Move over David Letterman. Well, not exactly. With The Fight just five days away, I figure now is a good time to add on my official 
Mayweather vs Mosley fight prediction.
You already know who I think is going to win based on the key factors that often determine the outcome of boxing matches. But today I explain other intangibles that may not be as obvious to the untrained eye.
The Top Ten Reasons Why Shane Mosley Will NOT Defeat Floyd Mayweather. Jr.
10. Inactivity. Shane Mosley has not fought in nearly a year-and-a-half. Combine that with the fact that he’s got 38-year old legs, and you have all the makings of a sour Sugar entering the ring. If Mosley’s reflexes have dulled significantly since his last fight, he has no chance.
9. Las Vegas. I wouldn’t call Mayweather’s decision victories over Jose Luis Castillo (twice) and Oscar De La Hoya hometown decisions, but one can not deny that he’s been given the benefit of the doubt fighting in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas. In a fight that most expect to go the distance, that does not bode well for Shane.
8. Nazim Richardson. Don’t get me wrong, Richardson is one of the best trainers in boxing. However, Mosley has shown a tendency to get confused against slick boxers (i.e. Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright previously) while trying to apply wordy instructions from his cornerman. That challenge would be magnified against Mayweather.
7. Miguel Cotto. You need to look no further than the final three rounds of Mosley’s fight against Cotto a few years ago to see elements of a blueprint to befuddle an older, slower version of the Sugar man. If Shane thought Cotto was hard to pin down, he’ll find catching Mayweather to be the equivalent of trying to pick up salt with chopsticks.
6. Mileage. Mosley simply has more tread on his tires. He has fought longer professionally and has been in more physical wars than Mayweather. The good news for Mosley is that he has more big fight experience against elite competition than Mayweather does. The down side is that the experience came with a price to the body.
5. Style. And I am not talking about each boxer’s fashion eye. I still shudder when I see clips of Mosley sporting that flammable green suit during the press tour. But I digress. Although Shane is one quick-fisted, hard-hitting SOB, he’s at his best when fighters (e.g. Vargas and Margarito) stand right in front of him. Mayweather will not be as willing.
4. Money. "Cash Rules Everything Around Me. CREAM. Get the money, dollar-dollar-bill-y’all…" This hip-hop quotable from the Wu-Tang Clan should be Mayweather’s theme music. Mosley will be very motivated to knock the smirk off of his nemesis’s face, but I think Mayweather will be even more obsessed to make "Mayweather-Pacquiao money."
3. Size. Although Shane Mosley may be cut-up like a julienne salad, do not let the weight room physique sway your judgment here. Neither man qualifies as a big welterweight. Both men stand shorter than 5’10" and were at their peak powers at lighter weights. Mosley may be able to do more reps on the bench press, but that won’t help him here.
2. Jab. It’s no secret that one of the best ways to negate speed is by using an educated jab. Oscar De La Hoya did it early in his fight against Floyd, but couldn’t keep up the pace late. Everyone is raving about Mosley’s jab against Antonio Margarito. Jabbing the easy-to-hit Margarito is one thing; jabbing Mayweather is another thing altogether.
1. Floyd Mayweather. This just in. Mayweather is the better all-around boxer. That’s reason enough to expect the Pretty Boy to emerge victorious.
I KNOW y’all got something to say out there fight freaks! 🙂
gotta agree wth you on ths one, i expct money mayweathers’ stock to go up significantly after he beats mosley. too fast too slick for th sugsr man!
Don’t get me wrong, Shane will be no pushover…but I just don’t see him springing the mild upset. Nice to see Mayweather in a challenging fight. heh?
Don’t get me wrong, Shane will be no pushover…but I just don’t see him springing the mild upset. Nice to see Mayweather in a challenging fight. heh?
absolutely, this is the first fight where “money” actually has a shot at getting hurt. Shane certainly has all the tools to be threat to mayweather. I’d love to have seen this fight 5years ago, then I’d be forced to give the “sugar man” the edge.
lets face it mayweather embodies this thing called boxing, and i just don’t see anyone with the package to defeat him at this stage in his career. although i’d be really interested in seeing a paul williams vs money mayweather fight. even though i think floyd is the better fighter, how cool would it be to see those two get it on. you know what they say “styles make fights”
jabbo, shane needs to apply the first three letters of your screen name to have a shot, but i don’t think he’ll be consistent enough with it (jab). on paper, i agree with you that shane would’ve given mayweather even more problems 5 years ago, but in reality, i am not so sure. if my math serves me correctly, that was around the time of his struggles with forrest/winky, and his confidence may not have been where it needed to be to defeat mayweather.
jabba (part ii), i totally agree, paul williams’ pressure and volume and size would present nightmares for mayweather. there is the chance that mayweather would counter/pot-shot him, but because of his chin and fighting heart, i could see him defeating money. the other man who could would be sergio martinez…he has the size, stamina, speed and physical strength to cause any man in the 147-160 range hella-problems. man, it really makes one wonder about margarito’s win over him early in his career…was that in fact tainted?
I could even see a stoppage with Mosley’s corner throwing in the towl early so their fighter is not hurt anymore. Youth will win out in this one.
I am not sure why you gave Mosley a knock for inactivity. Mayweather has had 1 fight in 2 1/2 years.
@Jeff, Not a huge inactivity knock, but one nonetheless. I think his more fight-weary body may take longer to re-start with the time-off than the younger, fresher Mayweather’s. Interesting that you mention the possibility of a Mayweather stoppage…if that happens, Mayweather’s stock will grow, even in the eyes of his hate club.
true ja, but if you can recall mayweather wasn’t the fighter he is today either. in fact i think it would have been a perfect time for those guys to get together with mosley being a heavy favorite with a lot less ring-wear, i mean mosley has been in some real wars over the last 5 years and has performed admirably i must add. even to this day mosley ranks #3or4 on my favorite fighter list. in regards to a mayweather stoppage “not” mosley does not know the meaning of quit and always brings his “A game to the dance i just believe he’s significantly out-classed in this one
I dunno Jabbo, I think Mayweather was still at the top of his game, and Mosley was kinda treading water in his career, and lost in his most recent bouts against a top-tier fighters (Cotto, Wright); somewhat used-up versions of Mayorga and Vargas do not count (yet he still had shocking problems with Mayorga). I would’ve favored Mayweather then too, but probably at about the same rate as I do now…but more for the mental advantage rather than the ring wear one.
I’ll give you cred for going out on a limb and stating that Mosley is woefully out-classed here. Most pundits do not feel the same way. I will say that I agree with you that Money wins a solid decision against sugar though…I’ll give you props if a corner stoppage happens for sure.
This guy said it best. Shane, do us proud!!
http://www.maxboxing.com/news/main-lead/why-mosley-wins
Well… that was awkward… You were right, Mayweather is unstoppable. At this point, I don’t even care about a Manny fight with Money. It will just be another outmatched opponent. Sugar, it’s time to hang up the gloves.
@Gabriel: Yes, it looks like Mayweather would befuddle anyone from 147 pounds on down. And perhaps handle most 154 lbers. I still think Pacquiao and his physical brilliance could be interesting, and obviously it’s the biggest fight that can be made in combat sports period. It kinda has to happen. Other interesting fights for Floyd would be against bigger men at 154 (Paul Williams and/or Sergio Martinez). Other than that, he’s pretty un-touchable in this weight range.