MOSLEY WILL SHOCK THE WORLD

Mosley wants to shock the world, says trainer

SOURCE: gmanews.tv

To those who may not be fretting at all about the Manny Pacquiao-Sugar Shane Mosley fight, Naazim Richardson said they may be in for the biggest surprise of their lives.

He opines that although nearing 40 this year and looking average in his last two fights, Mosley has what it takes to pull off a stunning upset against the world’s top fighter today when they square off in the ring at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada five months from now.

Richardson, the soft-spoken and well-respected trainer of Mosley, said the 39-year-old native of Pomona, California is definitely not going to let this big opportunity pass by without giving Pacquiao a good fight — a good fight which Mosley can translate into a shocking win.

“Shane’s got a chance to shock the world," said Richardson in an interview with the Examiner.

“You don’t get these opportunities. Very seldom do you get these opportunities. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Shane has to rise to the occasion."

Mosley edged long-time Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez and reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Andre Berto in the Pacquiao sweepstakes.

Mosley was personally handpicked by the Filipino ring icon and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.

It didn’t come as a surprise then that Pacquiao, 32, was readily installed as a heavy favorite in their welterweight fight. The pound-for-pound king was even picked at 9-1 odds.

But Richardson believes the underdog tag will work wonders for Mosley, a three-time champion, who is looking to give Pacquiao his first loss in the last six years.

“I look forward to the confrontation between those two, because you’ve got two outstanding fighters and two outstanding fighting spirits in Shane Mosley and Pacquiao," he said.

“I believe they are both committed to the project and committed to the sport. So, I think this is going to be a barnburner. I feel sorry for those who write it off thinking Shane is done. Then they’ve got to go back and see the replay."

Following his impressive stand against Antonio Margarito in a fight where Richardson caught the Mexican loaded with an illegal substance in his handwraps, Mosley looked mortal in his two fights last year against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Sergio Mora.

Although Mosley staggered Mayweather early in their non-title bout in Las Vegas, he lost the match by a lopsided 12-round decision.

Against Mora, a former world champion but obviously just an average fighter, Mosley was forced to a split draw.

But Richardson, a native of Philadelphia who also trains Bernard Hopkins, said all Mora did during the fight was to run and survive.

“The Mora fight was the kind of fight where Shane didn’t look good. Like Bernard (Hopkins) with Roy Jones, you can’t look good when a guy is not trying to fight you," he stressed.

While they are considering other places to serve as training camp, Richardson said training will most likely be held at the Big Bear in California.

Wherever it will be, Mosley’s trainer stressed that the American fighter is going to train doubly hard than he ever used to.

“In camp Shane is a dedicated athlete," said Richardson, a devout Muslim. “But older athletes have to fight differently because you don’t have the same reflexes that you did when you were 20 years old. There are adjustments that Shane must do to move on with his career."

PACQUIAO VS MOSLEY BETTING ODDS

Pacquiao is 9-1 betting favorite over Shane Mosley

SOURCE: JOSEF T. RAMOS THE MANILA TIMES

WITH five months left before the bout between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley begins, the Filipino world’s pound-for-pound king, as expected, is favored to win against the future hall of famer.

Pacquiao (52-3-2 win-loss-draw with 38 knockouts), according to www.fightype.com, is a 9-1 favorite to win the bout against the American Mosley that will be held in MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 7.

The 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1 with 39 knockouts), for his part, is confident to halt Pacquiao’s winning run since 2005.

Pacquiao’s latest citation—the 2010 Fighter of the Year by the Ring magazine for his impressive victory against Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito last year—is another big reason.

Sergio Martinez’s decision against Kelly Pavlik for the middleweight championship and his one-punch knockout win against Paul Williams were definitely impressive than any fights that happened in 2010.

But Pacquiao’s last year’s achievements remain on top after receiving 71-percent votes from the boxing fans. Martinez got only 24-percent votes, followed by the 2-percent votes each on Fernando Montiel and Juan Manuel Lopez.

“We’re in the era of Manny Pacquiao, though,” said Ring magazine’s Michael Rosenthal.

“The world’s greatest fighter is so popular—particularly among his passionate countrymen—that we knew with certainty that he would be the runaway winner of the award. Facts be damned.”

Rosenthal also claimed that Pacquiao overcame the odds when he fought and beat larger and heavier opponents.

“This isn’t to say that Pacquiao’s one-sided points victories over Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium and Antonio Margarito on November 13 in the same venue during the past year were insignificant,” he said.

“We don’t think much of the alphabet titles but to be a dominating fighter in eight of the 17 weight classes is remarkable,” said Rosenthal, referring to Pacquiao’s titles from flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, welterweight, lightweight up to the middleweight classes.

Mosley dangerous in early rounds

SOURCE: Ronnie Nathanielsz

Shane Mosley could pose no problem for Manny Pacquiao once the world’s pound for pound king handles him well in the early rounds.

“Mosley is a little bit dangerous early because he still got a bit of speed, but it should be a rather easy fight for Manny,” said American Rick Staheli, who trained Pacquiao in his first world title fight against WBC flyweight champion Chatchai Sasakul in 1998.

Staheli, in an interview with the Inquirer in Angeles City Saturday, added that Pacquiao will have to train seriously and if he does, he “should be able to do a job on Shane.”

Pacquiao is a solid favorite in his WBO welterweight title defense against the 39-year-old Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Defending the choice of Mosley, the former trainer of Pacquiao said there are not a lot of guys Manny can fight who are also marketable.

Staheli noted that Pacquiao deserves to get what some fight people believe is a comparative easy fight and a chance to make some money.

“I don’t care who you are in boxing. You’re biting off the toughest guy every time you fight, eventually you’re going to get beaten. It's nice to get an easy fight but I’m not saying it’s the easiest fight in the world but its easier than (Floyd) Mayweather,” he said.

MOSLEY WILL UPSET PACQUIAO - Naazim Richardson

Mosley trainer sees upset win

SOURCE: NICK GIONGCO


MANILA, Philippines — Just when you are about to count Shane Mosley out, the California-bred fighter always comes up with a huge performance, something his outspoken trainer believes will happen when the California-bred fighter faces Manny Pacquiao on May 7 in Las Vegas.

“I think the Pacquiao fight with Shane will give him a chance to do what he has done several times before,” Naazim Richardson told examiner.com.

Richardson stressed that Mosley has the uncanny ability to bounce back when people begin thinking he is about to assume the role of a cannon fodder.

“You’ve seen Shane lose to Vernon Forrest. (Ricardo) Mayorga slashed Vernon Forrest. Then Shane smashed Mayorga. You’ve seen Shane lose to (Miguel) Cotto. (Antonio) Margarito slashed Cotto. Then Shane smashed Margarito,” Richardson pointed out.

Describing Pacquiao as “a beast,” Richardson said the styles of the two combatants promise fight fans a treat at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The scheduled 12-round welterweight title match will be a “barnburner,” said Richardson, who plans to bring Mosley to Big Bear, California, a training facility 7,000 feet above sea level.

Richardson is positive that after the fight, those who have criticized Mosley for being down-the-hill and too old would eat their words.

Actually, Richardson doesn’t want them to eat crow and is just looking forward to saying four little words to their detractors: “I told you so.”

Pacquiao-Mayweather: The Latest Update in “Line’em Up, Knock’em Down”

SOURCE: Kevin Smith

Calling out and on Floyd Mayweather, Jr. to no response; Manny Pacquiao’s next welterweight title defense fight has been set against former champion Shane Mosley, May 7th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pacquiao seems to be doing exactly what was predicted after negotiations on the most recent Mayweather-Pacman meeting fell through earlier this year—calling out Mayweather by fighting until he agrees to a fight.

The trash talking from the Mayweather camp during and after the last negotiations and testing debacle has evaporated, especially as the number of Mayweather arrests and legal woes goes up; his latest occurring in Las Vegas, December 16th on a misdemeanor battery warrant.

One wonders if they could get as good a picture on their driver's license as Floyd takes in mug shots. Must be all the practice photo shoots.

Pacquiao is doing what he can to bring about the fight everyone wants, a fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and can only line-up the next opponent, knock him down, line-up the next … until Mayweather agrees to fight or the importance of the fight to Manny’s legacy eventually disappears with the possible tanking of Mayweather’s stature as a viable opponent.

Many Pacman followers, especially his countrymen, don’t think he has anything left to prove and even openly appeal to him to retire with his record of ten world titles in eight different weight divisions intact but, he seems determined in his current strategy to continue taking on all contenders angling for “the fight.”

No doubt Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank has no problem with the strategy since he’ll be milking it for all it’s worth along the way and is basically seen as doing so by many beginning with his setting of the May fight with Mosley with the a possibility of future bouts with Juan Manuel Marquez (who already had two thrilling brawls with Pacquiao that ended in controversial decisions) or even Andre Berto.

"I thought Mosley was the best draw of the three and it would do the best business," Arum said. Probably no truer words spoken by a fight promoter, notice the lack of “best fight” or “best contender” here. However, Mosley, a former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champion is no slouch and can be expected to provide an all out effort to beat the best-pound-for-pound boxer on the planet and reclaim some of his former glory after going 0-1-1 in his last two bouts.

Regardless who the opponent is, Pacman fans will once again be getting one thing they do want to see—Pacquiao Fighting!

MOSLEY TO GIVE TOOTHACHE FOR PACQUIAO

Why Sugar Shane Mosley can give Manny Pacquiao terrible toothache

SOURCE: Michael Marley

(Editor's Note: I've been meaning to post this well written letter from an ardent Sugar Shane Mosley fan since I got it on Dec. 2.

“Aaron” is typical of the cadre of Mosley followers, knowing that his talent is diminished by the passing years but still sincerely believing that SSM can “dig down deep” when he fights Pound for Pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao come May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Let's call them “Mosley's Millions” as it is my opinion that the 39 year old does have a bigger fan base than Juan Manuel Marquez.

It's not his fault but Andre Berto's fan base is miniscule but growing. Unfortunately, with his long absences from the ring and from not fighting formidable foes, that fan base has atrophied.

While I'm at it, how about Berto stepping up to 154 pounds to fight Sergio Martinez? They keep trying to foist Berto on us as a genuine superstar, well a victory over the dashing Argentina would make him all that and an extra large bag of chips.

As for “Aaron,” I thank him for his reasoned explanation of why he still thinks Mosley can be a danger man to Pacman.



Mr. Marley:

I have been a fan of yours forever and I still am but I think you should give Mr. Mosley a little more love than your article. True Sugar is not the same dynomo that dominated the early 2000 boxing game but styles do make fights.

Either Shane is living a lie or he really can muster one last swan song.

Take a look at his last two fights. Had he dropped one more right hand we would all be celebrating his p4p climb after his destruction of Floyd.

By the way, Floyd is the best if not one of the best fighters of the last century and I admit that even though I can't stand him.

Sergio Mora will make anybody look bad.

I look forward to chowing down on a nice plate of crow if Manny runs over Mosley but I doubt that.

Let the old West coast brotha' have his last stand Mr. Marley and cheer on the upset if Shane drops that hammer.

If he gets murdered he gets murdered.

All of us fans know that Golden Boy always treated Shane as a step child. Back in 2006 after asked if he would fight Mayweather he said he had a toothache?

Yeah right! That toothache was his boss Oscar. Shane was loyal to them.

So in closing, do not jump on the hate bandwagon.

As a Mosley fan I pull for the guy to go out balls to the wall. Manny forces you to go all out.

Maybe Shane needs this in order to dig deep again.

If he does not then he gets beat up and looks like Jason from the horror movies.

Take care and keep up the good articles we can agree to disagree.

Keep boxing alive my man.

A. Blount

West coast fan
#1 Shane Mosley Fan

Sent from my iPhone



Mr. Blount:



You are Blount and you are blunt.

You make a lot of sense.

One of boxing's most repeated themes is the old, greying warrior who sucks it up one last time and delivers a fight representative of his younger self.

It's no revelation to you, or to anyone else, when I say that I think Manny's fast feet and fast hands will bedevil Mosley.

That “hammer,” that additional right hand that would have left Mr. Mayweather flat on his back when he fought Mosley...well, why would Mosley be able to crack Pacquiao with it to even stun him let alone land a follow-up KO blow?

Pacman's darting in and out, side to side, will run Mosley ragged.

Your point about Mora is well taken. Fighting Mora is like trying to wrestle a deranged octopus.

At the end of the day in May, I think Mosley gets beaten but stands tall in his performance.

Mosley may be slower of hand, of foot and in all his reflexes, but he is no less proud than when he was beating Oscar De La Hoya not once but twice.

Mosley will not shame himself or mar his Hall Of Fame career, on that we can agree.

Happy New Year!

Knock out of the year 1989-1994

CREDIT TO ME

PACQUIAO TKO MOSLEY?

Can Pacquiao knock Mosley out?

SOURCE: Eddie Alinea

Okay, nobody wants boxing’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao to fight the over-the-hill Shane Mosley. Except, of course Top Rank bossman Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach and the “Pacman” himself.

An ESPN Sports Nation poll, in fact, revealed that Juan Manuel Marquez, whom the Filipino eight-division champion fought twice, would be the most desirable opponent for the reigning world welterweight and super-welterweight kingpin on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Outside of undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr., of course.


This is understandable because both Mayweather and Marquez, fans believe, stand a chance to beat the now Congressman from the Province of Sarangani and, perhaps, end his 15-year career.

Many critics of Pacquiao have been saying that all he does is fight Mayweather's left overs. Meaning, he fights opponents that Mayweather has already fought and defeated. True, but one must be reminded that Manny has been beating the hell these same opponents more impressively than Mayweather did.

For instance, boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya bowed to Pacquiao by not getting off his stool for the ninth round, while Mayweather could only earn a split decision triumph over the same guy.
Mayweather stopped Ricky Hatton only after 10 rounds. Pacquiao had an easier time sending the Brit to dreamland in only two rounds.

Still others argue that Mayweather completely dominated and taught Marquez a neat boxing lesson when the met while the Filipino struggled to a draw the first time they faced each other and a controversial split decision the next time. That is why a third and final fight with Marquez would make the most sense right now.

What Arum, Roach and Pacquiao want to remind critics in finalizing the fight against Mosley is that in their super-mega fight everyone was on his or her feet, shocked that Mosley was able to land such a big clean power shot to the face of Mayweather causing his knees to buckle and forcing him to hold on for life.

Although just like any other Mayweather fight, Floyd did what he knows how to do best and that is danced his way the rest of the way to salvage a victory although just like all 49 of Mosley's opponents, was not able to knock Sugar Shane out.

Mosley has never been stopped, the closest someone came to succeeding was the much taller, longer and heftier Vernon Forrest who had him in the most trouble in his whole career.
Does Mosley have a chance to cut short Pacquiao’s 13 straight winning run? Yes, of course, he still is dangerous for the first couple of rounds but if Pacquiao takes his training camp seriously, even an 80 percent Pacquiao he will prevail.

The bigger question, however, is will Manny be able to do what no other fighter was ever able to do and stop and knock out the Sugar Man? That is the only way, therefore, that those who do not believe in the wisdom of the match up can be justified.
Even if Manny overwhelms Mosley by a one sided decision, then many will say that he took Mosley at a time when his career is already on the downswing. And that victory would be an empty one.

Can Manny be the first to knock Mosley out? That remains to be seen.

Shane can break Pacquio - FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR: "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE MOSLEY-PACQUIAO FIGHT...SHANE CAN BUST HIM UP"

SOURCE: Percy Crawford

"I can't wait to see the Mosley-Pacquiao fight...I really am excited for that fight. I want to see how it's going to play out...I'm telling you now, Shane is going to hit Pacquiao with a big shot and it won't even buckle him man. Watch what I'm telling you now. And Shane is big and strong...

I've been around boxing for a long time and Pacquiao has been hurt by guys that don't punch nowhere near as hard as Shane and I bet Shane won't hurt him. He gonna walk through Shane's punches. If he beats Shane worse than my son did, then come on man; that's all I'm gonna say about that. I think a lot of people know something isn't right...I think Shane can bust him up because everyone busts Pacquiao up, but we will see if he can actually hurt him and possibly put him out. I'm really anxious to see how that fight plays out because that fight is going to tell us a lot," stated world-class trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. as he shared his thoughts on the May 7 clash between Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao. You don't want to miss what else he had to say about that fight as well as his thoughts on Amir Khan's win over Marcos Maidana and the draw between Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal. Check it out!

PC: What's up Big Floyd? Happy Holidays to you.

FM: Everything is good man. Happy Holidays to you too. How is everything going with you?

PC: I'm doing great man. I can't complain. I wanted to chat with you about some past fights and of course upcoming fights. Bernard Hopkins really turned back the clock in Canada. What did you think of his performance against Jean Pascal?

FM: Man. I'm going to be honest with you about that fight right there, Bernard looked better than he's looked in a long time and any time you get knocked down twice in a mother****er's backyard, in they hometown, that means you won that fight. I thought Bernard looked good. In fact, you would have to go back a long time to see the last time he looked that good.

PC: Would you say the Pavlik fight?

FM: Longer than that because I just was never that impressed with that guy [Pavlik], but ****, I would say the Trinidad fight.

PC: Damn Big Floyd, that was 9, close to 10 years ago.

FM: I'm telling you man, look at the way Bernard fought Pascal and then you look at how Chad fought him and it was night and day; not even close. He looked good man and I give him a lot of credit for that fight because boxing is a young man's sport and he looked like that against a young fighter. That says a lot. I liked the way he used his jab. I would have liked to see him use his jab a little bit more, but his footwork was good, his defense was good and the body work done the trick. Pascal went from running his ass off to standing still and that was because Bernard tore his ass up to the body early and often. That brought Pascal to a complete stand still. He couldn't run no more after he got touched up to the body. I told my man Lamar that the body work was going to catch up to Pascal and it did. Bernard did some good work in there. He got a draw, but everybody knows he won that damn fight.

PC: I know you attended Khan/Maidana. What are your thoughts on that fight?

FM: Man, I thought Amir Khan looked like dog ****. Everybody talk about how Freddie Roach made him a better fighter. Freddie Roach made him a worse fighter. He caught that guy with a nice shot early, but after that, all he did was ****ing run. He was running for his life in there and he's lucky it wasn't a 15 round fight like the old days or you know what would have happened to him? He would have been stopped. Khan looked like **** man. Man, let me tell you something man, Freddie Roach ain't did nothing for Khan. He looked like ****. He would stand still and throw a few punches and then start ****ing running again. I can't wait to see the Mosley-Pacquiao fight though.

PC: That was the fight I was going to ask you about next; seems like you're ready to see that fight.

FM: I really am excited for that fight. I want to see how it's going to play out. You know, I've never had a problem with Shane Mosley. I know he did his thing awhile back and he was a stand-up guy and admitted he took some things, but he is cool man. I sat next to him for the Pacquiao/Cotto fight and we were talking. Shane is a good guy, man. Of course I wanted him to lose to my son, and Oscar when I had him, but other than that, I've never really pulled against Shane. I know he is almost 40 and I think my son damaged him a little bit, but if he can get it together and really train hard...I know he's gonna train hard and fight hard because this is it for him, but if he can really put good work in, Pacquiao is there to be hit. ****, you can't miss him. But I'm telling you now, Shane is going to hit Pacquiao with a big shot and it won't even buckle him man. Watch what I'm telling you now. And Shane is big and strong; ****, he buckled Lil Floyd, but he won't even buckle this little mother****er. Come on, man. I've been around boxing for a long time and Pacquiao has been hurt by guys that don't punch nowhere near as hard as Shane and I bet Shane won't hurt him. He gonna walk through Shane's punches. If he beats Shane worse than my son did, then come on man; that's all I'm gonna say about that. I think a lot of people know something isn't right. If Floyd was doing the **** that Pacquiao is doing, as far as stopping these bigger guys and walking through there punches, they would have been investigated him. They would have buried Floyd. But I said it once and I will say it again, if Pacquiao agreed to the testing tonight, we would fight him tomorrow.

PC: So you think Shane can get some work done, but you don't think he can win?

FM: Pacquiao's so ****ing hittable because the mother****er don't move his head, but at this point, I don't know if Shane can hurt him. Cotto couldn't, Oscar couldn't, Clottey or Margarito. I think Shane can bust him up because everyone busts Pacquiao up, but we will see if he can actually hurt him and possibly put him out. I'm really anxious to see how that fight plays out because that fight is going to tell us a lot. Like I told you the last time, if everything is on the up and up, Lil Floyd beats 3 Manny Pacquiao's.

Eight different weight divisions champion

Pacquiao top story in boxing

SOURCE: Francis T.J. Ochoa

Popular sports magazine and website Sports Illustrated named the exploits of Manny Pacquiao as the biggest boxing story for 2010, a columnist for the online edition posted recently.

“He’s won major sanctioning-body titles in eight different weight classes, nearly half of the sport’s 17 divisions,” wrote Bryan Armen Graham on SI’s Inside Boxing. “He was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile in November, less than 12 months after being named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.”

Pacquiao fought twice this year, opening up 2010 by dominating Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas before annexing the WBC super welterweight crown with a 12-round annihilation of Mexican Antonio Margarito.

The victory over Margarito came almost a year after Pacquiao stopped Miguel Cotto in the 12th round of their WBO welterweight title, giving the Filipino ring icon an unprecedented seventh world title in seven divisions.

And also in the midyear national elections, Pacquiao won a seat in Congress, representing Sarangani province.

“He was elected to Congress in the Philippines in May and named Fighter of the Decade by the Boxing Writers Association of America in June,” wrote Graham. “He won as many fights at Cowboys Stadium (two) as the full-time tenants won football games during the whole 2010 season. He sings, he acts.”

It seems Pacquiao has indeed ran out of things to conquer, so much so that for 2011, with the fight against Floyd Mayweather still unclear, the Pacman will settle for a much-maligned outing against aging Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao’s drawing power also helped boxing return to big-stadium fights, a storyline that also made it to SI’s top boxing stories at No. 3.

“When Pacquiao fought Josh Clottey at Jerry Jones’ $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium in March, the official attendance was 50,994—greater than any fight in the United States over the past 50 years besides Ali-Spinks II at the Superdome in 1978 (63,350) and Whitaker-Chavez at the Alamodome in 1993 (59,995),” Graham wrote.

This marks the second time the country made it to the yearend list of Sports illustrated.

Earlier, the website ranked the Azkals, the Philippine football team, No. 10 in its list of top football stories for the year.

The national footballers earned the accolade after a surprising run to the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup, which included a 2-0 victory over defending champion Vietnam. The Azkals lost to Indonesia in the semifinals, but not after a strong stand against the regional heavyweight.

PACQUIAO WANTS TO KO MOSLEY

Pacquiao out to stop Mosley

SOURCE: MALAYA

FREDDIE Roach is convinced Manny Pacquiao will accomplish something no other fighter has been able to achieve—stop Shane Mosley—when they clash on May 7 (May 8 in the Philippines) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Roach told Chris LaBate of Boxingscene.com that stopping Mosley "won’t be easy" but added he is convinced Pacquiao has what it takes.

Mosley, 39, has been sent down only once in his career, by Vernon Forrest in 2002. Known to have a tough chin, Mosley has fought some of the biggest names in the sport, among them Winky Wright, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricardo Mayorga, Antonio Margarito, Fernando Vargas and others. The only fighter who had him seriously hurt was Forrest.

"Shane is a very durable guy. He has a good chin. It won’t be easy but I think we can stop him in the late rounds. It won’t be an easy fight. When he beat Margarito, everyone thought he was the best fighter at welterweight. We’re going to train very hard for this fight. We don’t take any opponent lightly," LaBate quoted Roach as saying.

Mosley watched good friend Bernard Hopkins in action against Jean Pascal at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec, Canada, and was inspired when Hopkins, 45, battled back from two knockdowns to beat his 28-year-old opponent.

Most boxing insiders believed Hopkins has long been over the hill, and the same comments are now being made about Mosley, according to Lem Satterfield of Boxingscene.com.

"They thought that Bernard Hopkins was over the hill, but I knew that he would work hard to win the fight. Pascal had called him out, thinking that it was right time to get Bernard Hopkins," Satterfield quoted Mosley as saying.

"But it turned out that was not true. I figured that Bernard would win, and I figured that he would win by knockout because of his experience and because I know the type of person that he is. I’m definitely encouraged by that."

Hopkins has questioned the lack of African-American opponents on Pacquiao’s record. He now gets his wish, a Mosley-Pacquiao fight.

PUBLIC DON'T WANT PACQUIAO-MOSLEY

Boxing experts, fans cold to Pacquiao-Mosley fight

SOURCE: Kate V. Pedroso

MANILA, Philippines—If Manny Pacquiao is surfing the Web, he just might want to duck for cover.

Criticisms of the Filipino boxing king’s May 7 fight with 39-year-old American Shane Mosley are rising like a tsunami on the Internet, with ring experts and fans alike denouncing it as a slap on boxing.

Some fans urged Pacquiao to pick another opponent while one Facebook user launched a page calling for a boycott of the fight.

The attacks were triggered by Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum’s announcement earlier this month that boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter would defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown in Las Vegas against Mosley, a former champion in three divisions.

Arum called Mosley “the most accomplished and famous boxer in the field of candidates.”

Other boxers considered for the title fight were Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico and World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Andre Berto, an undefeated American.

On his blog on ESPN.com, Dan Rafael, ESPN.com’s boxing writer, wrote: “From day one Top Rank promoter Bob Arum had an agenda when it came to making Manny Pacquiao’s next fight. He wanted to match him with Shane Mosley, and that is what he did, and he doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks.”

In his entry titled “Pacquiao-Mosley a bad fight for boxing,” Rafael said: “Arum doesn’t care. He only wants to do what is best for himself, certainly not for boxing.”

Rafael described Mosley as an “aging fighter” who does not have “a great chance to win” against Pacquiao. He called the fight “a disservice to real boxing fans who actually care about match-ups and not just a famous but faded name.”

Rafael said Mosley “couldn’t pull a trigger at all” when he fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May and that his fight with Sergio Mora in September ended in a “putrid draw.”

“A one-sided loss and a draw in an awful fight are not supposed to be how you land a fight with the pound-for-pound king and the sport’s most popular fighter,” Rafael said.

He said Pacquiao “should have put his foot down and demanded a better fight.”

User The Heat1960 wrote: “As a boxing fan and huge Manny Pacquiao fan, (I’m) seriously disappointed.… It is Juan Manuel Marquez who deserves this opportunity, not Shane Mosley.”

“I am disgusted and I will boycott this and I hope others follow suit! Fans need to stand up and tell Arum and Pacquiao we will not stand for this!”

Another user, l2daro, commented, “I’m a huge Pacquiao fan but this is a slap in the face for boxing fans.”

Articles slamming the May 7 match have been posted on other websites.

In an article on boxing fansite Badlefthook.com, Scott Christ wrote: “I really don’t think [Mosley] has a shot.… It’s not even just that Shane isn’t what he used to be; it’s that Manny Pacquiao is too good for him anymore.”

Pierre Grimm, in an article posted on Nowboxing.com, said: “Manny Pacquiao is someone I enjoy watching fight, and supported, but I cannot support this fight with Shane Mosley, because we want to see someone who deserves a shot at Manny to fight Manny, not just someone with a big name who will bring in the big dollars.”

Pacquiao, now a congressman and three times a billionaire, earned about $25 million—or P1.1 billion—when he pummeled Mexican Antonio Margarito for 12 rounds in November. That translates to $694,000, or P30.5 million, per minute of boxing.

A fan site dedicated to Pacquiao—www.mannypacquiaovs.com—also expressed opposition to the Mosley fight. Its header, in big, bold letters, reads: “The fans worldwide have spoken. No to Mosley fight!”

The Twitter page of the website @mannypacquiaovs said: “We’d rather see Pacquiao retire (than) go to a b-sh-t fight with [Shane Mosley].”

Social networking site Facebook has also been buzzing with comments.

On HBO Boxing’s “Shane vs. Pacman” discussion board on Facebook, user Ed Jordan wrote: “I think Shane is damaged goods. Pacman wins easy. And Uncle Bob, I will not pay for it.”

Another user, Marco Angelo M. Garduque, shared the same view: “I guess this will be a one-sided game to Pacman.”

User Eric Garcia demanded another opponent for Pacquiao. “I don’t like this fight. I prefer seeing [Pacquiao] against Berto,” he said.

A “Boycott Pacquiao-Mosley” Facebook page has also been created. As of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, 25 people have “liked” the page.

Amid all the criticisms, some Pacquiao fans have remained undaunted.

One boxing fan site, theboxingpost.com, said: “Should we get excited about [Pacquiao] taking on Mosley? In a word—yes! In the same way we loved to watch [Muhammad] Ali, [Sugar Ray] Leonard and [Mike] Tyson, because they were fighting, we now just want to see Manny Pacquiao, the opponent is secondary.”

Pacquiao has said he was not taking the Mosley fight lightly. “This is not an easy fight. I need at least eight weeks to train for the Mosley fight,” he said.