Shane Mosley and trainer: ‘It’s going to be a fight of adjustments’
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Shane Mosley and his veteran trainer, Naazim Richardson, have been around boxing long enough to know what’s coming in their Saturday welterweight fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
‘It’s going to be a fight of adjustments,’ Richardson said. ‘We’re going to see the window close real soon on some things that are opened. For this fight, with both guys, if you can’t multi-task, then get your ... out of the ring.’
Richardson, in a round-table discussion with reporters Thursday, said he’s preparing for multiple scenarios requiring alternate fight plans.
Maybe Mayweather will try to charge at Mosley often, impressing judges even without landing many scoring blows. Perhaps Mosley will experience some ring rust from his 16-month layoff.
‘I have to keep my eyes open for those things, but I can’t let them overtake me,’ Richardson said.
The rust concern would be especially troubling if it becomes reality, Richardson said.
‘A slow start with that fast rabbit?’ Richardson said. ‘That tortoise and hare stuff is all [nonsense].’
In a private studio room next to the MGM Grand Garden Arena where the bout will be fought, Mosley on Thursday appeared relaxed and said he was prepared ‘not to prove anything to myself. I know what I know. But I want to prove it to you guys,’ he said of pulling the upset.
‘I think it’ll be a chess match ... both of us can fight. It’s about the mind, who has the best wits,’ Mosley said. ‘I know if he does something, I’ll need to do something, and I believe I can be successful in this fight.’
At 38, facing an unbeaten former six-time world champion, Mosley said he needs to drop only two pounds to make the welterweight 147-pound limit. He said he’d like to weigh around 157 pounds on fight night.
‘I trained hard,’ he said. ‘I did everything I was supposed to do.’
On the day it was officially revealed Mayweather will earn a guaranteed $22.5 million to Mosley’s $7 million, executives around the fight are hopeful it will become the second most successful non-heavyweight pay-per-view fight in history, surpassing the 1999 Oscar De La Hoya loss to Felix Trinidad.
The best selling point is the belief Mosley has a legitimate chance at victory. ‘I can’t pick out anybody I’ve ever fought who’s like Floyd, but he hasn’t fought a guy with my speed and power.’
‘I can see him getting nervous,’ Mosley said, reflecting about Wednesday’s surprisingly uneventful news conference in which the usually boisterous Mayweather remained respectful.
Richardson jumped into the conversation, pointing out that ‘Floyd acted more like Shane: mild, soft-spoken, complimentary. You know why? Because he lost those early mental battles with us. Now Shane’s in his head.’
Said Mosley: ‘When we did the stare-down, people said he flinched. That’s interesting. I promise I won’t lay a hand on him until the first bell rings.’
Mosley drew laughs from reporters by saying he was willing to ‘protect’ Mayweather on Wednesday, to keep him falling from a ledge he had stepped too close to on the news conference stage.
‘You don’t need to fall down until [Saturday],’ Mosley cracked.
-- Lance Pugmire
