Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley: 5 Reasons You Must Not Miss This PPV
The $54.99 price tag may seem like a lot for the Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KO) vs. Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KO) mega-fight this Saturday on Showtime, but as we've seen before, every Pacquiao fight is a must-watch event.
So what will it be? Do you want to get together with some friends and watch one of the best fights of the year with two of the greatest welterweights of their generation, or would you rather watch a 48-year-old Evander Holyfield fight a 46-year-old Brian Nielsen on another PPV?
No. 5: Everyone Else Will Be Watching
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If everyone else will be watching the fight, why be left out of the crowd?
With over four million PPV buys in his last four fights, Manny Pacquiao draws a crowd every time. Add in the 41,000 fans in attendance for two of his bouts versus Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium, and it's a huge portion of the boxing community watching, if not all.
We owe it to Pacquiao and Mosley for giving us more than a decade's worth of great fights, and what better way to do it than by watching them fight for 12 rounds, if it goes that far?
No. 4: What Will Showtime Do Differently Than HBO?
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Oh no, Gus Johnson!
Don't worry—Al Bernstein and Antonio Tarver should be beside him, although it's not confirmed yet, and they are two of the best commentators in boxing. It would be really interesting to hear Tarver, who is 42 and still boxing, reflect on the age factor everyone is talking about.
Still, it was a big surprise to everyone when the announcement was made that Pacquiao vs. Mosley would be on Showtime and not HBO.
HBO has been both fighters' home for what seems like forever, but the change in promotion shouldn't affect the bout. It will only enhance it.
Showtime's production is top-notch when it comes to boxing, and it's something it does better than anything else on the network. Showtime has been in the boxing business for over 25 years.
Even if it's not as good as HBO, at least it's something new.
No. 3: There Is a Good Undercard for Once, and It Features Kelly Pavlik
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The undercard to Saturday's fight should provide excitement throughout. The past few boxing PPVs, at least Pacquiao's, haven't had the greatest undercards, but it was the lackluster matchups placed underneath the biggest draw in boxing.
The Humberto Soto vs. Urbano Antillon rematch was swiped from the card two weeks ago. Both are scheduled to face new opponents at a later date.
Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik (36-2, 32 KO) returns to fight undefeated Alfonso Lopez (21-0, 16 KO) in a 10-round middleweight bout. Pavlik hasn't fought since losing his WBO and WBC titles to Sergio Martinez last year.
After pulling out of a fight with Brian Vera in November, Pavlik entered the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California to mend an alcohol problem that nagged him throughout his career. He left rehab in January and jumped back in the gym for his bout with Lopez.
Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KO) fights Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KO) in a 12-round light-welterweight bout that should determine another legitimate challenger in the best division in boxing.
Action star Jorge Arce (56-6-2, 43 KO) gets his chance at the WBO super-bantamweight title when he takes on Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (20-0-1, 17 KO). Arce earned a title shot last year when he had a controversial draw with Lorenzo Parra in a very close and competitive bout. Expect action in this one. Arce may be past his prime, but the undefeated 26-year-old should bring the best out of him.
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No. 2: Which Fighter Will Dare to Be Great?
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The biggest question entering Saturday's fight between Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao and former welterweight champion Shane Mosley is which guy can get the knockout? Out of 98 victories between them, 77 are by knockout. That's 78 percent.
There is more than good reason to believe this will end in a knockout, but can Pacquiao stop an opponent who has never been knocked out in his career and only knocked down twice?
The better question to ask is who will look for the knockout, and there is an answer: both.
At 40, Mosley doesn't have much time left in this sport, at least at the highest levels. He wants to make a statement in this fight and go out with a bang. That was his plan with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he's not the guy to ask to stand and trade. Pacquiao will answer every one of Mosley's shots with one of his own, and all it takes is one.
No. 1: 2011 Is the Year of the Upset
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Juan Manuel Lopez, James Kirkland, Andre Berto and David Lemieux were all undefeated going into their bouts against opposition they were expected to beat. They all lost, and the results were clear. Three of them got stopped within 12 rounds, the exception being Berto, who arguably had the toughest test of them all going up against "Vicious" Victor Ortiz.
Sixteen notable boxers have lost their "0" so far this year, and the year isn't even halfway over yet.
Mosley has the best chance out of any of Pacquiao's recent opponents to upset the pound-for-pound king. At a 6-1 underdog, it's a familiar spot and one Mosley has been in before.
He was in the same position when he fought Antonio Margarito when he was the most avoided fighter in the world. Mosley destroyed "The Tijuana Tornado" in nine rounds, knocking him out for the first time in his career.
Read more about the biggest unbeaten stars being beaten for the first time in 2011 here:
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