Pacquiao puts bet on Mosley over Floyd Jr

Manny Pacquiao is putting his bet on a "Sugar" Shane Mosley win over Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their May 1 title fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion said Mosley’s style of pressing the fight against his opponent, especially against a defensive fighter like Mayweather, would be the key in winning the 12-round bout. Pacquiao added that boxing after all, is still won through the volume of punches thrown and connected, and not by the art of avoiding being hit. "I’ll go for Mosley since he is a puncher," said the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter in Filipino. Mosley, 38, stakes his World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight crown against Mayweather Jr. in a fight that came to fore after their supposed scheduled bouts failed to materialize. Mayweather Jr. was scheduled to face Pacquiao last March 13, but the showdown didn’t take place following a botched negotiation surrounding the drug testing protocol to be administered on both boxing superstars. On the other hand, Mosley was meant to defend his 147-pound belt against Andre Berto last January 31, only for the match to be shelved following the strong earthquake that devastated Haiti, Berto’s country of birth. But despite being the champion, Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) is a slight underdog to Mayweather Jr., who has yet to lose in 40 professional bouts winning 25 by way of knockout. Pacquiao is more than willing to defy the odds. "Boxing is like basketball, you only need to make a lot of shots. In boxing, it is better that you continue punching," he said. The seven-time world champion is coming off a dominant 12-round unanimous decision against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey to retain his WBO welterweight championship in a fight which more than stressed the value of offense over defense. Pacquiao threw a total of 1,220 punches against the 32-year-old Clottey, who was more content in surviving the bout by holding both his arms up high and refusing to mix it up with the Pacman. Asked if he sees Mayweather doing the same game plan against Mosley, Pacquiao readily agrees, although unlike Clottey, he expects the former pound-for-pound king to engage the WBA champion in several furious exchanges. "Clottey is different from Mayweather," said Pacquiao in emphasizing that Mayweather is a more caliber opponent compared to Clottey. This developed as Pacquiao and his family including wife Jinkee, arrived in General Santos City early Friday, exactly on the day when the campaign period for local officials begins. Pacquiao is running for the lone congressional seat of Sarangani against businessman Roy Chongbian. – GMANews.TV