Five Reasons Shane Mosley Can't Beat Floyd Mayweather

I want to start off by saying that I have always wanted to see Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fight "Sugar" Shane Mosley. I think "Money May" is a very rare talent, and as a boxing fan, I have always wanted to see him fight the very best, and "Sugar Shane" has been considered one of the very best fighters in the welterweight division for many years.

But the more I look at this fight, the less intriguing it looks. Let me tell you why.

1. Mosley Hasn't Beaten a Top Fighter in Years

The fact is "Sugar Shane" has only one legitimate win over a top fighter in the last decade. 

Mosley's reputation as a great fighter is based almost entirely on his two wins over Oscar De La Hoya. And now even those wins are tainted because we now know for a fact he used PEDs, including EPO, on the fight of the fight.

Not only that, but the last De La Hoya fight was in late 2003. That's a long time ago in boxing years.

Mosley's other big wins are over the likes of the vastly overrated Fernando Vargas, stiffs like Luis Callazo, Ricardo Mayorga, and his recent win over Antonio Margarito. 

Normally, I would put the Margarito win in the legitimate category, but I watched that fight again last week, and it was very obvious that Margarito's head wasn't in the fight.

I don't know how much of the distraction had to do with the locker room discovery involving his wraps, but illegal wraps or no illegal wraps, the Mexican fighter was not himself in the ring that night. 

2. Winky Wright

Of all the fighters that "Sugar Shane" has faced over the years, Ronald "Winky" Wright is the closest stylistically to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Wright destroyed Mosley in their first meeting back in early 2004.

I will say that Mosley learned from that encounter and fought much better in their rematch eight months later. But Shane lost that fight as well.

Also, I said Wright is the closest to Mayweather that Mosley has faced. Winky is a terrific fighter, but I do not believe that Wright is as slick and fast as "Money May."

3. Vernon Forrest

Vernon Forrest was a very good fighter, but not a great one. Forrest handled Mosley easily in their two fights simply by outboxing him. 

Two things that make Mayweather such a great fighter are his willingness to fight different fighters in different ways and his ability to change his game plan mid-fight if his first strategy isn't working.

Mosley, on the other hand, has never shown an ability to change the way he fights on the fly. He has turned fights around in the later rounds with his determination, but he never changes his core strategy in the middle of a fight.

He didn't have any answers for Forrest at the beginning of their two fights, and nothing much changed over the course of the 24 total rounds the two men fought.

4. Age and Layoff

Mosley hasn't fought since last January. When he steps into the ring against Mayweather on May 1, it will have been over 15 months since he last fought. That's a long time for a fighter at Mosley's age.

If you don't believe me, go back and watch the Paul Williams-Winky Wright fight from last year. I love Paul Williams, but I don't believe he's that much better than Winky was in his prime. 

5. Floyd Is That Good

One thing that is often overlooked when it comes to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is his intelligence. He doesn't get involved in fights he doesn't think he can win.

I guarantee you he spent hours looking at tapes of Mosley's fights before he ever agreed to this bout. He's dissected everything about "Sugar Shane's" fighting style, and he's prepared for everything that will go down when they enter the ring.

Mosley has always relied on his hand speed and his power. 

I remember vividly the expression on De La Hoya's face the first time he threw a punch, and Mosley countered so fast he didn't see the punch coming until it crashed into his right cheek. Oscar was never able counter Shane's hand speed, and he was never in the fight. 

Floyd can match that speed and counter it. And he won't stay in the middle of the ring and let Shane beat him to the punch. 

"Money May" will fight a skillful, strategic fight and win a decision going away. It will be very similar to "Winky" Wright's easy win over Felix Trinidad back in 2005, with Mosley being lucky to win a round or two. 

I don't see it happening any other way.