By James Slater: Superstar Manny Pacquiao made his arrival in Las Vegas late last night, and is reportedly settled into his luxury suit at The Mandalay Bay. In great condition as always, Pac-Man will be met by trainer Freddie Roach soon. As he always does, Roach has made a pre-fight prediction: this one not settling on any exact round his charge will win in, merely saying Pacquiao will make a fast start and that Mosley will begin to fade as a result.
Speaking with The Philippine Star, Roach said the quicker his fighter starts against the soon-to-be-40-year-old, the sooner Mosley will begin to break down.
“The thing is that it will be a fast start,” Freddie said. “Shane will fade and I think we can get him around a time frame of rounds five to seven. Manny will go out there really quick and if he does what he can do, he can end it if he wants to. Three rounds? I’d love that.”
Most fans – diehard Mosley fans aside – agree how Pac-Man is so much the faster man, therefore a quick win cannot be ruled out. Mosley is still fast himself of course, and he is the bigger, possibly more powerful man. There is then, a chance Pacquiao could walk onto something as he attempts to take his man out; attempting to become the first fighter to do so. Roach says his fighter is prepared to go the full 12-rounds if he needs to.
“We’re ready to go 12. Whatever it takes is fine with us,” he said before leaving for Vegas in his car.
Maybe, if we’re lucky (and seeing as how Roach mentions a possible three-round fight), we will be treated to a Hagler-Hearns type slugfest on Saturday night. Mosley has said he will start fast himself and he can still hit very hard. Maybe, if he can catch Pac-Man, Mosley will hurt, even stagger the Pound-for-Pound king. It would be a real sensation if Mosley were to hurt Pacquiao the way he hurt Floyd Mayweather just over a year ago. But can Mosley avoid the slow-but-sure fade Roach talks of?
How much has Mosley got left? Pacquiao, who has spoken of having as many as five more fights after May 7th, clearly has plenty left. This fight is sure to be “Sugar” Shane’s last hurrah. Let’s hope the action does not turn into the kind of sad affair we saw when the great Muhammad Ali had his “Last Hurrah,” against Larry Holmes in 1980.
Has Mosley made the mistake so many greats of the past have, in sticking around too long? If he is as “shot” as some people claim he is, Mosley will be found out quickly by Pac-Man. And Roach will have made yet another accurate pre-fight prediction. But if, as he claims and has claimed until being sick of saying it, Mosley has more than enough fire left inside, we could be in store for a performance that rolls back the years. Erik Morales, thought by many to be even more faded that Mosley, almost pulled it off against Marcos Maidana last month. Maybe Mosley has one last great fight left in him too.