Bleacher report press Pass to Mosley-Mayorga

       Hello there boxing fans! This boxing reporter would like to make good on his promise to deliver press passes. The funny thing is there is about 50 fights I could name that I would rather have as my inaugural press pass but that is the way of the force and I will not question it. This weekend's card which will be presented by HBO features 4 fighters that hope to use this event to market themselves for much more high profile fights and purses. What I CJ Vick will do is to take you inside the minds  of the combatants as they prepare to try and make a statement to Larry merchant and company. The ironic thing about this particular promotion is that the title fight is not the head-liner and for good reason. I hope this prompts some to tune in and feel free to weigh in on what you think the outcome will be!thanks kids,
ps...there is actually ten fights on the card, but HBO will only be presenting the two fights that follow,thanks 
                        
                                  Carson, California
                                 SAT SEPTEMBER 27th 2008
                         (Can be seen on HBO World Championship Boxing)

                                    UNDERCARD

                WBC Welterweight Championship(147 pounds) 

         
               Andre berto: 22-0 19 knockouts
               WBC Welterwight Champion(first defense)

  1.What this fight means for Andre
     
       This fight means one big step towards boxing relevance for the young Champ. He went from being an exciting prospect to a world champ literally overnight( when Floyd Mayweather Jr retired Andre picked up his strap in a vacant title fight 2 weeks later). Andre needs to live up the hype and beating a proven determined veteran in Popcorn worthy fashion will help him do just that.
  2.Why he will win
     Andre has amazing hand speed and fantastic power in both hands. He scored a sensational knockout in the vacant title fight and displayed some flair in the process. He on paper should out-class Forbes mabye even stop him. He has the chin to take Steve's Jr Welterweight Pillow punches and has the power to send Steve back to espn. However in boxing not everything can be what it seems
  3.Why he will lose
    If Andre is satisfied with his current status he could lose it in 12 rounds. If he reads
all the press clippings about how great he is or underestimates the resolve of Stevey then this coming out party could turn into a wake very fast. It is important for Andre to prepare,act and fight like a world champion. Nothing less. If he catches Imthemanitis then his title and chance at a high profile defense will vanish.
 

               Steve "2 pounds" Forbes:  33-6 9 knockouts
                  Former IBF Super featherweight champion
                   (challeger)
   1.What this Fight means to Steve

  MONEY MONEY MONEY! This fight means more bank accounts for Steve. He got a great chance to showcase himself in the Oscar Del Hoya exhibtion in May and seems to be building off his average performace. I guess it helps that his former sparring partner(I mean former oppnent) is promoting the event.
Stevie has payed his dues and is truley one of the good guys in boxing. He fell short against Oscar However if he can win his second world title on a semi big stage then that could jettison him towards nice fat paydays and with his growing child you better believe Steve is coming to fight.

  2.Why he will win
  Steve will win because he got slept on. Because Andre chose to forget that this man is a professional. Steve will win because of his counter punching skills and his ability to frustrate an over aggressive Berto with his sound Mayweather tuned defense. Steve will win because America wants him to and he knows it. He has a smigden of glamour from his contender days and now this weekend has a chance to parley it into something much bigger then reality TV
 
  3.Why he will lose
  Steve will lose because he cant cope with Berto's pure boxing skills. He will lose because he cant hurt Berto with his soft punches. His knockout total listed above is no mis-print folks. this man can not hit much harder then Jennifer Love Hewitt, however,I  believe he has never been  knocked out so I will give his chin the benfit of the doubt. Andre's speed and power should present big problems for Steve and the vegas odds reflect that notion

                              CJ'S pick
     Andre Berto 10th round TKO
 I see this fight being an ebb and flow type of confrontation. Andre will have trouble at first dealing with the defensive Mayweather tactics of Forbes. As the fight goes on and Steve wears down Andre will overcome him with speed,power,and a hunger to become a pound for pound worthy name. Steve has never been knocked out but I see that coming to an end this weekend.

                                       MAIN EVENT
              
                    Jr middleweight Non title fight(154 pounds)

   
                "Sugar" Shane Mosley: 44-5 37 knockouts
                  former IBF lightweight champion
                  Former WBC welterwight champion
                  Former WBA and WBC superwelterweight champion

      1.What this fight means to Shane
     The different paths Shane could take are endless. He is not a top ten fighter right now in my view however is ripe for a high level promotion. I should point out that Shane has plenty of money. He could care less about the size of the payday. He is in the process of trying to repair his legacy in wake of 2 losses a peice to Winky Wright and Vern Forest. A win in this fight for Shane in convincing fashion could land him a Cotto
return bout or the fight that everyone is talking about this week...a title fight with Antonio Margarito in early 2009. We will see but this fight means more feathers in the cap for this amazing  prize fighter's magical career
       
     2. Why he will win
 He should win based on all the elements as they stand. He is the better pure boxer and through out his career he has shown a mental toughness that is overlooked due to his charming personality.Just ask Miguel Cotto The one glaring thing about this fight is the fact that anytime Ricardo Mayorga has fought anyone with an ounce of
boxing skill he has bitten the dust often in ugly fashion. With Shane's mix of counter punching skills and ring generalship this has the chance to be a fun fight to watch that Shane wins

      3. Why he will lose
   He will lose if he buys into Mr Mayorga's unkuth tactics. He will lose if he gets drawn into a brawl with an all time brawler. He will lose if he forgets to jab. He will lose if he does not answer Ricardo's wide winging punches with his own short accurate counter shots. He will lose if he looks past this fight thinking about grander stages. He will lose if he gets off his game plan and thinks about anything other then whats in front of him

        Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga:29-6 23 knockouts
                 Former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion
                 former WBC super welterweight champion

     1. What this fight means to Ricardo
     A win for Ricardo in this fight could net him a fight that  would help him recover his star power. He is one win away from a  third fight with Vern Forest. Not only is Vern the WBC Jr Middle weight champion,but, he also REALLY wants to get at Ricardo in wake of 2 straight losses to the man. Ricardo needs this win to justify a title shot and to erase the memory of brutal stoppage losses to Felix Trinidad and Oscar Del hoya. This fight means a return to boxing's grand stage and a chance to win back the belt he lost to Oscar.

     2.Why he will win
  Ricardo Mayorga will win because he gets into Shanes head. He will win because he will succeed in getting the more talented fighter off his game plan. He will win because he lands big meaningful power shots. He will win because he smells a third match with his arch enemy Vern Forrest. He will win because he catches Shane with a shot that Shane does not see in the late rounds. He will win because I believe as others do that Shane does not have the power to really hurt Ricardo based on the fact that Shane has been fighting at welterweight and Ricardo has been fighting at middleweight and jr middleweight over the last couple years

    3.Why he will lose
He will lose because he got outclassed. He will lose because his wide punching haymaker style got exposed by a highly skilled boxer. Shane plays high speed chest while Ricardo plays battleship and this fact could lead to an ugly demise for our favorite brawler. He will lose because he gets caught up in his own mind games and sikes himself out. He will lose because he thinks Shane is soft. He will lose because he thinks that his mouth and toughness will win the day. He will def lose if he buys into this claim that he will "make Shane his woman and knock him out inside of three rounds"

            CJ'S Pick
     Shane Mosley 12 round split decsion
  The one wild card in this fight is that fact that Ricardo is coming down in weight and Shane is moving up. This little tid bit could prove to be a difference maker. I dont think Shane has the pure punching power to knock Ricardo out,but, he does have the hand speed and boxing talent to out land and even hurt him from time to time. Ricardo will make a fight of it and he will not go easily. In the end the better fighter will win on 2 of the 3 judges scorecards.

                      Haha wow I hope you liked my press pass. I hoped to show this weekend's event from all four fighters prospectives. The outcomes of these fights have yet to be determined I know but based on the resumes of the fighters and the current climate of boxing these picks are the ones that make sense to me. All four of these men can move on to bigger and better things if they can suceed this weekend. I asbig boxing fan ask that all of you tune in to the fight and let me know who you think is going to win and why. Good luck to all four fighters and gear up boxing fans the next 30 days in the sport will shape up the boxing landscape as we move towards the new year.