The Impact of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley Bout
Welterweight is the new Heavyweight: These days, when one thinks of boxing, the excitement, superb quality and well-known fighters of the Welterweight division come to mind. A sport that was once defined by the Heavyweight division with great champions such as Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson dominating headlines is now defined by a much smaller, faster division with a very deep talent pool, new rivalries and fighters that are not only extremely talented but also media friendly.
These fighters, most notably Floyd Mayweather, dominate not just their opponents but also sports headlines, pop culture and even some hip-hop lyrics. Not only boxing fans, but general sports and entertainment fans want to see these fighters. Talks of the upcoming Mayweather vs. Mosley fight and the dominance of Manny Pacquiao have become water-cooler conversations as opposed to topics that are discussed exclusively amongst boxing enthusiasts.
Potential Impact on the Division and Boxing
On May 1, one of the biggest and perhaps the best selling fight in Welterweight history will take place when Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley finally square off in the ring after years of dominating the same divisions together. These two unbelievably talented fighters have created legendary hall of fame careers for themselves over the course of the past 10 plus years and have established themselves as two of the most dominant and recognizable fighters of all time.
This fight has all the makings of a fantastic, dramatic story that everyone wants to see. Two pound for pound kings of the sport who have been circling each other for years and dominating the sport both as Lightweights and as Welterweights finally clash.
What does this mega fight mean for the Welterweight division and the sport of boxing? Tremendous things. In terms of sales, it is expected to set new Pay-Per-View records and within the first 15 minutes that the tickets became on sale, 14,000 of the 17,000 available tickets were sold according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaeffer. This is expected to be one of the highest grossing fights of all time if not the highest grossing fight of all time and will strengthen the notoriety of the Welterweight division and the sport of boxing as a whole. Mayweather vs. Mosley is a great match up and if it lives up to the hype it will also also take boxing to new levels with the emergence of more mega fights, depending on the outcome. Everyone is wondering, as the catch phrase for the fight asks, “who are you picking?” But another key question is what is in store for the aging Shane Mosley after this fight?
What’s in Store for Sugar Shane?
Manny Pacquiao is taking some time off to focus on politics in his homeland of the Philippines but he has made it clear that he is willing to fight the winner of the Mayweather vs. Mosley fight. If that winner is Floyd, then sports fans will finally get to see what they want. Fans are so hyped on the thought of a potential Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight looming in the distance that some may forget about the possibility that Mosley could very well dispatch of Mayweather and make May 1st become the evening of “May’s first loss”, becoming Manny’s next opponent in the process.
If Mosley emerges victorious, there is a very good chance that he would be the next opponent for the great Manny Pacquiao, and with their mutual speed and power in both hands, this very well could be a much more exciting fight than Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. If Mosley isn’t able to overcome the overwhelming skill and speed of Mayweather on May 1, what’s in store for Shane then?
Due to the increasing depth of the division, there are a number of possible opponents for Shane if he isn’t able to defeat Floyd for the chance to fight Manny. Clearly Shane still has the speed, skill and power to hang in there with the best of the best and he will definitely stick around the sport as long as he is physically capable. I could see him challenging up and comer Andre Berto for his WBA belt, which would be an exciting fight as well.
Berto and Mosley were scheduled to square off in January but due to the events in Haiti, Berto was forced to withdraw. If Mosley wins, he will take on Pacquiao in an all out war in late 2010. However, if Mosley loses, it’d be great to see him take on Berto while Mayweather challenges Pacquaio. A rematch with Miguel Cotto could also be looming in the horizon. With the depth of the Welterweight division, there are always solid challengers for both fighters to take on regardless of the outcome of this fight.
On fight night, be sure to check out Mayweather vs. Mosley results provided by Proboxing-Fans.com.
