Somewhere in the 8 ? year period between career-best wins over Oscar de la Hoya (June 2000) and Antonio Margarito (January 2009), you’d think that Shane Mosley would’ve eventually found a way to become the bank instead of waiting on line at one.
Yet here Mosley stands, atop the welterweight division and high amongst most pound-for-pound lists, but still anxious to fill the B-side in efforts to score a major payday against Manny Pacquiao.
Every second of the aftermath following his one-sided upset knockout over Margarito six months ago has been spent demanding, shaming and ultimately begging the sport’s current pound-for-pound king to agree to a fall super fight.
It appeared that Mosley was ready to move on once Bob Arum, President of Top Rank, Inc., announced his intentions to keep Pacquiao in house against his own top welterweight Miguel Cotto.
However, a press release sent to the media on Friday suggests that Mosley is once again on bended knee, willing to do anything to secure a Pac-sized payday. After having once upon a time offered him a haggle-free 60/40 split in his favor, Mosley is now prepared to drop all the way down to 140, a division he once leapfrogged to secure more lucrative options at welterweight a decade ago.
Pacquiao currently reigns as the lineal super lightweight champion though with seemingly little interest in defending the title.
But just in case he is, Mosley is willing to be first in line.
“There is unfinished business to take care of,” Mosley stated in Friday’s press release. “I have never fought at junior welterweight, but I’m ready to fight at 140 now. I am coming after Pacquiao’s belt.”
The only problem – neither Pacquiao nor his 140 lb. title are available.
Negotiations have yet to conclude, but all signs point towards a Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto collision in the fall, with November 14 set as the working date. The deal was considered far enough along to where Mosley publicly announced he was ready to move on and entertain offers from other welterweights.
Apparently, he didn’t mean it.
There was no shortage of takers the moment Shane declared himself boxing’s most eligible bachelor. Andre Berto, Joshua Clottey and Kermit Cintron were among the many willing participants. Clottey’s handlers and friends in the Ghana media went so far as to falsely claim a done deal was in place for a date in November.
Among the many available options, it appeared as if a showdown with Berto had the best chance of happening. The fight was once upon a time on the table, before Mosley instead opted for a Margarito fight, leaving Berto to defend his alphabet belt against Luis Collazo.
That Berto barely retained his title via disputable decision meant little to Mosley. More germane to his own agenda was the general fact that Berto still had his title, with the Collazo fight being a thriller serving as an added bonus.
A sudden lover of belts, Mosley liked the idea of an alphabet unification match with the undefeated Floridian. It was his reason for nixing fights with Clottey and Cintron, despite both coming off of exceptional enough performances where a fight with either would be an easy network sell.
Just like that, Mosley once again found a way to limit his options. Still, a crossroads showdown with Berto would be a fight any boxing fan would look forward to. The match would provide Berto with a stiff test against a real welterweight with real welterweight punching power, and would also get Mosley in the ring sometime before 2010 rolled around. Most importantly, HBO, among other networks, express considerable interest such a fight.
The only one not interested … was Shane Mosley, killing the fight at the negotiating table.
HBO offered a considerable license fee, of which Shane expected a 75-25 split in his favor. Such a payday for Berto would’ve been his lowest in over a year, not quite what the undefeated Floridian expected when talks for a Mosley showdown first hit the rumor mill.
Why Mosley would outprice himself for a fight he’s on record as stating is an easy one is anyone’s guess. At least it was a guess, until his PR team released the statement on Friday claiming he’s still parked outside Manny Pacquiao’s crib.
On the surface, there are angles galore to cover for a Pacquiao-Mosley showdown, especially if it takes place at the super lightweight limit. But the part that Mosley doesn’t understand is that boxing fans are just as willing to see Pacquiao collide with Cotto, whether it takes place at 143, 144 or all the way at the 147 lb. welterweight limit.
In the end, all that fans care about is seeing their favorite fighters in action, and preferably in an action fight. Pacquiao-Cotto fits the bill to a tee. Pacquiao-Mosley, or even Cotto-Mosley II also fit the criteria, except neither remains a viable option until Pacquiao-Cotto negotiations are considered dead, which is nowhere near the case at the present moment.
When asked earlier in the year how he planned to capitalize on the career-resurrecting knockout win over Margarito, Mosley stated his intentions to wait out May 2, and then challenge the winner of Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton. If not Pacquiao, then pursue a rematch with Miguel Cotto.
May 2 came and went. So too, did June 13. Pacquiao and Cotto both won. They’re now in negotiations for a head-on collision.
Everyone in the boxing world has accepted this and is even preparing for a November 14 showdown.
Everyone, that is, except Shane Mosley.
SHAW ME THE MONEY
A passage ran in a Wednesday column regarding the aftermath of the falling out between unbeaten light heavyweights Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud. The entry was based on previous releases offering Team Dawson’s side of the story, HBO’s official yet cryptic response, and finally an official purse bid held last week for a Cloud-Clinton Woods fight for the title vacated by Dawson.
In the section, it was mentioned that the $191,000 winning purse bid would leave Cloud with a career-high payday and, with a win, an alphabet title which, while increasingly disposable, still a bargaining chip for those not fortunate enough to be blessed with a network contract.
This is the part where clarification is offered, with Shaw indicating that there was considerable interest in a Cloudy forecast, with an excellent chance of making it rain for all involved in the deal.
“It was a two-fight deal, for (Cloud’s team) to make $200,000 and bring your own opponent, so long as it wasn’t someone who gets knocked out in ten seconds,” insisted Shaw. “There was no purse negotiated for a Dawson-Cloud fight; that would’ve come after both fighters won in November, both of which would’ve aired on the same card on HBO.
“If they both won, Cloud was guaranteed a title shot next against Dawson, to also air on HBO.”
Instead, Cloud’s team opted for an immediate title shot. They got one, only Richie Boy Promotions, who handles his career, might’ve bitten off more than they can chew. While easily winning the purse bid, more troubling was the ability to find a supporting revenue stream, thanks to the lack of televised dates in the states and general lack of interest in such a fight.
The Cloud-Woods fight is now destined for Hollywood, Florida, where it will open the August 28 telecast on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.
“How dumb are they?” Shaw asked. “He had two guaranteed fights on HBO, the first for far more than he’ll make for this fight, and the second for a world title. Now he’s fighting on ESPN2, and there’s no guarantee he beats Clinton Woods.”
Cloud earned the mandatory ranking with a stoppage win over former lineal light heavyweight champion Julio Gonzalez last August, also on ESPN2. It was his last fight, with the Woods fight ending a period of 54 weeks out of the ring by the time the opening bell sounds.
An interesting note is Team Cloud’s lack of a statement, dating back to becoming Dawson’s mandatory challenger. They had a chance to literally make some noise this past May, when their publicist arranged to have Cloud and his team attend Dawson’s rematch with Antonio Tarver, as well as the post-fight presser, similar to how Tarver crashed Roy Jones’ post-fight presser after winning a heavyweight belt against John Ruiz in March 2003.
History never repeated itself: neither Cloud nor his handlers made the trip, with the fighter coming down with the flu days before the May rematch and canceling his travel plans.
The next time they were heard from was to announce their every intention of fighting for the alphabet title rather than wait any longer for a shot at Dawson.
In the end, everyone gets their wish: Dawson gets a hefty payday and another HBO showcase for his rematch with Glen Johnson, himself securing a long awaited major fight. Cloud gets a title shot.
The only thing we may never get is a Dawson-Cloud fight. Nor Cloud a date on HBO.
HOW ABOUT LATIN FURY GRATIS?
With all of the changes Latin Fury 10 has endured in the past week, anyone else thinking that what’s left of the card will make for a terrific Azteca America Solo Boxeo telecast?
Days after Yuriorkis Gamboa was pulled from the card, the show now loses its headlining act. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was forced to withdraw from his main event against Jason LeHoullier after suffering a rib injury late last week.
Top Rank Inc, who foots the bill for the independent pay-per-view telecast from Neuvo Vallarta, Mexico (Saturday, 9PM ET/6PM PT), insists the show will go on, although a planned Monday press conference in Los Angeles has since been cancelled.
Still remaining on the card are the evening’s new co-main events: Giovanni Segura’s alphabet junior flyweight title defense against Sonny Boy Jaro; and undefeated lightweight contender Urbano Antillon versus Miguel Acosta.
Segura won his belt on version 2.0 of Solo Boxeo, a series on which Antillon has appeared numerous times in the past. There’s no reason why, 50 weeks after Top Rank allowed Latin Fury 5 (Chavez Jr-Matt Vanda I and Archie Solis-Glenn Donaire) to appear on Azteca America rather than a la carte, history can’t repeat itself, especially for a show that is now a very tough pay-per-view sell, at best.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at [email protected] .
