World watches Pacman

LAS VEGAS – Once again, the whole world will be watching Manny Pacquiao, the fighting congressman from the Philippines, defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against American Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand today.

All 17,000 tickets to the fight have been sold, and when the opening bell sounds, millions more will be watching on television around the globe. It’s the biggest fight of the year so far, and there’s no doubt it will be a memorable one, regardless of the outcome.

There will surely be fireworks in the ring.

Pacquiao is the overwhelming favorite in the scheduled 12-rounder. Most people are also calling for a knockout win for the reigning pound-for-pound champion who hasn’t scored a stoppage since his fight with Miguel Cotto in November of 2009.

But that’s easier said than done because Mosley, the first pure African-American ever to face Pacquiao, is out to prove a lot of people wrong. He wants to prove that at 39, he’s not over the hill yet, as people started thinking after his last two fights.

He vowed to shock the world, and this may be his last chance.

If Mosley wins, he becomes one of the oldest fighters ever to win a world title. He has won four world titles in three weight divisions – lightweight, welterweight and super-welterweight. An upset of Pacquiao will make him feel 20 years younger, and a whole lot richer.

If that happens, the fight contract states that a rematch should take place within six months. Promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao’s next fight will take place on Nov. 12, again here in Vegas, whether it’s Mosley or someone else.

Pacquiao, the sport’s biggest draw and its biggest superstar, will earn a guaranteed purse of $20 million, and stands to earn another $10 million when everything else comes in, including sales from the pay-per-view.

Mosley, for his part, was guaranteed $5 million, but if he wins, he could be offered thrice as much for a rematch with Pacquiao. He has everything to win in this contest, and practically nothing to lose - except his pride.

Leading up to the fight, Pacquiao said all the nice things about Mosley.

“He’s not that old. He’s 39 but he fights like he’s 31 or 32. And he’s bigger than me. He still has the speed. He is a very good fighter,” said Pacquiao of the native of California, who stands 5’9” and has a wingspan of 74 inches.

“I feel good. It’s a motivation to me,” said Mosley of the age factor.

Pacquiao has gone up in weight like no other fighter in history, winning his first world title as a flyweight. He has also ruled the super-bantamweight, featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight, junior-welterweight, and super-welterweight classes.

No other fighter has won titles in eight different weight classes, and now that he’s competing in the 147-lb. class, it’s no longer easy to find an opponent smaller than the 32-year-old congressman who barely stands 5’7” with a reach of 67 inches.

“But size does not matter,” he said.

Pacquiao had defeated boxers almost twice his size, starting off with Oscar dela Hoya, whom he stopped inside nine rounds in 2008, then Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Antonio Margarito, the last two badly beaten but lasting the distance.

Against Mosley, he will be tested anew.

Pacquiao will carry a ring record of 52 wins, three losses and two draws with 38 knockouts. He’s on a very hot streak, winning his last 13 fights. His last defeat came in 2005, against Erik Morales, and he’d been knocked out twice, early in his career.

Mosley has a record of 46-6-1 with 39 knockouts. After stunning Antonio Margarito in 2009, he came back with a loss to Floyd Mayweather, and a draw against Sergio Mora. But he’s never been knocked out before, and he said it won’t happen here.

Mosley is the only boxer to have defeated Dela Hoya twice.

“I am just so excited to be in this fight. The whole world is watching. It should be great,” he said on stage following yesterday’s official weigh-in at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a section of which was packed with a cheering crowd of 6,500.

Pacquiao weighed in at 145 lbs., two lbs. below the limit. Mosley tipped the scales at exactly 147 lbs., smiling, flexing his muscles. By fight time, Pacquiao should be a little under 150, and Mosley probably 10 lbs. heavier than the Filipino.

When Pacquiao climbed the ring against Margarito, the Mexican was 17 lbs. heavier. But again, it hardly mattered because he proved too slow for Pacquiao, who always relies on his quickness and power to demolish bigger foes.

Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said he expects a knockout inside seven rounds, and that there’s “no way we’d lose this fight.” He wants Pacquiao to start strong, and wear Mosley down early.

Mosley is not listening to what Roach is saying.

“The trainers say certain things. Maybe they say if Shane fights the same way (in his last two fights) Manny’s going to knock him out. I say the same thing. If Manny fights the same way as against Margarito I’m going to knock him out,” said Mosley.

Bob Arum, the promoter, said Mosley is one of the very few fighters who can match up with Pacquiao.

“You can count on Shane when the opportunity is there to trade with him. Nobody is as brave as Shane standing in there, making a great, great fight,” said Arum, who’s looking at a fight that could be even bigger than Pacquiao’s previous ones.

Pacquiao worked hard training for this fight, and Roach said it was the best camp they’ve ever had.

“From day one Manny told me this is not an easy fight. That’s why he trained his ass off. It was work, work and work for him. We respect Shane because he has a great team. But we’re a hundred percent ready,” said Roach.

It’s now time to prove it.