Pacquiao looking to knock out Mosley and maybe Mayweather’s argument -- 15Rounds

By Norm Frauenheim, 15Rounds

Knockout talk is pretty standard stuff in the build-up for any fight, especially one that Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley have transformed into an event. But it has a different tone this time around, because Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach hopes a stoppage will either lure Floyd Mayweather Jr. into the ring or provide Pacquiao an edge in an argument for the ages if the much-discussed fight never happens.

“It would be incredible for Manny to be the first one to stop him and just prove to the world how much better he is than that guy that couldn’t stop him,’’ Roach said Wednesday during a conference call when asked about the chances at a knockout of the durable Mosley on May 7 at Las Vegas MGM Grand.

Not that anybody had to ask, but that guy, of course, is Mayweather, who on Thursday had a preliminary hearing on felony and misdemeanor charges from alleged domestic violence delayed in Las Vegas until July 29.

Translation: The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight isn’t any more likely today than it was a year ago when Mayweather was terrific and resourceful in surviving a rocky second round, yet characteristically cautious in settling for a one-sided decision over Mosley.

For now, Pacquiao has only the fights that can help him build his case while the prosecution for Nevada’s Clark County its own. Common opponents are poor comparisons, made unreliable by time, circumstances and styles. But Mayweather leaves the Filipino Congressman without options or even much of a clue as to what he intends to do.

“It’s hard to judge him,’’ Pacquiao said when asked if he thought Mayweather feared him. “I don’t know what the reason is. I really don’t have an idea. I can’t say something. We don’t know, so it’s hard to judge him.”

Instead, Pacquiao does what he always has done. He moves forward. There is a sense that he already is at work on the finishing touches to a legacy that would be incomplete without Mayweather, yet still as brilliant as any.

News broke in Mexico that Juan Manuel Marquez already has a Top Rank offer to fight Pacquiao for a third time sometime in the fall. Top Rank’s Bob Arum was annoyed at the Marquez questions. He dismissed them twice, first Tuesday in a conference call with Mosley and again on Wednesday.

But it only would be a surprise if Marquez had not been approached by Top Rank. Marquez, who has a draw with Pacquiao and a controversial loss by decision to the Filipino, represents a chance for Pacquiao to eliminate lingering doubts about his ability to beat the accomplished Mexican. It also is another opportunity to further build his case in the potential debate about whether he was better than Mayweather, who outweighed Marquez and dominated him for 12 rounds, yet again settled for a decision in September, 2009.

If Pacquiao could somehow be the first to knock out Mosley and the first to stop Marquez, he would win the debate no matter what Mayweather does or doesn’t do. It’s a risk, first and foremost in terms of the motivation it provides Mosley, who is a better bet to win by stoppage than Pacquiao, especially within the first three to four rounds.

Another cracking right in the early rounds might accomplish for Mosley what eluded him against Mayweather. It might finish Pacquiao in another spring stunner during boxing’s season of upsets, especially if the 39-year-old Mosley can summon up a will, way and maybe a big left hand. Against a stumbling Mayweather, Mosley was curiously unable to capitalize.

The guess here is that Mosley won’t squander that kind of an advantage again. If he does, Pacquiao will be on his way to a significant victory and perhaps a stoppage that could win an argument, which on Thursday looked more likely than a Mayweather fight.

NOTES, QUOTES
• Insightful Al Bernstein offered an intriguing possibility that could surprise Pacquiao. During a Showtime conference call Thursday, Bernstein said Mosley might unleash a potent left that has been dormant lately. “The left-hand,’’ Bernstein said. “I think that’s the secret.’’

• Boxing’s best, hidden on premium networks and pay-per-view for years, goes back to prime time for the first time in generations Saturday night when the third episode in Showtime’s Fight Camp 360, an inside look at Pacquiao-Mosley, will air on CBS at 8 p.m., Eastern and Pacific. There were mixed reviews for the first two episodes. The third figures to attract the biggest audience, meaning there is motivation for Showtime to make it the best of the four.

Source: 15rounds.com

Mosley Admits He Got This Fight Because His Last Two Weren't Stellar Outings -- The Sweet Science

By Rick Folstad, The Sweet Science

“Sugar” Shane Mosley is pretty much the forgotten man in this media circus. After all, this is the Manny Pacquiao Hour, a one-man act that doesn’t have room for a sidekick. Mosley is just a little trimming, extra frosting, a guy left out in the cold peering through a greasy window at the celebration he never got invited to. It almost feels like he’s an afterthought in this fight, someone who was needed to fill an empty chair when they started snapping photos for the history books.

On a recent conference call promoting their May 7 WBO welterweight title fight at a sold-out MGM Grand in Las Vegas (Showtime PPV), Mosley sounded like someone in a funeral parlor talking about the deceased. It wasn’t what he said, it was how he said it. Quiet, soft-spoken, polite and deliberate, you kept wondering if he just woke up from a long nap.

Naw, it was just Mosley being Mosley.

Asked if being the underdog provided a little extra motivation for him in the fight, Mosley said he doesn’t read too much into it.

“I don’t care if people are seeing me as an underdog or not,“ he said. “What matters is what happens in the ring. The only thing that matters is May 7.”

While Mosley didn’t provide any deep insight into the fight and how he planned to win it, his faithful trainer, Naazim Richardson, didn’t hold much back. When Mosley’s age was brought up, Richardson sounded like he already had the answers written down somewhere.

“Most of you saw the Erik Morales fight,“ Richardson said, referring to the recent, fight between the 34-year-old Morales and the 27-year-old Marcos Maidana, won by Maidana on a majority decision. “And most of you saw the (Jean) Pascal-Bernard Hopkins (who is 46) fight. And we keep counting these guys out. These aren’t just old men who box. These are legendary fighters who have age on them now. There‘s a difference between a legendary fighter who has age and an old boxer. When these guys were in their prime, they were exceptional. Michael Jordan could probably still come out now and make the starting five on any team in the NBA. We discount these older guys but we forget they were special. When special gets old, you can still be extraordinary.“

But you can’t get back your prime, and Mosley is a few years passed his.

Still, he’s a big name and that‘s why Top Rank booked him. He’s never been stopped, and he still has some pop left in both hands.

“If Shane hits you solid, you’re going on the defensive,” Richardson said. “I don‘t care how much of a gladiator or how tough you were before. When Shane tags you, you’ll be a defensive fighter. No one has ever asked for their money back after watching a Shane Mosley fight.”

Bob Arum got right to the point on Mosley, saying the reason they picked him to fight Pacquiao is “because we’re in the entertainment business and we know that Manny Pacquiao against Shane Mosley will be one hellacious and entertaining fight.”

Arum says that’s why Top Rank picked Mosley to fight Miguel Cotto, and why they picked Mosley to fight Antonio Margarito in January 2009.

“Shane is an all-action fighter and when he’s in with a guy who is an all-action fighter as well, you’re going to see fireworks.“

But he is 39.

And then you look back at his last two fights - a decision loss to Floyd Mayweather a year ago and a draw to Sergio Mora in September - and say he’s on the downside. But Mosley has a different way of looking at it.

“I don’t think those fights have anything to do with what I do against Pacquiao, because styles make fights,“ said Mosley, who did some chasing against Mora and Mayweather. “But if it wasn’t for those two fights, I probably wouldn‘t be here today. So those fights were needed.”

This guy always thinks the glass is half full.

But so does Richardson, who said they have a comfortable game plan that Mosley has bought into.

“We look forward to this contest and to solving the Rubik’s Cube of boxing, which is Manny Pacquiao,” he said.

Tough puzzle to crack.

Source: thesweetscience.com

Pacquiao is 'killing himself in training' - Roach -- ESPN

ESPN.co.uk

Freddie Roach claims Manny Pacquiao is "on fire" ahead of his May 7 showdown with Shane Mosley in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is on a 13-fight win streak and he is fully expected to beat Mosley in a little over a week's time. However, there are no signs that the Filipino is taking things easy, according to trainer Roach.

The WBO welterweight title is on the line at the MGM Grand, and Roach claims his charge may well be in the best shape that he has ever been before a fight.

"Manny is really motivated for Shane Mosley," said Roach. "We started in the mountains in the first day of training and he's been consistently trying to kill his body. He ran yesterday for an hour and 10 minutes. He's just in great shape and this may be his best training camp we've ever had.

"Usually it takes us a little while to get into the flow of training camp, but from day one he's been on fire. I mean we did eight rounds of mitts in the first day of training camp and he hadn't been in the gym since the last fight.

"We've just run out of room to go. He does 16 rounds a day on the mitts right now and I'm going to start holding him back a little bit. That's the hardest part of Manny Pacquiao - slowing him down."

Victory for Pacquiao would inevitably conjure up more talk about a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jnr, but the Pacman has given up predicting the American's next move.

"It's hard to judge him. I really don't have an idea. We don't know so it's hard to judge him," said Pacquiao.

Source: espn.co.uk

Pacquiao promotional blitz hits Hollywood, record stores -- Los Angeles Times

By Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Manny Pacquiao has positioned his sold-out fight against Pomona's Shane Mosley on May 7 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas to touch nearly every American.

He visited President Obama at the White House on his first publicity tour earlier this year, and he'll star in part three of Showtime's "Pacquiao-Mosley Fight Camp 360" Saturday at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Thursday, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world released his first single, a remake of the 1970s ballad "Sometimes When We Touch," by Dan Hill, generating big sales on Amazon.com, according to the boxer's publicist Fred Sternburg.

And tonight, he'll appear on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

"It's important to me to promote the fight and let people know it's coming," Pacquiao told The Times on Thursday in a telephone interview before his workout at Hollywood's Wild Card Gym.

Pacquiao enjoys the attention, such as when stars such as Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Mickey Rourke and Robert Duvall have stopped by Wild Card to watch his workouts.

He's also an unabashed karaoke singer, and I reminded him Thursday of the scheduled interview in his Hollywood apartment we once had. He'd finished dinner and moved quickly to grab a microphone in front of the television to bust out a karaoke tune.

When told he had to do the interview first, his shoulders slumped.

"I love singing," Pacquiao said, laughing. "I like you too."

In a promotional DVD released with "Sometimes When We Touch," original singer Hill sings along with Manny. Hill and producers Matthew McCauley and Fred Mollin have high praise for Pacquiao's vocal effort.

Pacquiao said although he's busy with boxing and his work as a congressman in the Philippines, he'd like to ultimately make a full album of songs, perhaps including his duet of John Lennon's "Imagine" he sang with Will Ferrell on Kimmel last year.

"It depends on my schedule, it's just the single right now," Pacquiao said. "Thank you."

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com