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SHANE MOSLEY: "ME BEING ABLE TO HIT HIM IS GOING TO BE HIS WORST NIGHTMARE"

By Ben Thompson | February 10, 2011
SHANE MOSLEY:

"I know what I can do to him. I know that I can hit him. I know that when I hit him, it can be very deadly to him. He's never been hit by another guy like me. I'm pretty fast; it's not like I'm slow. I'm pretty fast, so I think that me being able to hit him is going to be his worst nightmare. I've been in the ring with people that throw a lot of punches, for years, so it's not like something I haven't seen before; you know, rapid punches and somebody that's active and throws a lot of punches. I mean, I've seen that before, just like I've seen the guys coming right at me like when I fought Margarito. I've seen that before. This style, even though he's different in a lot of ways and he does different things, I've seen that type of hustle in fighters before and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to land some good shots on him and get him in trouble," stated three-division world champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley, who spoke with FightHype.com less than 24 hours before the official press conference tour kicks off later today in Los Angeles to promote his upcoming May 7th showdown with pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao. Check out what else he had to say about the fight and much more before the 3-city, cross-country promotional blitz begins.

BT: What's going on Sugar?

SM: Just chillin' out; getting ready for this press conference.

BT: Yeah man. It's less than 24 hours away before everything becomes officially official (laughing). You pumped?

SM: Yeah, that sounds so good; it's a beautiful thing. We both got those contracts signed, so we good. First LA, Vegas Saturday, which is open to the public so I want all the fans to come out, and then New York.

BT: I assume the press conferences are going to be pretty cordial. It's not like you two are going to be poppin' off at each other, right?

SM: I think so. I mean, anything can happen, but things should be pretty much regular. Freddie Roach might pop off a little bit though.

BT: You think so?

SM: You know Freddie Roach likes to pop off a little bit every now and then; he slips something out all the time. Then you might have Antonio Leonard or James Prince say a few words, but for the most part, I think it's going to be pretty regular. It should be regular, but you never know. I know there's going to be a couple of jabs thrown at me here and there, but I'm used to it now (laughing).

BT: I'm sure Manny's going to be cheesing and smiling, trying to use that to his advantage to make you think he's a nice guy (laughing).

SM: I mean, he is friendly, but he's just a warrior. I understand that. He's a competitor, just like I am, so I'm not tripping on the smiling. I know what's behind it.

BT: Is that easy to turn that switch on and off, being a nice guy outside of the ring, but a beast inside of it?

SM: Yeah, because you want to win, you know? I mean, you become a true competitor and I think me and Manny are alike on that. We're both competitors. This right here will be a good one for me to win because so many people are doubting; so many people are thinking differently, so I love to shock people sometimes.

BT: Well you're definitely going to have an opportunity to shock them. I'm still trippin' on those 10 to 1 odds.

SM: I'm trying to figure out how I can place my own bet because I know what I can do to him. I know that I can hit him. I know that when I hit him, it can be very deadly to him. He's never been hit by another guy like me. I'm pretty fast; it's not like I'm slow. I'm pretty fast, so I think that me being able to hit him is going to be Manny's worst nightmare. I've been in the ring with people that throw a lot of punches, for years, so it's not like something I haven't seen before; you know, rapid punches and somebody that's active and throws a lot of punches. I mean, I've seen that before, just like I've seen the guys coming right at me like when I fought Margarito. I've seen that before. This style, even though he's different in a lot of ways and he does different things, I've seen that type of hustle in fighters before and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to land some good shots on him and get him in trouble.

BT: I'm sure you're going to land some good shots on him because if Margarito could touch him...

SM: (Cutting in) I know I can touch him. And not only that, I hit harder than Margarito. Margarito, you know, he hits alright; he's pretty good. Margarito is the type of guy that hits you and hits you and hits you and pretty soon, you start feeling it, and then he knocks you out. If I hit you with one shot, you could be on queer street. So that's the difference between me and Margarito's punching power. He builds up the shots on you and pretty soon, you find yourself on the floor. That's how he knocked out a lot of his guys; he bruised them with activity and I understood that. I'm the type of guy, when I hit you, you're going to feel it. I mean, it could be over in the first or second round.

BT: I hear Manny is taking you very seriously and still looks at you as that same guy who moved up and shocked the world when you beat De La Hoya.

SM: Oh yeah? Okay. Well that's good because that's what he's going to be looking at. I watched him and Oscar fight and he looked pretty good in that fight; he looked sharp and stuff, so it's definitely going to be a great match-up. I'm happy because now I'm fighting somebody shorter than me. Before, I fought everybody taller than me and bigger than me. Now I'm fighting somebody shorter than me and maybe a little smaller. That's a great feeling.

BT: I'm sure you've run into Manny before, but will this press conference be the first time you've had a chance to size yourself up to him?

SM: Nah. I've seen Manny at Wild Card a couple of times when he was getting ready to fight Hatton or Oscar. I mean, I've seen him a few times; we took a few pictures when we kinda seen each other. I think Manny might have been fighting Cotto or...I mean, I've seen him here and there. It's not like the first time. I saw him after the Margarito fight. I guess this will be the first time that we're looking at each other eye to eye for a fight. Usually we're just friendly like, "Hey, how you doing?" I mean, we're still going to be friendly I guess, but it's going to be different moreso now because we're competing.

BT: You've got to be amped now that the press tour is about to kick off and the fight promotion is getting started.

SM: I'm definitely amped and it's not even directed towards Pacquiao. I'm amped just to get out there and beat him. I'm excited to go in there and beat him and show these people. I mean, they think I'm a joke or something? Okay. We'll see.

BT: Yeah man, that's gotta be a little irritating to see people just count you out despite all the big fights you've had and all the former world champions you've faced. I mean, I've seen some crazy shit written out there; articles talking about fearing for your life and shit like that.

SM: (Laughing) Well, you know what's funny? I think I've seen the same article, but they were saying the same thing when I fought Margarito. I even had some of my friend's friends calling and saying, "Do you think Shane is going to be alright when he fights Margarito? You know Margarito keeps coming. He's so strong. He hits hard. Is Shane going to be alright? He might get hurt." That's what some people were telling my friend about me before the Margarito fight. Well, then after the fight, you see I couldn't get a fight for over a year. Hopefully this time, when I do what I do, I'll be able to fight again a lot sooner!

CLICK HERE FOR PART 2 OF THIS INTERVIEW WITH "SUGAR" SHANE MOSLEY



[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]

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