Expert Picks: Money Over Sugar
By: Andrew Harrison
Category: Uncategorized
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With the biggest fight so far this year almost upon us, I present for you, the sport’s best pickers and their opinions on what exactly will go down tonight when Mayweather and Mosley get it on in Vegas.
King of the tipsters, Graham Houston, has rather ominously gone with Mayweather via decision. Mr. Houston rarely fluffs his lines and has been consistently brilliant in calling fights for aeons (he even pegged Danny Green over Roy Jones, that’s scary good).
Graham Houston (FightWriter.com & Boxing Monthly)
“I see Mosley being tenacious and tough but I think that Mayweather will find the answers. Mayweather’s jab and his crisp right hands can pile up points and I think that his physical strength might surprise Mosley. I feel that Mayweather is in his prime at 33 while Mosley, coming up for 38, has been in many wars and might have been flattered by the Margarito performance. It would be very surprising if Mayweather stopped Mosley but I do believe he can outpoint him clearly in a competitive contest that will reflect credit on both boxers”.
Tim Starks (QueensberryRules.com)
“Mayweather’s speed, defensive ability and intelligence in the end will trump everything Mosley has, which would be the case under optimal conditions for Mosley. But Mayweather will know he’s been in a fight unlike anything he’s felt in the last eight years, and he’ll have the best win of his career — and a little more respect from those of us who have wanted him to take a challenge that tests his mettle in the welterweight division. Mayweather by unanimous decision”.
Tim Smith (New York Daily News)
“This is a tough call because both Mayweather and Mosley possess tremendous boxing skills. But Mayweather is probably one of the best defensive fighters since Pernell Whitaker.Mayweather also has uncanny timing, which hasn’t failed him yet. When you look at his fights against Ricky Hatton, Diego Corrales, Juan Manuel Marquez and the young Jose Luis Castillo, you can see what I’m talking about. But Mosley’s power and speed will force Mayweather to take his game to a higher level and he will. The pick is Mayweather by decision”
Dougie Fischer (Ring tv.com)
“Mayweather will surprise many by coming out more aggressively than usual…going into the late rounds, Mayweather attempts to stick and move to protect what he believes is a slight lead on the official scorecards, while Mosley, feeling a sense of urgency but not desperate, begins to increase the volume of his punches, which includes a brutal body attack whenever he closes the gap. The final rounds, fast and furious, whip the crowd into a standing frenzy. Most ringside observers believe Mosley’s forward-marching aggression from the middle rounds on are enough to earn him a hard-fought decision”.
Bert Sugar (Boxing historian)
“Not only do I think he can win, and obviously I think he will, but I’m a contrarian. Mayweather has never met anybody as fast as Mosley. Even at 38 (years old) and 90 percent of what he was, that’s still fast. He’s big and bigger.
Not just the one pound on the scale but if you look at the dimensions, particularly in the shoulders and his reach.I think the rust factor is going to be more telling on Mayweather. Yes, Mosley is five years older and I don’t know how to count it in boxing years.
But with a great defensive fighter, and there’s no question Mayweather is, any rust factor makes him a nano-second slower in his reflexes so that punches that were once this are now that. I do see where it could have even that much of an effect that it could be fatal (for Mayweather).”
Mike Rosenthal (Ringtv.com)
“Mayweather, the best defensive fighter of his time, will gradually figure out Mosley’s style and avoid most of his more-experienced opponent’s shots from round 3 or 4 on. Meanwhile, Mayweather will stay true to his economic punch output: He won’t throw much but will have a high connect rate, certainly high enough to win rounds as Mosley begins to show signs of his age (38). In the end, Mayweather will prove to be somewhat quicker and better at this stage of their careers and will win a clear, unanimous decision”.
Danny Flexen (Boxing News)
“Having not fought for 15 months, can Mosley, at an age when it is generally thought better to be as active as possible, produce the requisite workrate over the full championship distance, to take a decision against the younger, defensively adept Mayweather?I simply can’t envisage that outcome. They may be level at halfway but Mayweather can step up the pace in the second half to punch pick and spoil his way to a clear decision”.
Steve Farhood (Showtime analyst & Boxing Monthly)
“I like Mayweather on points, and fairly convincingly. We consistently put too much emphasis on a fighter’s most recent performance”.Mosley looked excellent against Margarito, but I tend to look back at Madison Square Garden, when Miguel Cotto out-boxed Sugar Shane during extended portions of their fight. Mayweather is faster and much better defensively than Cotto. So the pick is Mayweather”.
Kevin Iole (Yahoo! Sports Boxing)
“Mayweather is far faster and quicker and is extremely aware defensively. He’ll be able to see everything coming, and he’ll avoid trouble.Mayweather’s jab will also be a big factor. Mosley tends to throw wide shots, and Mayweather’s fast, straight jab will make a significant impact upon this fight. I like Mayweather to win big”.
Joe Santoliquito (Managing editor for Ring Magazine)
“This is a bit of a reach, I know, but I do believe Shane still has that one great fight left in him. I do know, for a fact, that Naazim Richardson, Shane’s trainer, has devised a strategy through the years to beat Floyd Mayweather. But it will be up to Shane to implement it.I also believe Mosley has the kind of speed and firepower that could rattle Mayweather a few times. We’ll find Floyd is more valiant than a lot of observers give him credit for being, and that Shane Mosley still has some fuel left in his 38-year-old tank” (Mosley by decision).
Results: Mayweather 7 Mosley 3
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