There was no hint that Manny Pacquiao was taking "Sugar" Shane Mosley lightly as he addressed the media in an international conference call a week before their 12-round title bout on May 7 (May 8 in Manila) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao, boxing's reigning pound-for-pound king, will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against ex-champion Mosley
Despite the former eight-division champ Pacquiao being seven years younger than the 39-year-old former three-division title holder Mosley, the fighting congressman from the lone district of Sarangani province said he doesn't see his opponent as an old target.
"Shane Mosley is still strong and he moves like [he's] 29 years old," said Pacquiao, who holds a record of 52-3-2 (38 knockouts). "He's the kind of fighter that you can't underestimate. He's bigger in size than me and stronger. He's a former pound-for-pound champ and still good."
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, who will receive his fifth Trainer of the Year award the night before the fight at the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Annual Awards Dinner, was also cautious in counting out the future Hall of Famer.
"Mosley brings speed, power and all that," said Roach. "He's got a good team behind him and we have a good challenge in front of us. Manny is motivated for a reason, because he respects Mosley. That's what excites me about it.
"The first five rounds will be very critical and the way we attack him will have a lot of thought behind it. If we just walk in he'll counter punch the hell out of us."
Mosley, 46-6-1 (39 KOs), hasn’t been impressive in his last two outings, which include a one-sided decision loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a draw with the unheralded Sergio Mora.
Still, Mosley said he relishes being the underdog. In his biggest wins – a knockout of Antonio Margarito and two decisions over Oscar de la Hoya – Mosley was a prohibitive underdog.
"They said Margarito was going to kill me. People said they were scared for my health and all that crap. I had about three different things going on in my life, including a divorce. But I just listened to myself and came out with the victory," said Mosley.
Despite his six losses, Mosley has never been stopped and has only been knocked down twice. Both knockdowns came in the second round of his first fight with the late Vernon Forrest in 2002.
Roach said he would like to see Pacquiao become the first person to stop Mosley, but Pacquiao is content to assure that the fight will be fan-friendly.
"We're not really focused on the knockout, but what we do is work hard and if the knockout comes, it will come," said Pacquiao, who has gone the distance in his last two fights against Margarito and Joshua Clottey. "We prepared ourselves in fighting for 12 rounds. My concern right now is the fight we can give to the people and the fans."
"Shane is a tough guy and very durable and it'd be a feather in Manny's cap to be the first one to stop him and show how much better he is than the guy who couldn't stop him [Mayweather]," added Roach.
"Manny will fight at a fast pace and we'll force the action and we're gonna go for it this time. If it comes, it comes."
For Mosley's part, he is perhaps the biggest puncher Pacquiao has ever faced. Mosley has produced knockouts over physically larger fighters than Pacquiao with both fists, and will have one of the sport's greatest tactical masterminds – trainer Naazim Richardson – in his corner.
Richardson has carved out a niche in the sport for helping older fighters – like Bernard Hopkins and Mosley – overcome the physical advantages younger opponents have had over them. He feels that the recent success of Erik Morales and Hopkins proves that age doesn’t negate ability.
"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. These aren’t just men," said Richardson.
"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 these were special guys. When special gets old, you can still be extraordinary."
Mosley has had mixed success against left-handed fighters. Against the much larger Winky Wright in 2004, Mosley was outboxed in two wide decision losses at junior middleweight. Three years later, Mosley dominated Luis Collazo, who was considered one of the welterweight division’s most avoided fighters at the time.
But of Mosley's six losses, no opponent can say they outfought him in a fierce fight. And that's exactly what Pacquiao is planning to try.
"I'm excited for this fight because Mosley throws a lot of punches and wants to fight toe-to-toe," Pacquiao said. "That's what I want, he throws a lot of punches and it's good for us to give a good fight."
Training camps at 360°
The third installment of the behind-the-scenes coverage of Pacquiao and Mosley's training camp will air on Saturday, April 30 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
Promoter Bob Arum said "this is a significant event because boxing returns to prime time television. Because of that, it's a real game changer to find out the elements of this fight in both camps. It’s a must-see, should be great entertainment. "
Vegas arrivals
Team Pacquiao is set to arrive in Las Vegas on Monday, while Mosley and company hit the strip on Tuesday.
The final press conference will take place on Wednesday. The weigh-in on Friday will be hosted by James Brown, who hosts The NFL Today on CBS and Showtime's Inside the NFL. Boxing fans will remember him for hosting the some HBO pay-per-view events in past years. – JVP, GMA News
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/218980/sports/pacquiao-will-not-take-mosley-challenge-lightly
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