Review

Post fight weekend reactions have been mixed, and my predictions were 50/50, but here is a review of how I saw this weekend unfold.

The Hang Em Up Award: This goes to Shane Mosley. He came in in a great shape, talked constantly about how well he does with "come forward type fighters", and even was quoted saying "I love a good scrap"...well Shane you fooled me. Pacquiao came forward as expected, Shane ran away as unexpected, and certainly wanted no part of the "good scrap" that could have taken place. After Pac-Man rung his bell in the 3rd Round Sugar was anything but sweet. It seemed as though all he wanted to do was run, and touch gloves for 12 rounds as if it were a sparring session. Even the normally respectful Pacquiao had enough of the antics come the 10th round, when the boo's came from the crowd due to lack of action. He implored Mosley to fight by waving him in with his gloves, and giving him a "let's entertain them" type look. Mosley wanted no part of the Filipino dynamo, who fought past the 4th round with and injured left leg, and decide to survive instead of fight. To grade the performance from Manny I would give it a B at the best, but some of that has to do with his opponents decision to not fight, even though he was in a fight.

Fight of the Night: Easily Jorge Arce's upset KO of Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. was the fight of the night. Both men were hurt, both men were down, and both men fought like true warriors in the ring. This was an entertaining battle from start to finish, with Arce pulling off the upset and reclaiming a stake of the title. Excellent fight that had me on the edge of my seat.

Sobriety Award: Kelly Pavlik made his return to the ring Saturday night. Though he did not take out Lopez they way I expected him too, I can understand why. After a year of no fighting, and a few months with Betty Ford, it is totally understandable that "The Ghost" would be showing a great deal of ring rust. In the first few rounds it was quite obvious. His timing was off, and seemed to be getting hit a little too much. After that though, he started to find his range and connect of constant left hooks, rocking Lopez on many occasions. In the final rounds he closed the show by pressuring Lopez, and hurting him multiple times with left hooks, and straight rights. The only thing that bothered me was that when Kelly would back Lopez into a corner with the jab, he would not attack. This was the only major sign I saw that I'd be worried about if I were his trainer. If the Kelly Pavlik of 2.5 years ago had Lopez stuck in a corner the amount of times he had him Saturday, there is no way that fight would have made the final bell.

Fight Weekend

The Manny Pacquiao vs Shane Mosley fight is now upon us, and roughly 36 hours away, so we will be going over final predictions for the main event and undercard brawls. The under card features, whats looks to be on paper, some action packed fights. Overall I think it would be a very good card to purchase.

The card is filled with knockout artists. Bob Arum did a good job of matching up fighters who bring the fireworks to each fight and are exciting. In the first undercard bout we have Mike Alvarado (29-0 21ko) taking on Ray Narh (25-1 21ko). This fight will provide some fireworks early and often. Alvarado is a highly thought of contender trying to put a face with a name tomorrow night in Vegas and on PPV. Narh, out of Ghana, is also a very tough customer. He possesses power in both hands, and is no push over. Expect this one to not go the distance.

In the second undercard we have GUARANTEED fireworks, why? Because Jorge Arce is in the fight. This guy would fight a heavyweight if they let him. A no fear, traditional Mexican brawler who will take 2 to give 1. His opponent is the up and coming Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. (Son of the fighter of the same name) who brings a undefeated record, and excellent KO ratio, into the ring against the veteran. I see Vazquez taking this one, but not without getting his bell rung once or twice by Arce.

In the 3rd undercard bout, we have the long awaited (at least by me) return of Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik. Pavlik will be taking on the undefeated, hard hitting, Alphonso Lopez. Lopez, out of Cut and Shoot, Texas, will be a tough customer for Kelly for a return bout. I see "The Ghost" looking rusty for the first, maybe second round, and finding an opening toward the end of the second/third round. Once he sees Lopez's mistakes, the killer instinct will be brought right back to the surface, and we can look for a KO around rounds 4 or 5.

In the main event of the evening we obviously have Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao vs "Sugar" Shane Mosley fighting for the WBO Welterwight Title. I truly believe this fight will be competitive, if only for a few rounds. Mosley thrives on aggressive fighters, he loves when people attack him, and can still punch. As much as I would like to see a 12 round back and forth battle though, I see this fight being tough for the first 4-5 rounds with Pacquiao taking control, using his superior speed around the midway point, leading to a late TKO or wide decision victory for Pacman.