Too much has happened since the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega fight has been proposed. Not much happened since, for Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao has a fight scheduled and ready to go against Joshua Clottey, a very formidable and dangerous opponent. Clottey is a tremendous fighter with an outstanding resume, having wins over such notable opponents as Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Cruz, and Zab Judah. Aside from Floyd, this is the best fight out there for Manny, and of course, it goes without saying, this is a dream come true for Clottey. Both fighters seem to show respect for each other, being very humble and polite during their press conference. Clottey came out saying: “This is a miracle opportunity for me. To share a ring with Manny Pacquiao is something I want to do because he is the best fighter pound for pound. He beat everyone in front of him, but I promise you that we are coming to fight and we will please the people.” Manny was not any less respectful, giving his opponent a compliment: “Joshua Clottey’s style is different from styles I have fought. Clottey is bigger and taller than Miguel Cotto. I thought his fight with Cotto was very close. I have to prepare and train hard for this fight because Clottey is a strong fighter and a former champion. I won’t promise that I’ll win, but I promise a good fight.”
For Mayweather, progress was at a halt, with no big money fight to sign. That was until Andre Berto withdrew from his scheduled bout against Sugar Shane Mosley, due to the environmental tragedy that struck his family as well as millions in Haiti. As they say Floyd, “All road lead back to Rome.” Now that Shane is available, will this fight ever happen? Mayweather Promotions C.E.O. Leonard Ellerbe had the following to say yesterday: ““I know everyone is rushing to make this fight with Mosley, but I want people to know that Floyd feels awful for Berto and his family for what they and their country are going through. That is first and foremost. But if, in fact, Shane Mosley is available, that’s the fight that Floyd would love to make. It’s no secret that Floyd has been trying to make a fight with Shane for the last 10 years.” There you go, straight from the mouth of the all knowing team Mayweather.
So, once again I ask myself and everyone reading this article, will this fight ever happen?
As far as my own opinion goes, I think that this fight needs to happen, and it needs to be signed as soon as reasonably possible. If Mosley makes it clear that he is ready to fight Mayweather (which is undoubtedly the case), then Floyd needs to act, and come out swinging. He needs to make this fight happen, or lose any and all respect he accumulated over his career. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for Floyd, this is a no excuse possible scenario. Mosley has been calling him out for a very long time, and now Mosley is his only big fight out there.
The public blames Floyd for being irrational during his negotiations with Pacquiao’s team, and is rumoring him being afraid to face Manny in the ring. This rumor is starting to catch on, and more people are beginning to believe in it. The only way for Floyd to clear the name and regain his stature, is to fight Pacquiao (currently unavailable) or fight the second biggest name in the division, Sugar Shane Mosley.
I believe if this fight happens, it would bring superb PPV numbers and will sell out the venue almost as well as a Pacquiao fight would. Shane is a well known name, a legend, and many people believe he would beat Floyd. It would be a good, controversial, competitive, and historically significant fight for both fighters as well as the sport itself.
In either case, win or lose, Mayweather would still have the chance to fight Manny. Their fight is “pshychologically”signed in everyone’s mind, and it will happen sooner or later. For Mosley, this fight would be a much bigger risk. With a loss, he would have to go down the ladder and start working his way up again to get to the top. While he is in good shape, Mosley is getting older, and this loss would be rough to recover from.
Let’s hope something gets resolved, and we get blessed with two great bouts this early Spring.
Thank you for reading.
