Mo' Money, Mo' Problems: Why Pacquiao Should Avoid Mayweather

I have followed Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s boxing career since its inception, and I have never seen him seriously hurt in the ring, so I was curious to see how he would respond once he was "touched" by an opponent.

"Sugar" Shane Mosley afforded me the opportunity when he connected with a right in the second round of his fight with Mayweather, and then later another that buckled Mayweather's knees.

For the first time in his career, Mayweather was in serious trouble.

In order to avoid a surprising early knockout, he resorted to the familiar comforts of his impenetrable defense, and the fight was lost for Mosley.

Jim Lederman gave the first two rounds to Mosley and he deserved them.

But Mayweather's dominace in each of the following 10 rounds was revealing, and it may have been a message to any concerned parties.

Mayweather has been dogged by his tendency to carefully select his opponents, but the fact remains he has defeated each boxer in his path, and has done it in mostly convincing fashion.

Mosley was widely assumed to be the first person Mayweather has fought who could be considered his equal, and despite the overwhelming odds which favored Mayweather, most thought it would be his toughest fight.

Maybe it was Mosley's victory over a slower, less skilled Antonio Margarito, or maybe it was the fact this was the first time Mayweather would be matched with an opponent with speed and power.

The reasons are insignificant, but the results are telling because Mayweather delivered what may be one of the most thorough defeats boxing has seen in the past decade, sans the knockout.

Even Mayweather detractor Larry Merchant had to appreciate Mayweather's defense and technical brilliance on this night, so thoughts inevitably turn to a possible bout with Manny Pacquiao.

If Manny is smart he should look the other way.

Mayweather's tactical demolition of Mosley shows Manny would have few answers for Mayweather's technical approach.

Manny has built his reputation on speed and the ability to throw punches from a variety of angles, but Mayweather is bigger than Pacquiao, and he may be just as fast.

But what really separates Mayweather is his refusal to divert from his plan, and as relentless as Manny is, it's hard for me to see him being able to throw Mayweather off of his game.

Some may not want to admit it, but Mayweather may be boxing's most technically sound boxer in the last 20 years.  The look of desperation on Mosley's face confirmed this.

Manny fights with passion, speed, strength, and desire, but all of that is neutralized by Mayweather's cold calculations and his ability to adjust according to circumstances.

The aggressor in a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight would most likely be Manny, but what happens when his aggressive approach fails to yield any real results?

Mayweather is currently the best defensive fighter in all of boxing, but his speed allows him to easily switch between offense and defense, and oh yeah, he's not Miguel Cotto.

Manny devoured Cotto because Miguel never took the time to figure out what the defensive aspects of boxing really meant.  He was easy prey to Manny's onslaught.

But against Mayweather, Manny is not likely to get the same opportunites because Floyd will not divert from his path.

And while Pacquiao is missing with his wild flurries, Mayweather will be connecting with crisp, clean shots.

Even the commentators for Saturday Night's fight were faced to re-evaluate their positions in the wake of Mayweather's easy win over Mosley, because it really was that convincing.

Some people choose to look at Mayweather's undefeated record and give reasons why it is flawed.

Maybe the same people should look at Manny's record and try to figure out why they would even give him a chance against Mayweather.