Floyd Mayweather Jr. has seemingly been resting on his laurels after talks broke down between Golden Boy and Top Rank for a possible Manny Pacquiao showdown. While Pacquiao and the rest of the boxing world moved on and Joshua Clottey was drafted in, Floyd sat back and waited.
Even now there isn’t any confirmed opponent for Mayweather, and every boxer north of 108 pounds seems to have been discussed as a possible opponent. First there was the low ranked Matthew Hatton, then the ever present motor mouth Pauie Malignaggi was discussed. After this Kermit Cintron looked like he might have the fight in the bag, and the latest rumor is that Shane Mosley is the one Floyd is gunning for. Even now there are other rumors which continue to swirl that Mayweather is considering a bout against the unbeaten but untested 19 year old Saul Alvarez.
Aside from Mayweather insistence on requiring any future opponents for undergo random blood and urine testing, (which Mosley has said he would agree to) this fight is a good step for both fighters. For Floyd, beating Mosley would mean he is ready and willing to fight the best genuine welterweights out there, and other than himself and Manny Pacquiao, Mosley is the man to beat. Not only this but this might also go a little way toward making a fight against Pacquiao happen afterward.
For Mosley, he finally gets the big fight he’s been looking for against one of the two men ranked above him at the weight. Rightly so Mosley feels a little under-appreciated for being knocked down into third spot without having been beaten by either of the two men who replaced him. Fighting Floyd would now only be very lucrative for Mosley, but perhaps more importantly would pave the way for him to take on the biggest star in the sport at the moment in Manny Pacquiao should he win. Unlike Floyd Mayweather, making a fight between Mosley and Pacquiao would probably be fairly easy and Mosley certainly wouldn’t be eager to flush $40 million away over unfounded suspicions.
Mosley is available now since Andre Berto pulled out of their January 30th bout due to the disaster in Haiti, where he has friends and family. Mayweather was originally scheduled to fight on March 13th, but apparent difficulties finding an opponent will push this date back until at least the following month.
After pulling out of the Pacquiao fight and having taken on naturally smaller opponents in his last two fights though, Mayweather badly needs a top draw opponent for his next fight whoever he chooses. Mosley is undoubtedly the best opponent available at the moment, but is also someone who many thought Mayweather was avoiding in the past. Putting his precious perfect record on the line against a very credible threat might be the only way Floyd can keep up the pretense of being the best fighter in the world though, having been overtaken and outdone by the likes of Manny Pacquiao in the last few years.
