I have been the biggest advocate of a Manny Pacquiao-Sugar Shane Mosley fight. It would be a great event and a great fight. But this will be my last article on this subject. I am giving up on it. There is now a 99% chance Miguel Cotto gets this fight. Cotto-Pacquiao will be a good fight in its own right, I just thought Pacquiao-Mosley would be much better to watch and much better for history. Sugar Shane Mosley has stated to me and other interviewers, that this fight is not about the money. And I do believe him. But he needs to go a step further. He needs to put his money where his mouth is. He needs to come out and to commit to taking a much lower purse then a 40-60 split. Would it be fair, no. But then again what is. Nothing is fair. If this is truly about legacy then fighting Pacquiao at 25-75 or 30/70 split would make sense.
My logic goes as follows. Let?s say there is a 24 or 21 million dollar pot(These are just estimates). There shouldn?t be anything wrong with Mosley making 6 or 5 Million to Pacquiao?s 18 or 16 Million. Mosley will not make more then 3 million dollars fighting either Paul Williams or Joshua Clottey. So why not commit to something like this. To give credit where it is due, John Chavez from theboxingtruth.com discussed something very similar to this in one of his recent columns.
The thing that really boggles my mind is Mosley and Golden Boy Promotions coming out saying vague statements like, ?Manny will make more fighting Mosley.? How much more? Put an offer out there. Tell Manny?s people they can make 15 or 16 million guaranteed without PPV revenue. Put your money where you mouth is. These vague media statements aren?t doing Mosley any good. If you can tell Manny?s people they are guaranteed between 15 and 20 Million, I am sure Manny?s advisors would listen. They would have too, it is too much money. But when you say things in vague terms, it just goes with the rest of the stuff that is being said. It gets lost. So my advice to them(For what it is worth), is make a public offer. I remember a few years back when Arum make a 8 million dollar offer to Floyd Mayweather Jr to fight Antonio Margarito. It is was a great move, but Floyd didn?t budge. But it wouldn?t hurt to put something out there.
Legacy vs Money
Sugar Shane Mosley is a wealthy man and a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. He could retire today and be set for life. And like I said, I believe him when he talks about this being a legacy fight. But in order to show the fans this, he needs to come out and do something dramatic. If he doesn?t, his dream of a Pacquiao fight will be gone and never to return. Offer a 25-75 split or something close, offer a 144 weight, and offer a rematch clause. Like I said, Mosley may not consider it fair, but it is about legacy, not money. I recently broached this subject with Mosley?s people. But I have not heard anything back. Right now it is the 12th round and Mosley is down on points. If he doesn?t come up with a blockbuster he may be stuck in limbo for the next year.
