BEVERLY HILLS – Shane Mosley’s early prediction is that the fight’s not going to last the distance.
“This is the type of fight that doesn’t last the distance,” the 39-year-old American said as he briefly joined scribes in their table during Thursday’s media launch at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
It was the start of the four-city, six-day press tour for the May 7 fight, and Mosley, who came in a gray suit, made sure it kicked off the way it should be, at a swanky hotel, with a bold forecast.
Mosley was asked to pick a round, and he paused briefly, looking up the ceiling.
“What round? Oh, I don’t know. But I don’t think it’s going the distance,” he said.
Either way, the former world champion thinks it’s going to be a knockout. But he said he’s make sure he ends up the winner, and at 39, become the WBO welterweight champion.
Mosley insisted that styles make fights, and it’s Pacquiao’s style, always on the attack, that would favor him.
“He throws a lot of punches, and this will lead openings for me. It’s the way I move, the way I throw my punches. It’s natural. It’s not the African-American style that will beat him. It’s my style,” he added.
A crowd had gathered around the table, cameras all over, when someone cut short the interview becauese Mosley was needed up the stage.
He did walk up, took his seat with his adviser, rap mogul James Prince, and the others, when the star of the show walked in.
“Here he is,” the promoter, Bob Arum, told the crowd. “The champion, Manny Pacquiao.”
The FIlipino superstar came with his famous entourage, in his dark attire, and hair soon long enough to cover his face.
“It’s the Beatles hairstyle,” said Pacquiao.
The champ is in the house. Let the press tour begin.