By Alex Mattis
If my dozens and dozens of miserably failed attempts to defeat Manny Pacquiao as Shane Mosley on the latest ‘Fight Night’ video game are any indication of Mosley’s chances against the Pound-4-Pound King on Saturday night… it’s not lookin’ good. While Saturday nights scrap may be a tad more in the realm of reality than my computerized combat, there are some interesting similarities.
The thesis for Shane Mosley heading into this mega-fight is that “If Antonio Margarito can hit Manny Pacquiao, I can hit Manny Pacquiao,” as he stated numerous times during the media conference call for this bout. Mosley chalks this up to the speed advantage he has had for the majority of his career and the fashion in which their respective victories came over Margarito. While it’s often pointless to compare common opponents: Margarito got to Pacquiao several times in his lopsided decision loss whereas Mosley had a clear speed advantage over him and beat him within an inch of his life.
So, taking that into account, will Shane Mosley fulfill his own prophecy and “hit” Manny Pacquiao? Absolutely. Will he hurt him? Drop him? It could happen. Just two days ago I dropped a CPU Pac Man in the 2nd round. Manny hasn’t fought someone with the one-punch-power of ‘Sugar’ Shane in quite sometime.
Will Shane Mosley beat Manny Pacquiao? Outlook: not so good. To say Shane Mosley “hasn’t looked so hot” in his last few bouts is putting it lightly. Manny Pacquiao is the #1 boxer in the world, and he has earned that moniker.
Mosley’s power and speed will be there for the first quarter of the fight, but as he ages Pacquiao will continue to be in his face throwing too many punches to handle. I firmly believe that Shane Mosley will put Manny Pacquiao into trouble that he hasn’t seen in years, but it will not be enough. A withered and beaten down Mosley will be stopped in the 9th round. Oddly enough, that’s always when Manny finishes me; subsequently forcing me to throw my controller at the nearest pillow. Controllers aren’t cheap, people!
What I have found most interesting about my failed PS3 conquests is that no matter how badly I’m beaten, each and every fight is a thriller. We should expect nothing less in Saturday’s welterweight title fight. Both Mosley and “The Pac Man” have a propensity to deliver exciting fights and memorable moments. This will be just another.
In closing, if digital Shane could talk to his real-life counterpart before tomorrow night, I believe he’d give him the follow advice:
“Shane, you have to get to him. Standing on the outside and trying to utilize a jab or counter-punch strategy will just get you continuously peppered. You need to pin him against the ropes and unload! Cotto and Margarito found rare success when they had Manny trapped. Trap him and make a brawl of it! If you can turn it into a brawl, your right uppercut will be the money punch. Manny aims high. Go under. And, at all costs, for the love of God, avoid the left hook! That thing is so sneaky. So devastating. It’s something that WILL alter the fight. Intelligent aggression is the name of the game.”
