Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley said to be a done deal
Manny Pacquiao’s promoter said Tuesday he has a “done deal” for the Filipino superstar to next fight Pomona’s former three-division world champion Shane Mosley on May 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“Shane has agreed to everything and now we’re circulating the paperwork for final signatures, the drafts have been sent to his lawyer,” promoter Bob Arum said. “Whether it gets signed tomorrow or the next day, it’s done.”
The bout matches fighters with a combined 11 weight-class world titles. Pacquiao, 32, just won his record eighth in November with a unanimous decision over Antonio Margarito at Cowboys Stadium in Texas.
Pacquiao (52-3-2) broke Margarito’s orbital bone in his impressive barrage, but Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) knocked out the Tijuana fighter in January 2009, scoring a ninth-round technical knockout at Staples Center.
“I’m excited, I think I can win the fight,” Mosley said.
Mosley, 39, hasn’t won since Margarito, and he’ll drag significant baggage about the effects age have exacted into the Pacquiao fight, along with questions of whether he’s the most deserved foe in the welterweight bout.
In May, Mosley lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Four months later, Mosley lumbered through a draw against junior-middleweight Sergio Mora.
Mosley predicts more dramatic action against the forward-charging Pacquiao, who has won 13 consecutive fights, and Arum said the Pomona fighter can generate more pay-per-view buys of any Pacquiao foe not named Mayweather.
This will be Pacquiao’s third bout since efforts were started late last year to stage a Pacquiao-Mayweather super-fight. There weren’t even talks with the Mayweather camp before the Mosley deal was struck, as the unbeaten fighter faces felony charges in Nevada for allegedly striking the mother of his children and threatening the youths.
In the Philippines last week, Pacquiao discussed his options with his business manager and Arum. Those options included world welterweight champion Andre Berto and lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez.
Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs) battled Pacquiao to a 2004 draw, then losing a split-decision in 2008.
Marquez’s promoter, Richard Schaefer, said he proposed to Arum that if a Pacquiao-Marquez III bout generated a pay-per-view audience of 1.2 million, Marquez, 37, would collect $5 from every buyer beyond 500,000 for an $8.5-million purse. Pacquiao and Top Rank would earn more than $28 million — “More than fair,” Schaefer said.
Arum, however, is engaged in legal disputes with Schaefer’s Golden Boy Promotions. In fact, Mosley estranged himself from Golden Boy, deciding his expiring career clock demanded urgent action.
And Pacquiao’s advisor Michael Koncz admitted there was risk in taking a Marquez fight when a loss could damage a still-ripe date with Mayweather.
“Good luck to [Mosley],” Schaefer said Tuesday. “He turned his back on Golden Boy, so be it. Everybody moves on. It is what it is. There’s nothing I can do but wish him luck.”
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