Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley: Will Mosley Be Competitive Against Pac-Man ?

On May 7, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Bob Arum's Top Rank will present Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2,38 KO's) versus Shane Mosley (46-6-1,39 KO's). The bout will be for Pacquiao's WBO Welterweight (147Lbs) Title.

Pac-Man, the best pound for pound boxer in today's game, is still at his prime at 32 years of age. He is on a streak of 13 consecutive impressive wins. His last defeat was a unanimous lost to Erik Morales at 130lbs in March of 2005. He later, in 2006, KO'd and TKO'd Morales. Mosley, a future Boxing Hall Of Fame nominee, is 39 years old for this bout with a record of 2-2-1 in his last five fights.

Even though fans have been aching to see Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr., picking Mosley is the best Arum can do at the time. Mosley has more name recognition and popularity among casual fans than Juan Manual Marquez and undefeated WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto. Mosley, who is no longer with Golden Boy Promotions, will be guaranteed over 5 million for the fight.

Some will say that Mosley at 39 is past his prime. His last bout on Sept. 18, 2010 was a split decision draw to NBC Contender winner Sergio Mora. It was a HBO PPV event that did not do well. Many felt that Mosley was the aggressor, while Mora was back pedaling and not wanting to engage Mosley throughout the night.

Others believe that, in his prime, Mosley would have destroyed Mora that night. Before the Mora bout, in May 2010, Mosley had lost a one-sided unanimous decision to Mayweather Jr. It was apparent that he did briefly rock Mayweather in the second round, but Mayweather withstood and prevailed in a one-sided fashion.

Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito are two common opponents that they have. In 2007, Mosley lost to Cotto by unanimous decision, while in 2009 Pacquiao beat Cotto by 12th round TKO. In Margarito's case, the edge goes to Mosley, as he TKO'd Margarito in the ninth round in 2009, while in November 2010 Pacquiao easily beat Margarito by unanimous decision.

Skeptics believe Mosley is past his prime and Pac-Man will beat him convincingly, while others believe that Mosley, who has never been knocked out, will compete in the first four rounds and stands a chance. Which assumption do you agree with?