Manny Pacquiao has trained as hard as ever as he will not be underestimating Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Pac Man in great shape to take on Mosley in Las Vegas
Manny Pacquiao is huge favourite to beat Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on Saturday, but he insists he is not taking his opponent lightly and has trained harder than for any fight since Oscar De La Hoya.
Filipino megastar Pacquiao is regarded as the best around right now and will rank as one of the best of all time after collecting eight world titles at eight different weight classes over his career.
Pacquiao puts his WBO welterweight strap on the line on Saturday against Mosley - who is himself highly regarded with four world titles in three different divisions to his name.
32-year-old Pacquiao, who has a career record of 52-3-2 with 38 knockouts and is also seven years Mosley's junior, insists his opponent is still as good as ever as he revealed he has trained harder than any fight since the De La Hoya contest three years ago.
"I have trained hard for this fight," Pacquiao said at the final news conference for the fight. "I am in 100 percent condition. You know why?
Good fighter
"Because I never underestimate Mosley. Mosley is a good fighter. Do you think he's old? He's not old. He moves like a 32-year-old, a 31-year-old. His hand speed and foot speed is still strong.
"He is a good fighter. He is strong, he throws a lot of punches and he moves fast. He is the kind of fighter you can't underestimate."
Neither man is a trash-talker and Mosley is also full of respect for Pacquiao, but he insists he is not just here to make up the numbers and sees it as a chance to prove he is not over the hill.
Mosley rocked Floyd Mayweather Jr last year before fading out of the fight and also drew with Sergio Mora, and he knows he has to be back at his very best to avoid taking a hammering similar to Antonio Margarito in Pac-Man's last outing.
"This is going to be a terrific fight, a great fight," said Mosley, who is 46-6-1 with 39 knockouts. "We're both warriors, we both love to fight and we're both winners.
Winners
"And when you get two winners in there, you know it's going to be a heck of a fight. So I'm excited. I'm ready. It's going to be a block-buster and I'm happy to be a part of this.
"It's an opportunity to show people I'm not washed up. My legs are good, they're strong and ready to go. You don't lose your power. They say you lose your speed, but I haven't lost my speed either."
Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach believes Mosley is still as good as ever, resulting in him getting his man as fit as possible for the showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"We know we're in a tough fight," Roach said. "We respect Shane and his camp. They have a great team. But we are 100 percent ready. Everybody has worked really hard at this training camp.
"I think it's the best training camp we've ever had and Manny is in the best shape ever. We need to peak for this fight because Shane's one of the most crafty guys out there. He's intelligent and experienced and you can't replace experience, that's for sure."
