Mosley eager to crack Pacquiao puzzle
Manny Pacquiao has been called a lot of things during his boxing career -- but probably never a Rubik's Cube.
Shane Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, thinks his fighter can figure out the puzzling Pacquiao to claim his WBO welterweight belt Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden.
"The Rubik's Cube has a lot of dimensions to it," Richardson said. "But it is solvable. And Shane has the experience ... to solve the Rubik's Cube that is Manny Pacquiao."
Mosley said the game plan is simple.
"I have a lot of advantages over him," he said, referring to his size, strength and speed. "All I have to do is exploit his weaknesses. Once I exploit them, I should be able to take care of business."
Richardson said Pacquiao reminds him of Aaron Pryor.
"He was a southpaw and had the same kind of awkwardness," Richardson said. "We've fought southpaws before, and we've fought speed before, and we've faced tenacity before. So now you just have to draw from all those experiences and formulate a game plan that will exploit the flaws that Pacquiao does present and be able to exploit them for all 12 rounds."
The trainer has been in Mosley's corner for his past three fights: a win over Antonio Margarito, a loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a draw against Sergio Mora.
"To beat someone like Pacquiao, you have to land a lot of punches," Mosley said. "You have to land a high percentage and more punches every round.
"It's like when I fought Margarito. Before we fought, he was throwing like 1,000 punches. But when I fought him, he only threw 500. It's all the angles and the way you move and how you turn him to where you make him not throw as many punches."
Richardson said he's not worried about Pacquiao's ability to unleash punches from all angles, an attribute that has helped him amass a 52-3-2 record with 38 knockouts.
"If a bullet misses you by two inches, it's just as dangerous as a fly," Richardson said. "It only matters if it hits you."
The fact Mosley trusts Richardson's game plan is a testament to his willingness to adapt, something not every fighter is willing to do. Especially a 39-year-old former five-time champion with the wealth of experience Mosley possesses.
"Shane's a gladiator," Richardson said. "He looks at things from that viewpoint. I remember the first time we had a disagreement. I was training him for Margarito, and the first time I wrapped his hands he didn't like the way I was doing it.
"He wants to fight in the Bare Knuckle Era. I said to him, 'You're going to break your hands,' and he said, 'I like to feel my skin.' It took some convincing him, but we worked it out. We can always come to a compromise."
Richardson said his job is to prepare Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) for any possible scenario.
"He's got the mentality, 'I'm going to knock his ass out.' " Richardson said. "I can't look at it that way. I have to put a strategy in place that doesn't limit Shane's abilities."
■ NOTES -- The official weigh-in is at 3 p.m. today at the MGM Grand Garden and is open to the public. Doors open at 1 p.m. In the other title fight on Saturday's card, Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. defends his WBO super bantamweight title against veteran Jorge Arce. ... As has become tradition after he fights in Las Vegas, Pacquiao will perform with his band at his official postfight party at Mandalay Bay.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
