Manny Pacquiao vs Shane Mosley: Bleacher Report's Official Fight Predictions

The big fight week has finally come along once again. The whole boxing world is buzzing and even the casual fight fans are starting to talk and get excited, so this can only mean one thing: either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather is fighting this coming weekend.

Of course, in a perfect world, the whole universe would be up all night if we had a Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight this weekend, but this is not a perfect world and we instead only have Pacquiao fighting against a hall of fame bound veteran legend by the name of Shane Mosley instead.

Many are once again criticizing this fight, for they feel Mosley is way past his prime and simply too old to be a competitive threat to the pound for pound champion Pacquiao.

But all the criticism aside Pacquiao vs Mosley is without a doubt the biggest fight of the 2011 year as many of the promos and press releases constantly remind us over and over again.

Pacquiao is the current face of boxing and the only current fighter besides Floyd Mayweather Jr. who can guarantee a million plus pay per views and interest among the masses who are not regular boxing fans.

Shane Mosley is a former pound for pound king himself, who is a hall of fame guarantee and fought the best of the best of his era.

With everyone tuning in to the CBS and Showtime Fight Camp 360 episodes, we will definitely have an impressive, wider audience than usual for these two big name fighters.

So for all the boxing fans, and even casual fans who would like to make a wager on just how the outcome of this fight may turn out, we here at the Bleacher Report will once again offer our expertise on the sweet science so that you can thank us later.

So here they are fight fans, the Official Manny Pacquiao/Shane Mosley Bleacher Report Fight Predictions just for you.

KING J, Bleacher Report Boxing Community Leader/ Featured Columnist

I have already stated in a previous article 10 Things Manny Pacquiao Needs To Do To Defeat Shane Mosley, 10 very fundamental things Manny must do in order to be victorious. In addition to that, according to my sources at both Wild Card and Big Bear, as long as Pacquiao does not try to be macho or play to the crowd too much in the first three rounds, then I really don't see how he can lose to this "last final big pay day" version of Mosley.

If Pacquiao breaks Shane down for the first few rounds and attacks the body with constant pressure, I see Pacquiao being the first fighter to ever stop Mosley in the championship rounds via TKO stoppage.   I'll keep it as real as this: as soon as I get to Las Vegas late Thursday night, I will spread out a few Benjamins over the last six rounds of this fight and you just might see another gloating KING J video on YouTube shot Sunday afternoon from the jacuzzi suite this time.  

Blake Dreisbach, Featured Columnist

While Mosley is on his way out, Pacquiao still continues to excel in the sport as the leading pound-for-pound boxer. This fight should be no problem for Pacquiao, and I pick him to win by a unanimous decision. 2011 is the year of the upset, but the best of the P4P stars are not being beaten, and it’s not going to happen May 7th.

Mosley’s best chance is to land a perfect KO shot, but he couldn’t do it against Cotto, Mayweather or Mora and went 0-2-1 in the process against them. Mosley will be looking for it again, and Freddie Roach is prepared for that. Expect Mosley to hold his own for the first couple rounds but eventually be taken apart by the busier and more accurate Pacquiao who takes the last eight or nine rounds decisively.

Justin Tate, Featured Columnist

For the Mosley vs Pacquiao event, I'm going to be brave and choose Mosley. I'm not choosing him because I believe he WILL win, but I know he CAN. With what we've seen the past couple weeks, boxing upsets are running amok. There's always something we're overlooking that would tell us more about what we'll be seeing in the ring.

I predict a seven round knockout by Shane Mosley. Mosley can hurt anybody and Manny knows that, but he can't change his ways. Pacquiao loves to move in and out, but with Mosley's reach and still decent speed, Pacquiao will get tagged...HEAVY. Be prepared, because even if Pacman survives, he'll likely look the most banged up he's ever looked.

Tyler Curtis, Featured Columnist/ KissingTheCanvas.com Founder

I think this is actually going to be a tougher then expected fight for Manny Pacquiao. Sure Shane Mosley looked terrible in his last two fights, but he has always struggled with boxers and that is what Floyd Mayweather and Sergio Mora are. Mora ran the whole fight and never tried to make it a fight.

Pacquiao likes to mix it up and his chin isn't rock solid. He is going to have a huge speed advantage though and that is why he will probably win. Mosley needs to not gas out by the fourth round, although I think he will, and his best chance I think is to land a big shot.
It can be done but I am going with Pacquiao by tough, but unanimous decision.

Vitali Shaposhnikov, Featured Columnist

Manny Pacquiao has fought top competition his whole career. Or did he? Looking at his last five fights, which opponent could you closely compare to a still in shape Shane Mosley? Is it the obviously dehydrated De La Hoya? Or over-hyped Ricky Hatton? Must be Joshua Clottey, who doesn't like to punch. I am sorry, totally forgot Margarito, the guy who is dreadfully slow compared to Pacquiao.

Cotto, that was the only semi-competitive fight Pacquiao had since the end of 2008. I fully expect Shane Mosley to give Pacquiao trouble, and the kind of trouble that could case an upset of the decade. If Pacquiao doesn't end it early (within five or so rounds), I pick Mosley to take control and win the fight, possibly via a late round KO. There you have it, two predictions for one fight!

Jess Mathew Beltran

Everybody thinks this is going to be an easy fight for Manny, but I beg to disagree.
The 39 going on 40 year old Shane, who is way past his prime, may be a step slower, but he still can score an upset.

Nobody thinks he can knock Margarito out? The element of surprise is there, and with a very experience and knowledgeable trainer in Naazim Richardson, for sure they will have a good fight plan for Manny.

However, with the way Manny’s training camp went (no bigger distractions) and given his excellent condition, I think he can knock Mosley out within nine rounds. Anything can still happen when you fight fire with fire, speed versus speed, youth versus experience. Whoever has the biggest heart and determination wins this fight. Manny by nine rounds.

James Foley

I think Pacquiao puts a beating on Sugar Shane, with overwhelming speed and volume of punches being way too much for Shane to handle. The fight ends somewhere between the sixth and the 10th rounds on referee or corner stoppage.

Ja Dawson

I got Pacquiao by UD12 over Mosley, but don't sleep on Shane. I can see him upsetting the apple cart.

Stewart Flaherty

Manny Pacquiao by Unanimous Decision. Mosley will work extremely hard in preparation for this fight, and will have no interest in trading toe to toe. Pacquiao will rack up scoring blows from the outside and wobble "Suger" Shane once or twice. when all is said and done, Pac Man will win on every card by a score similar to 116-112.

Leo Reyes, Featured Columnist

Shane Mosley is dangerous in the early rounds. Manny Pacquiao should watch out for Mosley’s early assault. If Pacquiao survives the first five rounds, he has a good chance of knocking Mosley out starting at sixth up to ninth round. If Mosley remains standing up to ninth round, Pacquiao will finish him on the 10^th or 11^th round.  Manny Pacquiao by KO, 10^th or 11^th round.

Dave Carlson, Bleacher Report Featured Boxing Columnist, KissingTheCanvas.com Contributor

The obvious fact is that Pacquiao will win. The particulars of that victory and the storyline behind them are what makes this fight even slightly interesting. "Sugar" Shane Mosley's apparent decline is real. He's losing speed rapidly as he approaches 40, and his power hasn't been great since his move up to welterweight years ago.

However, he's a smart, experienced fighter with a brilliant trainer, sound defense and a very strong chin: he has never been stopped in his 20-year career. Combine this with Pacquiao's recent crowd-pleasing tendency to prolong fights, and a stoppage before Round 5 is extremely unlikely. Mosley may lose every round, but probably won't be stopped before the halfway mark.

But Pacquiao wants a knockout for two reasons.

First off, he hasn't won by KO since 2009 vs. Cotto, and he wants to prevent Sergio Martinez (whose sensational recent KOs outshine Pacquiao's wide 12-round decisions) from gaining any more ground in the Pound-for-Pound discussion.

Secondly, Pac Man wants to beat Mosley more impressively than Floyd Maywather, Jr.'s 12-round, near-shutout decision victory over Mosley last year.

Prediction: Mosley will fight admirably, but won't win more than one round. Pacquiao will be clearly in control by Round 4, and a few rounds later, he'll become the first person to stop Shane Mosley. TKO victory for Pacquiao between Rounds 6 and 9.

So there you have it fight fans, the experts of Bleacher Report have spoken once again, and we will either eat our words or eat some Bellagio Buffet come Sunday morning after overcoming our hangovers.

We will indeed do our next collaboration piece on the next signed super mega heavyweight unification fight of David Haye vs Wladimir Klitschko next, and should Floyd Mayweather sign for a fight in 2011, we shall definitely to a collaboration prediction piece on that as well.

But until then, it's all about Pacquiao/Mosley this weekend, and we will be in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand covering the weigh in, the fight and post fight events this weekend. Definitely check back with us here at Bleacher Report.

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