By Chris Williams: As long as Manny Pacquiao can get by 39-year-old Shane Mosley in his next fight on May 7th in Las Vegas, Bob Arum, the promoter for Pacquiao, wants to try and put together a fight between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2011. Arum recently said that’s the fight he wants to go after next if possible, as long as Mayweather is interested and available. Mayweather is currently battling a number of legal issues and that has his whole attention.
By the time that Pacquiao dispatches Mosley in May, Mayweather should know more about his legal problems and whether he’ll be able to get back in the ring soon or not. It would be a great fight if it can be put together. Realistically, though, it’s not likely going to happen in 2011 even if Mayweather can quickly get past his legal hurdles. He won’t want to face Pacquiao without a tune-up or two, and it would be unfair if he were to take a fight with Pacquiao in the coming months without at least fighting once against someone.
Pacquiao has been busy in the ring since Mayweather last fought, defeating one of Arum’s fighters in his stable Antonio Margarito. The Mosley fight will likely be more of a sparring session for Pacquiao given how shot Mosley looked in his one-sided loss to Mayweather and his gift 12 round draw against Sergio Mora last year. Mosley really should be coming into the Pacquiao fight with two consecutive losses. That tells you how shot Mosley is and gives you a good indication of what kind of chance he stands in this fight.
Pacquiao had the chance to fight Mayweather in 2010, but blew it when Pacquiao failed to agree to the random blood testing that Mayweather was asking him to take. If a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather is to be put together, Pacquiao and Arum are going to have to give Mayweather what he wants in terms of testing.
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