By Michael Iurato: In Boxing like any other sport there is always critics and un-answered questions about the caliber of an era and its warriors within it. Floyd Mayweather is probably the most “Question Marked” fighter of our time. Undefeated in 40 outings many of us sit with curiosity on why he has not fought in what we may feel are fighters that can kink his fighting style or give him the run that we all as boxing enthusiasts deserve to see. For years Floyd has hand picked his battles, but there does come a time where you are backed in a corner and even Floyd would have to punch his way out of it. The complete torching to possibly one of the greatest fights of our time was dusted due to Floyds request for a new drug testing policy during negotiations for PACQUIAO vs. MAYWEATHER..
After tickling our jugulars with a possible dance between the two, the dance floor was just as quickly roped off raising many eyebrows yet again on Floyds fear factor. During this entire debacle there was one man waiting in the wings very patiently in which should be taken as serious as a heart attack. That man is Sugar Shane Mosley. After Mayweather became under fire due to what happened during negotiations with PAC-MAN, he was now finding himself backed into a corner with Mosley. You can avoid one great fighter and raise a few eyebrows, but you can’t avoid 2 greats and expect to hold valid water any longer. This fight was destiny for both fighters. A chance for Mosley to capture pound for pound supremacy once again and a chance for Floyd to prove to us that he is everything that he claims to be.
The Keys for Mosley:
For Mosley to win this fight he needs to keep his mistakes extremely limited if not damn near perfect. In his fight against Antonio Margerito in which was nothing short of brilliant, he still can’t expect to do what he did there and have the same outcome. Margerito is an extremely hittable fighter in which enjoys to bang and isn’t very slippery at all. He welcomes a war and Mosley will always oblige to a war. With that said Mayweather is probably the best defensive fighter right now. He will never engage in anyway, shape, or form if he doesn’t feel pressured enough. Floyd’s mindset is very simple. He is a counter puncher and engages after he is engaged upon with hopes of his opponent missing and leaving an open window for him to start tacking on points with the judges. The problem with most fighters that fight Floyd is that they become so frustrated with his style that they loose sight of the blue print and fall into his trap. A fighter will try to attack so aggressively after awhile that it becomes sloppy leaving them exposed. Floyd is extremely slippery and fast. He is smart and has fantastic ring awareness. He knows where he is at all times and utilizes his speed to set himself up in safer areas of the ring. If you think your going to beat Mayweather in the middle of the ring than you are sorely mistaking. Mayweather needs to be pressured to the ropes every second possible and not any part of the ropes will do either. So many times Mayweather is put against the middle of the ropes and his slippery style allows him to move laterally left or right to turn his fighter and find daylight. Mosley needs to set him up and immediately move him to the closest corner. The way Mosley utilizes his jab will determine getting him to the corner, what happens when he gets him there, and for how long he will be able to keep him there. Mosley has to keep his punches sharp and direct when Floyd is in position. He needs to square up and throw crisp combinations of tight body shots to soften up Floyds guard to open targets to his head. When Floyd tries to escape either left or right Mosley must favor that side with one or two flavoring punches to bring him back in position. If Floyd realizes that he cant escape he will do what any fighter would do which is fight their way out. In doing so he too will become exposed and Mosley should and will win those exchanges. Mosley is an extremely intelligent fighter as well and knows he can knock out Floyd, but he needs not to fall into the trap. He needs to stick to his blue print and when he smells blood he needs to unload and not sit back. The only problem with all this stated above is the tremendous amount of cardio and energy this will cost Mosley. At 38 years of age it is not going to be an easy task especially in the later rounds.
The predator always utilizes much more gas quicker than the prey, while the prey utilizes it much more efficiently. But at the end of the day Mayweather needs to be bullied and he needs to be forced to fight. Castillo forced him to fight and in many people eyes Floyd lost that fight. Zab Judah also shook Floyd up a bit with his equal speed and lack of respect for Floyds style. The key to their success against Floyd was setting him up with the jab and creating their own openings, because Floyd wont give you many. For Zab his speed allowed him to use sharp combinations to create these openings. For Castillo it was his sheer desire to put Floyd in a corner and open his own holes with his punches. Mosley can do both and that can be a very dangerous threat to Floyd.
If Mosley can encapsulate this blue print than I strongly believe that he can and will knock out Floyd Mayweather. If he doesn’t then we are possibly in for another expose of Mayweather and his ability to avoid a tarnished career. He in return should earn at least half the credit that he feels deserved. The other half is being held by a man named Manny Pacquiao.. Enjoy the Fight and Long Live The Sweet Science…