Part 2 of this series analyzing individual aspects of the upcoming Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley Bout
When Shane Mosley steps into the ring on May 1, 2010 against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., certainly the power advantage will be on his side. The question at hand is, can Shane Mosley actually catch Floyd with any significant punches that can hurt Floyd and possibly knock him out?.
Mosley will enter the ring on May 1, having good knowledge of how to deal with a skilled fighter such as Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and he will be the bigger, stronger fighter… but what type of style will Shane Mosley try to use in the fight to seize an opportunity and use his power to his advantage.
In Mosley’s previous two fights, he had sensational knockouts against Antonio Margarito last January in 2009 and against Ricardo Mayorga in September of 2008. Margarito and Mayorga both had two things in common in those fights against Mosley; these fighters came straightforward and second, these fighters were the aggressors in those fights.
When Mosley had to be the aggressor in past fights, he has had trouble, particularly in the two fights against Vernon Forrest and in the two fights against Ronald “Winky” Wright. The difference in those fights was both Forrest and Wright were bigger and had the longer reach, thus, keeping Mosley at the end of their jab for the entire fight.
So how will Mosley break the defensive puzzle of Mayweather? Well, Shane Mosley will have to try the same game plan everyone else has tried against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., PRESSURE!!! PRESSURE!!! PRESSURE!!! This will not be an easy task trying to deal with Mayweather’s shoulder roll defense and great countering skills.
In order for Mosley to use power to his advantage in the fight against Mayweather, he will need to use the gully, rough and dirty approach against Mayweather, smothering him, not letting him get off his shots, and roughing him up with some legal holding and hitting on the break. This could lead to Mosley catching Mayweather with some good power shots in the fight on May 1.
Another “X Factor” Mosley has going for him is trainer Naazim Richardson. Richardson has had plenty of success training the great Bernard Hopkins in the later stages of Hopkins’s career, continuing to bring out the best of him and that tough, inside game and he has already taught Mosley the same in his only training assignment to date with Mosley against Antonio Margarito.
Another good thing Mosley has going for him is that he can hurt you with both hands. It is possible for Mosley to catch Mayweather when he goes into that defensive shell because Mosley throws deadly punches with both hands. Mosley will need to double, maybe ever triple up on his jab when Mayweather goes into his defensive shell in hopes of landing something big on Mayweather and setting up his great left hook.
Mosley’s power will be a huge “X Factor” in the fight on May 1, but will the pressure approach work on Mayweather? As Mayweather has stated, “40 have tried and 40 have failed.” Can Mosley’s style and power bother Mayweather enough for him to actually fight Mosley, or will it be just another Mayweather cakewalk? The truth will be told on May 1, 2010. One thing about Shane Mosley we know for sure, if Mosley gets a fighter in serious trouble, he knows how to finish him.
Tune in for more fight analysis on Mosley vs. Mayweather from ProBoxing-Fans.com, and a continuation of this multi-part series. Then on fight night don’t forget to tune in for our Mayweather vs. Mosley results.
