(Conclusion)
AND once again, Shane Mosley does the unexpected. Probably emblematic of how he has styled his brilliant career, Shane defied the odds and Margarito by bludgeoning the latter with right hands so brutally, the referee had to halt the carnage in the ninth round.
While in all fairness, Shane has the skills to take out a brawler like Margarito--the surprise to all was how the fight became so one-sided that the latter was never in it.
Déjà vu. Mosley again performs unexpectedly- winning the “wrong” fight at the right time.
PRETTY BAD FOR PRETTY BOY. I don’t know what you make of the foregoing, but if Floyd Jr. is having second thoughts about facing Mosely, he has every right to.
From a potential $20-million purse against Pacquiao, “Money” might be getting less than a fourth of that against a spoiler of an opponent in Mosley.
Plus, style-wise, Mosley’s busy work-rate might be a bad match for Floyd’s sporadic offense.
Mosley wields a thunderous left jab, the kind that might flummox Floyd’s shoulder rolls. Plus, he’s just as fast and might be the stronger puncher too.
E-MAILS. The Last Round took a stroll down memory lane when I received an e-mail from my good compañero Albert Montefalcon who is now based in Sacramento, California.
Clearly, Abet’s wit and prose remains to be as impeccable as his passing and shooting skills, which I vividly remember to be instrumental in making our basketball team champions in the IBP tournament. Here’s his take on the first installment of this piece:
“It’s been a while since our Super Idol days, but I’m just letting you know that your column right next to my coffee mug is always a part of my morning office routine.
“I couldn’t agree more that Sugar is way more complicated for Mayweather to figure out than any of Money’s previous opponents. He has the uncanny ability to pull through the unexpected. Plus, if they agree to rumble, the pressure would be on the unbeaten former champ, who stands to lose more pride than Mosley.
“It is on the same token that I have always thought that Sugar would be a more dangerous and unpredictable foe to Pacman than Mayweather.
While Money drives the economic part of the equation, Sugar can sweeten what could potentially be a boring date on the ring for Manny against the would be back-pedalling Mayweather.
“Best regards and keep your ballpoint rolling (or should I say your keypad clicking).”
Well said, my friend. As of press time, the Mosley-Mayweather fight was reportedly on, though no ink has been signed yet. Cheers!
Thanks also to Francis Altamirano (ira_850@yahoo.com) and Yani Dy (yani_dy@yahoo.com) who both took time out to share their thoughts on the Pacquiao-Clottey fight.
Yani says that “Clottey is strong, but he’s slow & tentative like he paused at times in his assault even though he knew Cotto couldn’t see him. That’s no way to fight Pacquiao.”
PUNCHLINE. “What happened in the last round was that your mind wanted to fight to keep going but when dehydration gets in it doesn’t mind what your mind tells you. Everything just shuts down. My body was so dehydrated it just shut down. And when ityshuts down you can’t help it.” —Dethroned IBF light flyweight titleholder Brian Viloria on his fight with Carlos Tamarra
LAST ROUND. It’s on my buddy and fellow Aquarian, Siegfred Melleza who celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!
(jingo_quijano@yahoo.com)