By Jason Kim: Golden Boy Promotions are trying hard to line up a fight between WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. At 38, Mosley is nearing the end of his career and a fight against Mayweather would be a great way for Mosley to put a topping on his excellent career.
However, Mayweather hasn’t indicated whom he plans on fighting next and it’s doubtful that pressure from Golden Boy will be able to change his mind in any real way. There was a bit of controversy that erupted while Mayweather was being interviewed by HBO analyst Max Kellerman after Mayweather’s win last Saturday night against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Mosley and Mayweather ended up in a short argument which started when Mosley came over and asked Mayweather to give him a shot. At the time, it seemed as if Mosley had ambushed Mayweather and had come over to try and steal his thunder. But it was later learned that it was Mayweather who motioned for Mosley to come over and talk while the interview was taking place with Kellerman.
Mayweather didn’t take kindly to Mosley’s requests for a fight, but instead of handling it calmly by telling Mosley that he’d think about it, Mayweather got upset and saw it as a respect issue. It seemed like a mis-communication between the two. All Mosley wants is a chance at fighting Mayweather and Golden Boy wants to try and make this happen.
However, Mayweather finds himself in a position of power where he can essentially hand pick whoever he wants. Manny Pacquiao is the fighter that most people think will be Mayweather’s immediate choice to fight. But that fight might not be a realistic alternative for Mayweather right now, especially if Pacquiao is beaten or looks bad in his next fight against Miguel Cotto.
Anything can happen in that fight. The flip-side is that if Pacquiao ends up looking too good, like he’s looked in his last two fights against Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, then trying to negotiate with him will be almost impossible for Mayweather unless he’s willing to take a lesser amount of the purse. Obviously, Mayweather won’t be agreeable to that which is why there’s a big question mark about which Mayweather’s next opponent might be.
Mayweather said that he didn’t choose Marquez that he was called out by Marquez and that’s why he decided to fight him. Mosley has now called out Mayweather and done it in front of millions of television viewers on HBO last weekend. Will Mayweather accept his challenge or will he wait around to find out what the Cotto-Pacquiao results are and try to line up a fight with the winner of that fight?
There are more than a few people who think that Mayweather will go after Pacquiao whether Manny wins or loses the fight against Cotto. The reason being that Pacquiao would still be the much more popular fighter than Mosley and a great deal of boxing fans likely wouldn’t even be aware that Pacquiao was defeated by Cotto in the first place, as there’s a lack of knowledge about the sport from many casual fans.
If push comes to shove, Pacquiao will probably remain the more popular fighter than Mosley if Pacquiao losses to Cotto on November 14th. One would hope that Mayweather would do take the fight against Mosley then instead of going after the money in a fight against Pacquiao, but it remains to be seen whether Mayweather would do that.
Mayweather seems intent on trying to make the most money he can in a short of time as possible, and that would mean that fighters like Mosley aren’t as much of a priority as a bout against Pacquiao.
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