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This Saturday's Super-Fight between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley has created a sudden increase in amateur soothsayers.

This writers opinion has been forged from the very first day this fight was announced. It is one predicated on one particular intangible.

Which Shane Mosley turns up.

I mentioned in a previous post in my fight week blog that the first round will garner more clarity. That if Shane Mosley struggles to land flush shots or takes a reactive approach after gauging Manny's power, he will lose.

Recent fight footage suggests to me that Mosley's neurological ability to send instructions to his limbs has slowed. Essentially evidence of a wearied and possibly shot fighter. If that's the case, Pacquiao's bursts will be too fast and the openings left by his over-eagerness to please the crowd will not be exploited, owing to Mosley's slowed reactions.

Mosley can't compete without ammunition. As Gary Cooper said in High Noon before a showdown, 'This is crazy, I don't even have any guns.'

In which case, Manny will continue to leave sporting devastation his wake. The sheer volume and veracity of punches will not wilt Mosley, for he has been hit by bigger and stronger men and shown no such signs. But they will lead to his corner demonstrating the necessary compassion to pull their charge from battle.

However, of Mosley demonstrates disdain for Pacquiao's power and his attempts to seize the initiative receive success, then I expect this to be a quickfire shootout the likes of which not seen since Hearns vs Hagler.

One of Manny's failings is his defensive abandonment. Even when he adopts a guard, the gaping hole in the centre facilitates Mosley's greatest punch - the straight right hand.

Add to this the fact that Manny is uncomfortable with his back to the ropes, just watch his fights with Juan Manuel Marquez, and I see this going only one way.

If, and admittedly its a very big if considering even I believe Mosley to be a shot fighter, this is the case I expect Mosley to win by knockout inside six rounds.

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At 79 years of age and with more than thirty years of experience in the boxing business, one would assume Bob Arum had a good understanding of the average boxing fans palate.

Yet in the aftermath of the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito fight last fall, Arum was considering the notion of a Pacquiao/Cotto rematch.

The boxing public greeted this with utter disdain. Miguel Cotto, a fabulous fighter, was overmatched in his first fight and has fought a prospect, Yuri Foreman; and a faded veteran, Ricardo Mayorga, since.

There is no credible reasoning to suggest he deserves a rematch, let alone evidence he could make the fight less one-sided.

Again it is Arum, maintaining that all revenue remain in-house. Pacquiao's last three opponents have been fellow Top Ranks stable members. Juan Manuel Marquez has been urged to reconsider resigning with Golden Boy Promotions or risk his offer of a multi-million dollar pay-day with Manny Pacquiao being retracted.

Arum seems to have scant regard for the public's palate. Morsels of has-beens and could-have-beens just won't do. Yet here he stands inscrutable, a scheming silver fox.

He points to Golden Boy's disparaging remarks and treatment as the reason behind Top Rank's embargo on GB-TR matchup's.

Yet this rings of the classic psychological technique of neutralisation. To present justification for the stance, whilst absolving himself of blame.

These messianic pretensions need to be extinguished if boxing is to benefit. UFC thrives because they are the sole sanctioning-body and promoter.

Depriving fans of exciting, meaningful fights, once Pac-Man retires, would be career suicide. Top Rank once was the dominant driving force in boxing, but behind Manny Pacquiao the shelf is looking bare.

A new stance and approach is imperative.

The TR empire has lost its omnipotence, the Emperor's judgment rings hollow and he, Bob Arum, must fall on his sword and reach a final rapprochement with Golden Boy, else pass the levers of power to someone of much less obstinate persuasion.

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In our latest installment of ''Pacquiao fight week: Floyd awakens'', we have another disturbing update in the sorry saga of part-time gambler, semi-retired boxer, Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

It seems whilst Manny is collecting fight cheques, Mayweather is collecting criminal complaints alleging he'd committed two misdemeanor acts of harassment.

This latest reported complaint dates back to an incident on October 4th. Floyd allegedly was involved in an altercation with two security guards in which Floyd is quoted as threatening, ''My homies have guns. If you want me to call them, they'd come over here and take care of you.''

Pacquiao is scheduled to earn a guaranteed $20 million for his fight this weekend with Shane Mosley. Mayweather, meanwhile, has been slapped with a criminal complaint alleging he'd committed two misdemeanor acts of harassment.

Any potential impending legal proceedings can get in line. Floyd has a date set for a preliminary hearing on July 29 regarding felony charges stemming from a domestic incident.

Floyd's highly successful gambling career will furnish him with the finances to support a highly skilled and reputable legal representative.

Still if Floyd continues down this route he will have obtained more criminal charges than fights this century.

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Shane Mosley believes the best way to emerge victorious this Saturday in his bout with Manny Pacquiao is to ''keep his foot on the gas''.

He told boxingscene.com that he wants to summon the energy and pressure sustained throughout his bout with Antonio Margarito,

''I can muster all that energy that I had against Margarito," Mosley said. "This type of fight reminds me of when I was able to do a lot of damage in the lightweight division. It's kind of like going back in time. I think I can do all the things I could do in the ring five years ago."

One hopes that this is mere hyperbole and Shane is selling Pacquiao a dud. A quick glance at Mosley's fight as a lightweight and is bouts in the last three years will show a much declining punch output and noticeable waning as fights draw on.

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Compubox punch statistics taken in six of Shane Mosley's last eight fights show glaring differences in 'Sugar' Shane's increased effectiveness against aggressive fighters as opposed to defensive-minded boxers.

Against defensive Fighters

vs Sergio Mora

Punches landed: Mosley 161, Mora 93

Jabs landed: Mosley 37, Mora 27

Punching efficiency (percentage of punches thrown that landed): Mosley 31%, Mora 19%

Power Punches efficiency: Mosley 37%, Mora 23%

vs Floyd Mayweather

Punches landed: Mosley 92, Mayweather 208

Jabs landed: Mosley 46, Mayweather 85

Punching efficiency (percentage of punches thrown that landed): Mosley 20%, Mayweather 44%

Power Punches efficiency: Mosley 27%, Mora 46%

Against Aggressive Fighters

vs Antonio Margarito, Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas x2

Punches landed: Mosley 16.5 per RD, Opponents 10.7 per RD

Punching efficiency (percentage of punches thrown that landed): Mosley 35%, Opponents 22%

Power Punches efficiency: Mosley 47%, Opponents 25%

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Kelly Pavlik will move up to Super Middleweight to face relatively unknown Alfonso Lopez (21-0).

It's symbolic in more ways than one, of a new chapter in boxing and in the previous World Middleweight Champion's life.

Pavlik's last outing was in April 2010, when he was outclassed and outmaneuvered by the great Sergio Martinez. But his sluggish, off-color performance that night was paled in comparison to the descending spiral in his private life.

As has been well documented in the run-up to Pavlik's return, he had been battling with alcoholism long before he was on losing end of the decision against Sergio Martinez.

He checked into the Betty Ford rehabilitation clinic and began the process of recapturing his previous zeal for boxing and life. He is aided by a new mentality forged form having to again earn his main-event superstar status.

He said in conversation with SBNATION.COM, '"The energy level of this training camp is the best I've had in my career. I'm ready to show the boxing world that we're back and we're ready to make our stamp in this division"

The irony is that the second act of Kelly Pavlik: The Boxer, may attract a larger audience. The road to redemption may have throngs of well-wishers either side. After all America and the Western world are suckers for heroes, the more flawed the better.

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Landscapes change and evolve.

Empires adapt or fall.

All institutions require some sort of public mandate. People vote with their feet, their ballot paper or their credit card.

A sport cannot survive without public backing. A fan-ship will only remain if you consistently curb their appetite.

Never is this more so than in boxing, where fans are more fickle. Loyalty comes at a price, if the feel they are being short-changed they will seek other fighters and other promotions.

Perhaps Bob Arum should take heed.

His promotional banner, Top Rank Promotions is no longer the sole arbiter of what boxing fans desire. Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions has a much larger stable and commands just as much respect, especially in light of their recent fan-friendly cards.

Yet Arum is indifferent to the challenge and In a conversation with Boxingscene, Arum stated ''Manny Pacquiao will never fight a Golden Boy fighter.''

The ramifications of such could prove extremely detrimental to the long term health of the sport. Currently, Golden Boy represents cash cow and hot prospect Saul Alvarez; Junior Welterweight Champ, Amir Khan; Welterweight No.2 Victor Ortiz; Robert Guerrero and Marcos Maidana.

Add to this the fact they have matching rights for Juan Manuel Marquez and this potentially limits the quality of Pacquiao's future opponents to levels of insignificance.

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Continuing with our regular updates of the whereabouts and goings on of boxing's greatest caricature we find Floyd Mayweather to be rather docile today.

Preferring to indulge in a game of celebrity/sports lookalikes with his followers on twitter, he posted the following updates,

'Dirk look like Shaggy Doo and Gasol like big bird, lol.'

Personally I think Gasol's features and emotions are more akin to this particular bipedal, winged vertebrate.

Floyd appears almost to be trying too hard in his efforts to appear apathetic towards this week's super-fight.

In other Floyd related news, a number of outlets have reported, rather prematurely—in the vain hope it proves to be a scoop, no doubt—that Floyd is considering Victor Ortiz as his next opponent.

Ortiz had an inspired performance against Andre Berto, but he is only a handful of fights removed from his loss to Marcos Maidana. Floyd has very little to prove to the boxing world aside from silencing those that call him a coward for avoiding Pacquiao.

If he insists on an interim bout, Timothy Bradley, Amir Khan and Sergio Martinez are all available.

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Oft quoted, full-time Pacquiao fan and part-time boxing writer, Michael Marley, has graced us with his two-penneth on this weeks Super-fight.

''This fight is going to be a mini-war for the first three rounds.  One or both may even briefly visit the canvas.''

Shrewd.

He then guides us through the rest of the fight until his concluding prophecy.

'After nine minutes, the pace will slow markedly but Pacquiao will work at his usual frenetic pace and Mosley will be taking more shots than he ever has before. Mosley will see openings but his reflexes will now allow to capitalize on them.

By the seventh round, the tide will be all Pacquiao and both referee Kenny Bayless and Mosley's avuncular trainer, Naazim Richardson, will be mentally calculating the punishment Shane has taken and considering how much more he should be subjected to.

Fans will be wondering how much more pain Mosley can withstand through round eight.

After nine full rounds, Mosley will return to the corner a beaten but unbowed man.''

I'm bemused. Marley reaches this conclusion having forecast that Manny may have to get off the canvas to do it. The last time Manny was knocked down was when he fought obscure fighter Serikzhan Yeshmagambetov (he got off the canvas to win by KO) at 126lbs.

Mosley is a big strong welterweight, if he has the power to drop Manny, what makes Marley think Pac will recuperate? Pac doesn't have the ability to adjust like Mayweather and he certainly doesn't have the defensive prowess when faced with a invigorated Mosley spurred by a knockdown.

I say if Pacquiao goes down, he loses.

As for stopping Mosley in nine rounds that's also a bold suggestion. Mosley has never been stopped, has only visited the canvas once, and is a proud warrior.

Manny couldn't stop Margarito, whose defence was so slack, if he had been in the armed forces, he would have faced accusations of desertion. That certainly doesn't translate to a stoppage here, considering the premise that Marley considers the fight to be 50-50 for the first three rounds, where as Pac-Margarito was one-sided from the start.

Marley may be right, but is logic and reasoning for such a conclusion is contradictory and flawed.

Manny spoke to ESPN'S Jaime Motta recently on a number of boxing related topics. The video is attached, but below are a few snippets.

On how he has changed as a boxer since 2005;

''I study hard after the loss with Morales...How to get better after every training session. How to get better with my strategy.''

What he expects the first few rounds against Shane Mosley;

''I am expecting him to go toe-to-toe. He'll try to knock me out in the early rounds. I am ready for that.''

Why he is more focused for this fight than any of his preceding bouts;

''I will not underestimate Mosley. This is one of the hardest fights. He is very fast, much faster than Margarito.''

The British WBA Heavyweight champion, David Haye, chimed in earlier today with his thoughts on how he feels this weeks super-fight between Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao will transpire.

It seems Haye is a fan of both, and sources inspiration from their respective bodies of work:

''I'll be watching the Pacquiao vs Mosley fight as reward for a hard late-night training session and I can't wait to see two of my all-time heroes go up against each other.

I've followed both Manny and Shane for years now and often watch videos of both of them before fights of my own. They are two of my favourite fighters and, as much as it will be exciting to watch them fight, it's also quite sad knowing that one of them will probably have to lose. They really are two of boxing's nice guys.''

Although not conclusive, his analysis of the fight is intriguing;

''As for a prediction, it's hard to say with any certainty, as both men have the tools to get the job done. Manny will obviously have an edge in speed and explosiveness, while Mosley might hit a tad harder, as he's the naturally bigger man. Mosley is also known for his granite chin, and has never been stopped in his pro career to date. If Pacquiao can somehow become the first guy to stop Mosley, that would send out a massive statement and would confirm 'Pac Man' as one of the hardest punchers in the world.''

Haye has a super-fight of his own on July 2 when he collides with the robotic Ukranian Heavyweight No.1, Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg, Germany.

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They say first impressions are everything.

The first shots fired in earnest this Saturday by Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley will prove revelatory.

Questions that have dominated fight week, will be answered within those first three minutes.

Is Mosley a 'shot' fighter?

Can Pacquiao take ''Sugar'' Shane's vicious straight right hand?

Will a Pacquiao powerful barrage of punches have the required power to earn Mosley's respect?

Those wishing to gamble on this weekends fight, would be advised to bet in play after the appetiser has ran its course.

The bane of all worn fighters is there inability to 'pull the trigger''. They see openings but cannot capitalise, because of such rapidly declining reaction speed.

If Shane Mosley demonstrates the ability to counter and counter effectively in the first round his chances of victory would multiply instantaneously. Pacquiao has felt the power of Cotto and Margarito—both full blooded Welterweights—and winced but Mosley is another kettle of fish. Just ask Floyd Mayweather or even, Antonio Margarito, what it feels like to be hit by a ''Sugar'' sledgehammer.

Undoubtedly, Mosley cannot exchange punch for punch with Pacquiao. He has neither the stamina nor the requisite punch output. So asserting himself early is his only chance.

This is the case, to some extent, for Pacquiao. His pledge to ''give the fans a good fight'' will mean he will be committed, as ever, to relentless forward motion. If those early bursts do not earn Mosley's respect it could be a long night.

If at any time during the first round Mosley maintains a reactive strategy and not a proactive one, it would suggest he's nervous of Manny's power.

If he shows disdain by continuing to come forward, he will do so for the majority of the night, and it could descend into a war of attrition.

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The common perception of fans and media alike is that “Sugar” Shane Mosley has displayed traits in his last few fights of a fighter in decline. More pertinently a fighter who’s energy levels are much reduced from his heyday.

His need to take large gulps of air was prevalent from Round Three in his fight in May 2010 against Floyd Mayweather and it is indisputable that is punch output and foot-speed faded badly as the fight wore on.

Against a high octane fighter like Manny Pacquiao many feel this will be his undoing.

Mosley’s trainer sees no evidence of such decline, however,

"I've heard stories of Shane as a child where, while other kids are sleeping, he still riding around on his tricycle," said Richardson speaking to boxingscene.com. "Well, the other day, I told him, I said, 'Shane, get off your tricycle and put your but in bed and sit down.' Because he's up, and he's got that energy again that's just a part of him."

Richardson believes that the premium of stamina will have little bearing in any case,

"It's not about people saying, 'Can he match Pacquiao's speed?' It's not about him trying to be like Pacquiao.

All that he's got to do is be Sugar Shane Mosley, and then, Pacquiao is going to have to make adjustments to deal with Sugar Shane Mosley," said Richardson. "So I'm not asking him to match Manny Pacquiao's speed, I'm asking him to do what we worked on in camp. If he can be the best Sugar Shane Mosley that we have, then Pacquiao's got problems."

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Success often leads to an abandoning of the principles from which it was crafted.

The annals of history contain numerous accounts of people who believed too much in their own virtue and lost the humility that is counterweight to the hubris.

That Manny Pacquiao presents himself as the same modest, unassuming gentleman that rose from the poverty stricken city of Baguio is testament to an attuned perspective, not only of what represents an admirable person but of what an icon should be.

But there is a downside.

As I watched the press conference via a very scatty Top Rank stream I could imagine fellow press members scrawling notes and filling pads. Yet, when they returned to their hotel rooms, they would soon realise there was nothing of note within these reams of paper.

Did they feel duped?

Had they exited the final press conference feeling they were in possession of the writers equivalent of 12oz filet mignon or were they aware they had been handed a stick of verbal candyfloss?

Of course, this diplomatic approach to affairs, as displayed by both camps at the press conference, has been prominent throughout the build up and never more conspicuous than in the damp and hollow CBS/Showtime Fight Camp 360.

(Of which I will discuss in further detail later today).

Hand on hand combat is never more exciting than when two combatants have forged a genuine hatred for each-other. Even where genuine animosity is absent, feigned dislike will suffice.

Provided it is believable.

We are drawn to the ''toughest game'' because of a combination of adrenaline and knowledge that disaster is potentially seconds away.

This gladiatoral concept is still evident. We don't crave destruction, as the blood thirsty Romans did.

We crave more than sport. We crave a visceral reminder that there is love and desire beyond the prize.

When there is real hatred or tension between fighters we believe that there is something more important than a belt or victory.

Sadly that is absent this Saturday.

Although Shane Mosley is currently trained by Naazim Richardson, his Father, Jack Mosley, still offers some guidance to his son.

He believes that a strategy, employed throughout his tenure as Shane's confidant and head trainer (he was replaced prior to Shane's 2009 bout with Antonio Margarito), will be the key to unlocking the Pacquiao riddle. In speaking with boxingscene.com he elaborated on this technique which he refers to as ''power boxing'',

''Power boxing was something that required a lot of energy and a lot of intensity. And you used a lot of power. It's like the effect of a jackhammer hitting cement. You know, you can hit the same spot over and over again and nothing happens."

Shane certainly possesses power beyond his 5'9 frame, and is arguably considered the biggest puncher at Welterweight. But Jack Mosley points out, Shane will require an important complement to this strategy,

''You need a good jab, and you need some good feints, and you need some power, and you need energy," said Jack Mosley. "I think that that would help Shane to do the job on Manny in this fight."

''Sugar'' Shane may carry power, but many consider his stamina reserves to be in drastic decline. Which would again emphasise the need for Mosley to make a fast start, timing Pacquiao's bursts and making the Pac-Man respect his power.

If he can do that, the unthinkable may just become reality.