Last night’s fight between Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao and “Sugar” Shane Mosley produced few surprises, aside from the unreasonable astonishment experienced by those who were convinced that Mosley couldn’t go the distance. While world class trainer Dennis Presley predicted Pacquiao would knock him out in the 10th round, he did admit in our conversation that it was not a foregone conclusion. Caleb Truax, the Minnesota Middleweight training at the Mayweather facility in Las Vegas, Nevada for his upcoming fight on May 27 in St. Paul against Andy Kolle, was not nearly as specific in his predictions, but of course he also chose Pacquiao as the favorite. I find my personal prediction justified, because I believed all along the fight would go the distance. As Tony Grygelko of Seconds Out Promotions told me a couple of weeks ago, people were underrating and underestimating Mosley. Pacquiao was far too much for him and dominated the fight, but Mosley was still competitive. After losing the first round by my assessment, Pacquiao won almost every single subsequent round as he cruised to an overwhelming unanimous decision. Mosley called Pacquiao the greatest fighter in the world after the fight, lending credibility to those of us who believe that if the ever elusive fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. finally happens, Pacquiao will beat him, too.
By Mark Connor
© Copyright 2011, Mark Connor
