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[D-MARV]

By Mark Vester

Leonard Ellerbe, advisor to Floyd Mayweather Jr., told the Los Angeles Times that Shane Mosley would be their prime target if negotiations to make a fight with Manny Pacquiao fall apart. Mayweather is looking for the biggest financial opportunities out there, and the two biggest are Pacquiao and Mosley. Bob Arum of Top Rank and Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions [acting on behalf of Mayweather] are going to do their best to make a deal for a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout. Mosley has to win his January 30 welterweight unification with Andre Berto to keep the Mayweather possibility alive.

"If the fight can't be made [with Pacquiao], we'll fight Shane Mosley if he can get past Berto," Ellerbe said.

Negotiations for Mayweather-Pacquiao will be tough. Mayweather wants the bulk of the money, and so does Pacquiao. Ellerbe doesn't seem to care if Pacquiao's pay-per-view with Miguel Cotto lands a higher buyrate than Mayweather's bout with Juan Manuel Marquez. He stands with Mayweather's position of Marquez bringing very little to the table in terms of pay-per-view buys.

"It's no secret the camps don't see eye to eye, but this is bigger than boxing," Ellerbe said. "We understand the magnitude of this."

"The numbers don't lie, people do," Ellerbe said. "[Pacquiao] had good numbers, God bless him, but he had a dance partner [Cotto] this time."

[thehype]

I see Berto being able to accomplish a better strategy than Mayorga did...and if Mayorga can find success, I think Berto's running and clinching could EASILY earn him a decision. I hope I'm wrong, but man, everything about this fight just seems like a setup for Shane to be upset.

I mean, yeah, Shane clobbered Margarito, but Margarito's strategy against Shane was on par with Ricky Hatton's strategy against Pacquiao. On the other hand, Shane didn't exactly put a beatdown on Cotto, Collazo, Jose Luis Cruz or David Estrada. Hell, he was barely even putting a beatdown on Mayorga, who can't box worth a lick.

I'm just sayin....don't be surprised when those scorecards are read.

[Lil-lightsout]

Hell, he was barely even putting a beatdown on Mayorga, who can't box worth a lick.

If that is the case, please tell me how Mayorga outpointed the purely skilled fighter in Forrest in the rematch? I mean you would think Forrest should have easily outboxed Mayorga, but he couldn't. And Forrest was in his prime.

I seriously think Mosley might have trouble at first with Berto's speed and skills. But I just think with Naz, Shane is now at a different level than with his dad. I just do not see Berto being able to take Shane's punches. I guess we will see in 2 months what Mosley we get.

[thehype]

If that is the case, please tell me how Mayorga outpointed the purely skilled fighter in Forrest in the rematch? I mean you would think Forrest should have easily outboxed Mayorga, but he couldn't. And Forrest was in his prime.

He didn't...I actually had Forrest winning the rematch, regardless of what the judges said.

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But that's besides the point. Vernon went in there tentative due to the first fight, giving Mayorga just enough respect to allow him to fight his fight, which is usually an ugly brawl with him swinging wildly and landing some awkward, but effective punches. Surely you're not trying to imply that Mayorga was a more skilled boxer than Vernon Forrest, are you? When Forrest was boxing, he was getting the better of Mayorga....where he made his mistake is when he opted to exchange with Mayorga, which allowed Mayorga to bank more rounds in the eyes of the judges. Just because he won on the scorecards doesn't mean he "outboxed" Forrest.

I mean, I'm not saying that a less skilled fighter can't win a fight...I'm just saying that it's very rare to see a less skilled fighter using his jab effectively to control a fight, which is what Mayorga was actually doing against Mosley.

I seriously think Mosley might have trouble at first with Berto's speed and skills. But I just think with Naz, Shane is now at a different level than with his dad. I just do not see Berto being able to take Shane's punches. I guess we will see in 2 months what Mosley we get.

A different level? Shane's not at a different level. He just actually has a gameplan now when he goes into fights. You can't teach an old dog new trickes. He still does the same stuff he's always done...that flicking jab, the wicked left hook to the body and the overhand right...the only difference now is that he has a guy in his corner who can give him the right strategy to implement. Thus far, we saw that union work perfectly aginst Antonio Margarito...but I mean, it was Antonio Margarito, who isn't exactly the best boxer when it comes to technique. Don't get me wrong, Shane deserves credit for the impressive win, but in my opinion, his performance was helped by the fact that Margarito went right at him without even using his jab. Stick a jab in Shane's face and he gets flustered. It'll be up to Brother Naaz to get Shane to adjust, but I'm afraid Berto's particular style, with his running and clinching, might be all it takes to survive an ugly fight and win a decision.

For everyone who keeps talking about Berto not being able to take his punches....I mean....I really hope you guys are right. I like Shane and all, but the only guys he's stopped or "destroyed" in the past 8 years are Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. Think about that for a second. Since losing to Venon Forrest, he's fought 10 different opponents and only stopped 3 of them...1 (Mayorga) in the final seconds of the bout and the other (Vargas) was wrecked before he stepped into the ring. Call me crazy, but I think Berto has an excellent chance of being one of the other 7 guys and going the distance with Shane...and if it goes the distance, don't be surprised to hear those scorecards.

[Keith]

For everyone who keeps talking about Berto not being able to take his punches....I mean....I really hope you guys are right. I like Shane and all, but the only guys he's stopped or "destroyed" in the past 8 years are Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas. Think about that for a second. Since losing to Venon Forrest, he's fought 10 different opponents and only stopped 3 of them...1 (Mayorga) in the final seconds of the bout and the other (Vargas) was wrecked before he stepped into the ring. Call me crazy, but I think Berto has an excellent chance of being one of the other 7 guys and going the distance with Shane...and if it goes the distance, don't be surprised to hear those scorecards.

How many of them were at 147? I think your looking back too far. I'm only looking at Collazo on.... and in those fights it appears to me that welters arent exactly estatic abut trading with Shane Mosley. He knocked Collozo down (awkward as it looked) and won a clear decision, banged around with Cotto and had him retreating despite the loss, and ko'd the seemingly indestructible Margarito.

Who bangs harder then Mosley at 147?

[thehype]

How many of them were at 147? I think your looking back too far. I'm only looking at Collazo on.... and in those fights it appears to me that welters arent exactly estatic abut trading with Shane Mosley. He knocked Collozo down (awkward as it looked) and won a clear decision, banged around with Cotto and had him retreating despite the loss, and ko'd the seemingly indestructible Margarito.

Which ones were at 147? Well, let's see....

Miguel Cotto
Luis Collazo
Jose Luis Cruz
David Estrada

All welterweight that went the distance. In fact, ironically, the only welterweight that hasn't gone the distance with Shane since he returned to the division is Margarito. I mean, I kind of HAVE to look back that far because other than Margarito, Cotto and Collazo, the only other guys Shane has fought in the past four years were Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas, two guys who I don't think much of as far as their abilities post-Trinidad. I mean, that's great that knocked Collazo down (as awkward as it looked), but Collazo was fighting him with one hand...not to take anything away from Shane, but I'm just not as impressed with that victory as others seem to be. Cotto, well, you just said it...he had Cotto "retreating" and on the run those last few rounds, and yet the muddasucka was STILL able to pull out a victory? I mean, if Cotto can bank enough early rounds to literally run in the end and still win a decision, then shit, I like Berto's chances A LOT to be able to do the exact same thing...win some early rounds based off of some flashy combinations and then run and hold his way to a decision. As for Margaritos...pffffffff....you obviously haven't been reading enough of my posts to understand how little I thought of Margarito.

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Who bangs harder then Mosley at 147?

THE Pacquiao! That's who!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!