Locks of the year: Manny, hair take on aging Mosley
Suzanne Summerville was introduced Saturday afternoon to a group of reporters as a new member of Shane Mosley’s team of publicists.
She offered these words: “We consider this the fight of the past decade. This is going to be an historic event.”
For what, bad haircuts?
Boxing is struggling, but I’m not sure anyone thought it would need Justin Bieber comparisons to get the masses excited about any matchup involving Manny Pacquiao.
That’s what we have now. Those are many of the questions we are getting. Manny and his hair.
They’re trying like crazy to convince the paying public it means far more, that Pacquiao-Mosley on May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena will offer great drama and even better action, that it’s unfair to paint Mosley as a guy more in need of his AARP card than another big fight.
Have you heard the line about last impressions?
Mosley is 39 and looked much older in losing a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May and again in winning a split decision over Sergio Mora in September.
It’s a big reason Pacquiao is a 7-to-1 favorite to win the WBO welterweight title fight, odds that probably would be 10-to-1 if some didn’t think floppy hair might blur his vision.
It’s true most everyone has struggled cracking the defensive skills of Mayweather and that Mora is known to run more than Meb Keflezighi.
They were bad matchups for Mosley. Bad styles. But none of that stops the clock from ticking.
I have no doubt Mosley will be in terrific shape May 7.
It just won’t matter.
“You have to give (Mosley) a little credit because he’s a former world champion and has been a great fighter,” said Freddie Roach, trainer to boxing’s Bieber. “But I made the comment after the (Mora) fight that he should retire. I believe it. But he chose to fight on, and I know he will get up for Manny.
“My goal is to knock him out in the end and show the other guy out there that we are superior to him and he couldn’t do what we could. Hopefully, something like that would entice him and get him jealous enough to fight.”
The other guy. The one with all the legal troubles.
Pacquiao is fighting Mosley this time and beat up Antonio Margarito in November because Mayweather Jr. won’t step in the ring against him, because, as he faces numerous criminal charges and spends his days now tweeting about large gambling wins (but never large losses), Mayweather seems more intent on throwing jabs at Pacquiao from afar so as to guarantee his record remains spotless.
If the world is indeed watching — I have to believe and certainly hope its eyes are instead pointed more toward the Middle East — it still wants to see Pacquiao-Mayweather more than any other fight at any level of any discipline.
The good news is that when you hear Roach and Pacquiao and promoter Bob Arum talk nowadays, you get a hint of it being more when than if. More than once Saturday, a proposed date of late 2011 was floated as a genuine possibility.
Until then, we get Hairgate and a new publicist taking the hype machine to absurd levels.
There is no downside for Mosley. He isn’t supposed to win and will get paid handsomely regardless. It’s not his fault the other guy won’t fight.
“I don’t know what to make of Floyd not fighting this fight,” Mosley told reporters in New York this week. “It’s mind-boggling to me. It’s like I said on Twitter, it feels like I’m doing Floyd’s dirty work.”
Showtime will air Pacquiao-Mosley, and the buildup to a pay-per-view evening will include a documentary series called “Fight Camp 360,” which is sure to mirror the 24/7 series on HBO. Only this time a network (CBS) is involved, and the premiere will lead into the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four on April 2, never a bad time slot to own.
They will sell it, promote it, hype the you-know-what out of it and then hope Mosley is much fresher than last impressions suggest.
“Maybe I’m being too hard on (Mosley),” Roach said. “But I saw him at his best, and while it might be tough to get up for a guy like Mora, you have to perform and Shane didn’t. On the other hand, there is no disgrace losing to Mayweather. He’s one of the best fighters of this era.
“He might be an ass, but he can fight.”
The other guy. It always comes back to him.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday and Thursday on “Monsters of the Midday,” Fox Sports Radio 920 AM. Follow him on Twitter: @edgraney.
