter outside the ring, in terms of staying in shape.

I think Mayweather will look to keep the fight rather slow. If he can keep it a contest of counter-punching -- which Leonard v Benitez was -- many casual fans will be disappointed. (Of course, I love that type of fight, and consider Leonard v Benitez a great fight. My son finds my ability to watch it over and over puzzling.)

Shane does not have a good jab. Hard to deal with Mayweather without one. But Mosley can counter with lightening speed, with a right to the body followed by a hook upstairs. If he had a jab plus the body-to-head combinations, I'd favor him.

I think age will be a factor. Floyd is in his physical prime, Mosley is past his. But both are fully capable of putting on a great fight. May will be a good month for boxing fans.

[JonLP24]

4. Should make for a good match

I'm for Mayweather on this one.

[H2O Man]

5. It's a duel

between two extraordinary counter-punchers. While both have the ability to initiate action inside the ring, both are primarily noted for their high level of skills in countering their opponents' leads. Thus, while on paper it is indeed a "Super Fight," there is a very good chance that in the ring, the action will be less intense than those who favor brutal brawls are hoping for.

In a very real sense, Shane has the pressure on him. He needs to intitiate the action, because regardless of what any boxing commission is paid to say, Floyd enters the ring as the undefeated champion.

Mosley's loses were all the result of that constant truth that "styles make fights." His loses can all be attributed to his lack of a jab, which is such an important weapon. In those loses, without a real jab, he was frustrated in his ability to land enough meaningful punches -- those being the exact punches that he could have landed, behind a jab.

Their fights with Oscar de la Hoya are important. Of course, Oscar was leading on the score cards against Floyd, in the early rounds, due to his jab. Once he stopped throwing that jab, Floyd took control. With Shane, in their first fight, although it was a pawing jab, Mosley was able to use his great foot movement to come in under the jab, land quick combinations -- including throwing the last punches in their duels -- then be gone. In the second fight, though I favored Shane going in, I thought Oscar earned the decision. He did so by way of the jab. (However, since Oscar had "won" some curiously unfair decisions in the past, I was not going to complain.)

A few people have noted the trouble Zab Judah gave Mayweather in the first half of their duel. Again, he did so with his jab. And, that guy had a great jab. Once Floyd took it away, he dominated Judah completely. If Shane works on his jab, he will give Floyd hell in the ring. If not, Floyd wins a much easier decision.