Floyd Mayweather Jr rocks but can he get the Pacman to bite? -- Daily Mail

By Jeff Powell, Daily Mail

The star-spangled crowd who flocked to this neon Strip in hope of seeing Floyd Mayweather Jnr have his lights punched out went home believing him to be the best poundfor- pound fighter on the planet.

The Money Man of the prize-ring put on a boxing masterclass to advance his claim to be the greatest of this era.

Albeit to some extent a masterly exercise in outclassing an old man, his 119-109 points victory over 38-year-old Sugar Shane Mosley was overwhelming.

Ricky Hatton, to name but one of the personalities whose views were canvassed at ringside, is convinced that Mayweather would defeat Manny Pacquiao, the rival claimant to the throne. The Manchester Hitman should know. He was knocked out by Mayweather before being rendered alarmingly unconscious by Pacquiao. 'Floyd always finds a way to win,' he said.

Mayweather has done that in every one of his 41 professional fights. This time he has also won over a large tranche of public opinion. Most worshipped of all of the A-list celebrities here was Muhammad Ali.

Perhaps it was the presence of The Greatest which lured Oscar De La Hoya into the trap of endorsing Mayweather's preposterous assertion that he is even greater than Ali et al. Steady. And let us not forget that Oscar, this former matinee idol of the ring, now fronts the Golden Boy company which promotes Floyd Jnr's fights.

The bragging rights are running wild. Yet even though, once again, Mayweather proved himself a most brilliant technical boxer, he needs his career-defining, legacycementing fight against Pacquiao before his place in the pantheon can be evaluated.

The problem is that potentially the richest fight in pay-per-view history is even less likely to happen following Saturday night's hype. 'After this,' said De La Hoya, 'Floyd is in position to dictate the financial terms to Pacquiao and decide where and when it might take place.' Amid the head-turning clamour to anoint the Money Man in the Pacman's absence, Mayweather said: 'If Pacquiao agrees to the blood as well as urine-testing which I demanded of Mosley, the fight can be made. If not, it won't happen.'

Pacquiao is even less likely to be ordered around by Mayweather than to win the seat in the Philippines Congress which he is contesting in next week's election. Golden Boy are expecting HBO to return such massive pay-TV figures that not only will Mayweather's purse rise from a guaranteed $22.5million to nearer $40m but they will possess a powerful bargaining chip which will bring Pacquiao to the table. We who would love to see that fight hope so, too, but are not holding our breath.

Mayweather, conscious of the need to raise the entertainment level of his game rather than do just enough to win, went more on the attack against Mosley. But the caution is inherent in him.

Mayweather's preference is for drawing his opponents towards him and then beating them to the punch. Only once did that strategy fail him in the 12 rounds against Mosley

It was in the second that Mosley missed his one glimmer of opportunity for springing a sensation. One huge right sent Mayweather reeling, then holding on to stay upright.

'I was that close to getting him,' said the WBA world welterweight champion. Maybe, but that was the only round he won.

Mosley did not have the young man's legs to crowd Mayweather. Nor did he have the stamina to throw the volume of punches needed to put the pressure on a man who is at his least comfortable when hurried.

For round after round, Mosley simply walked forward to be picked off as Mayweather set him up with the left for his stinging rights. The longer the punishment went on, the more Mayweather was encouraged to take the initiative, which was a welcome variation.

Before making too many assumptions about the outcome of a fight against Pacquiao, it is worth noting that the 452 punches thrown by Mosley were not only mostly off target but amounted to barely a third of the 1,200 blows launched by Pacquiao against Joshua Clottey a few weeks ago.

Yes, desperately disappointing though Mosley was, Mayweather's skills and intelligence made him look even worse.

Source: dailymail.co.uk