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Pacquiao not underestimating confident Mosley

Manny Pacquiao has pledged to take nothing for granted when he faces Shane Mosley © Getty Images

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WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is fully aware he will have to be at his very best if he is to beat Shane Mosley, when he defends his title against the experienced American.

Pacquiao will fight the 39-year-old on May 7 in Los Angeles, and as he begins his preparation for the contest has acknowledged that he cannot afford to take any chances. The 32-year-old, who won his last bout in a gruelling super-welterweight spectacle with Antonio Margarito, believes he will have to be in prime condition if he is going to keep pace with his aggressive and wily opponent.

"I am excited about this matchup," said Pacquiao. "We both like to keep coming forward in the ring and we like to entertain the people who love boxing.

"I have to train hard because I don't want to disappoint them, the people who will watch the fight. I know it's more responsibility for me and that's why I have to train hard and get myself in 100 per cent condition so that I won't let down the fans."

His opponent, who has enjoyed an eventful 18-year professional career during which he has won title belts in three different weight classes, paid tribute to the Filipino and admitted he also expects a thrilling contest.

"Manny is a special fighter because he goes out there and he puts 100 percent into what he is doing," said Mosley. "People, they feel it and they see it when he is out there working in the ring. He always tries to fight, tries to win and tries to knock the guy out. He has a love of the sport.

"We are very similar and I think that's what is going to make this fight very exciting. I want to win, he wants to win and it will be a fight to the finish."

Nevertheless, the American is very confident of springing an upset and taking the title, having last held a welterweight crown - the WBC - in 2002.

"A lot of people are going to be rich, a lot of people are going to make money from this fight," he said. "The people that follow boxing know. The people that don't, they might bet the wrong way."

But Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, warned that he expects his boxer to "fight the best fight of his life" when the pair meet.

"We would be fools to underestimate Shane and we will not do that, I promise you," Roach added.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.