Mayweather vs. Mosley is a fight that a lot of fans have waited a long time for. Unfortunately for those who are backing Shane Mosley, it's a fight that would have been a lot more competitive 4 years ago, when Mayweather was originally hoping to make the fight, but Mosley opted to go on vacation to deal with a "toothache" instead. That being said, the fight should still be interesting in the first few rounds as Mosley will have his moments. After about the 4th round, however, he'll begin to tire, he'll begin to hold and he'll begin to look like the 38-year-old fighter that he really is.
Don't be fooled by the number of right hands that Mosley was landing on a one-dimensional Antonio Margarito. After being caught with illegal hand wraps, the Tijuana Tornado looked more like the Tijuana Tumbleweed, perhaps thinking more about what was going to happen to him after the fight as opposed to what was happening to him during the fight. Make no mistake about it...Floyd Mayweather is no Antonio Margarito! If you're banking on Mosley landing any of those same punches on May 1st, you better think again; the elusive Mayweather will not be standing right in front of him just to get hit.
Mayweather is also no Miguel Cotto and no Ricardo Mayorga, two fighters who both had success outboxing Mosley, albeit with different outcomes. Floyd Mayweather is the most technically skilled boxer on the planet, and that does not bode well for a guy like Mosley, who has a history of struggling against boxers who put a jab in his face and showed him some movement. It worked for Vernon Forrest, it worked for Winky Wright, it worked for Miguel Cotto and it will work for Floyd Mayweather. Even fighters who have lost to Mosley, like Oscar De La Hoya, had a great deal of success frustrating him with their movement behind a consistent jab. If Mayweather ever admitted to watching tapes of his opponents, you can bet that footage from all of those bouts were intricately studied to formulate a simple gameplan that even Ricardo Mayorga almost pulled off.
Although I was initially thinking Mayweather by 12th round stoppage, Mosley's not an idiot, so I don't think he'll put himself in a position to get stopped if he knows he's clearly down on the scorecards. After an entertaining first 3 rounds, Mayweather will have him figured out and begin to pick him apart. You can't teach an old dog new tricks and I don't think trainer Naazim Richardson has worked with Mosley long enough to teach him how to make adjustments in the middle of a fight, which ultimately has been Shane Mosley's biggest weakness. Eventually, I suspect Mosley will shut it down after about the 7th round and just look to go the distance.
So I'm picking Floyd Mayweather by unanimous decision. Easy work! Well, maybe not easy, but I do think it's going to be a lot easier than people expect.
Who R U Picking?
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]