"Oh yeah, I've been sparring; a long time ago. I've been sparring with everybody basically. They put 'em in one at a time and everybody goes like a round with me; one round and then I go to the next guy. They go as hard as they can go and then another guy comes in the next round. We're working hard...I've watched him live, I've watched him workout, I've watched him at the Wild Card gym, so I've watched him at different places. I'm pretty familiar with what he does and what he likes to do...I got a lot of the Filipino fans riled up now," stated three-division world champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley, who gave us an update on how training camp is going for his upcoming May 7th showdown with Manny Pacquiao. Check out what else he had to say.
BT: What's going on Shane?
SM: Just training and working hard, you know?
BT: How's training camp going? Have you started sparring yet?
SM: Oh yeah, I've been sparring; a long time ago. I've been sparring with everybody basically. They put 'em in one at a time and everybody goes like a round with me; one round and then I go to the next guy. They go as hard as they can go and then another guy comes in the next round. We're working hard.
BT: When you guys are studying tapes on Manny, do you bother looking at his fights from the lower weights or are you just focusing on his fights since he moved up to 140 and 147?
SM: I look at everything. I just finished watching him fight Marquez the second time. I watch everything to see how he moves, what he's successful at, what he's not successful at, you know? I pretty much watch it all. I like to watch a lot of tapes. I can see different things and capitalize on it, so with this right here, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be pretty good with landing a lot of punches on him. Once I hit him, he's not going to feel nothing like this before.
BT: You've also had the benefit of being at a lot of his fights live and in person, right?
SM: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've watched him live, I've watched him workout, I've watched him at the Wild Card gym, so I've watched him at different places. I'm pretty familiar with what he does and what he likes to do.
BT: Do you think it's more beneficial seeing him live and in person as opposed to viewing him on tape, or does it even matter?
SM: Actually, I mean, I don't know if it really makes a difference. Really, you have to be in there with the guy to really understand what they're doing. I used to watch a guy spar and fight, and I'm like, "Man, this guy cannot hit and he doesn't really look that good." And then when you get in there with him, you're dead tired after three or four rounds. You gotta know how they move their feet and all that stuff, so I just gotta be prepared. I see different things that I can see from the outside, but when I get in there, then I'll really, really know what's going on.
BT: Is everything on point as far as your weight is concerned?
SM: Yeah, I'm in striking distance. I was about 153 the other day, so I'm in striking distance. I'm not worried. I'm crusing in (laughing).
BT: I saw you taking a few shots at Manny on Twitter. I think some of his fans got a little upset when you made that comment about his hair and his singing (laughing).
SM: Yeah, I got a lot of the Filipino fans riled up now (laughing). When he walked in with that Bieber hairdo, I was like, "Whoa!"
BT: Well I don't want to hold you up too long. I just wanted to touch base with you real quick. You know I wouldn't be doing my job though if I didn't ask you about the craziness going on with the divorce and the battle for your belts.
SM: You see that? We're still battling. It's been like two years going back and forth over stupid stuff. Just go on about your business and leave me alone. We're done! Let's just get this shit over with.
BT: Well hopefully that crap gets ironed out.
SM: Oh, it's not even in my mind. I'm on my game right now. I'm feeling good right now. I'm focused. We're going to have a lot more to talk about before May 7th.
[ Follow Ben Thompson on Twitter @fighthype ]