Pacquiao shows respect for Mosley with intense buildup

LAS VEGAS, (Reuters) – Manny Pacquiao has been  installed as an odds-on favourite for his WBO welterweight title  defence against Shane Mosley but the Filipino has taken great  pains not to underestimate his American challenger.

While Pacquiao is already acknowledged as one of the best  offensive fighters of all time, he said yesterday he had not  prepared for a fight in such intense fashion since he took on  10-times world champion Oscar De La Hoya three years ago.

“I have trained hard for this fight,” Pacquiao, who has a  career record of 52-3-2 with 38 knockouts, told a packed news  conference at the MGM Grand’s Hollywood Theater. “I am in 100  percent condition. You know why?

“Because I never underestimate Mosley. Mosley is a good  fighter. Do you think he’s old? He’s not old. He moves like a  32-year-old, a 31-year-old. His hand speed and foot speed is  still strong.”

Mosley, a four-times world champion in three weight  divisions, is a boxing veteran at 39 and many critics believe he  is a shadow of the man who twice beat De La Hoya.

Yet it has often been said that styles make fights and  Pacquiao knows full well that his American opponent, an agile  and highly intelligent boxer, loves to attack.

“Mosley is not that easy (an) opponent,” the 32-year-old  Filipino, who was smartly dressed in a black suit and white  dress shirt, said of their showdown on Saturday.

Manny Pacquiao

“He is a good fighter. He is strong, he throws a lot of  punches and he moves fast. He is the kind of fighter you can’t  under-estimate.”
Asked by reporters when he had last felt a similar level of  concern preparing for a bout, Pacquiao replied: “The De La Hoya  fight. De La Hoya throws a lot of punches, moves fast and is  bigger and taller.”

Pacquiao, moving up two weight classes for his first fight  at welterweight, stunned De La Hoya with an eighth-round TKO in  their non-title fight in Las Vegas in December 2008.

FILIPINO’S PEDIGREE

That victory confirmed the Filipino’s pedigree and he has  since won a further four fights, most recently an eighth world  title in an unprecedented eighth weight class against Mexican  Antonio Margarito in November.

Last week, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said his fighter  had never prepared better for a bout, and he emphasised the  point during yesterday’s news conference.

“We know we’re in a tough fight,” the bespectacled Roach  said. “We respect Shane and his camp. They have a great team.
“But we are 100 percent ready. Everybody has worked really  hard at this training camp. I think it’s the best training camp  we’ve ever had and Manny is in the best shape ever.

“We need to peak for this fight because Shane’s one of the  most crafty guys out there. He’s intelligent and experienced and  you can’t replace experience, that’s for sure.”

Mosley, who has not competed in the ring since his draw with  Sergio Mora in September, predicted an all-action contest at the  MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday.

“This is going to be a terrific fight, a great fight,” said  the American, who is 46-6-1 with 39 KOs. “We’re both warriors,  we both love to fight and we’re both winners.

Shane Mosley

“And when you get two winners in there, you know it’s going  to be a heck of a fight. So I’m excited. I’m ready. It’s going  to be a block-buster … and I’m happy to be a part of this.”

Pacquiao, like Mosley, is no lover of the trash talking that  so often dominates the buildup to professional fights and he had  a special message for those attending yesterday’s news  conference.

“All of my life, I have had to fight,” said the Filipino,  who rose from poverty in his homeland to become a beloved  sportsman and win a seat in his national congress. “As a child,  I had to fight just to eat.

“The biggest fight of my life is not in boxing. No, the  biggest fight in my life is how to end poverty in my country and  this Saturday, I will wear yellow gloves (in the ring) as a  symbol of unity and poverty.”