Pacquiao to face Mosley next
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Manny Pacquiao will fight Shane Mosley, a former champion in three divisions, on May 7 in Las Vegas, promoter Bob Arum said on Tuesday.
The fight, to be held at the MGM Grand, will be contested at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, Top Rank promoter Arum said.
"Mosley is very dangerous, he's a very slick fighter, very experienced," said Arum. "Manny's style is made to order for Shane. It should be a very, very interesting fight."
After considering a choice between Mosley, lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez and WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto, Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) informed Arum of his choice last week.
"He (Pacquiao) liked Mosley because Mosley is better known than the other two," Arum said of the choice. "It is a name selection. He picked the guy that is known to more people because that is going to generate interest in the fight.
Arum said he finalized the bout on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Pacquiao, the current WBO welterweight champion and widely considered the world's best pound-for-pounder fighter, would have preferred a bout with undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
"We made no secret that Mayweather was our top priority," said Arum. "All Mayweather had to do was signal to us that he would have been available pending his court situation and we would have waited, but we heard nothing from him.
"Nobody has talked to him, he hasn't talked to anybody."
Mayweather, 33, was arrested at a Las Vegas casino last week on a misdemeanor battery charge after he allegedly assaulted a security guard at his gated community.
The 39-year-old Mosley, a Californian, is 46-6-1 with 39 knockouts but has a loss and a draw in his last two fights. He dropped a unanimous decision to Mayweather in May and had a draw with Sergio Mora in September. Marquez fought Pacquiao to a draw in a 2004 featherweight championship fight and lost a split decision in a 2008 junior lightweight title fight.
The 32-year-old Filipino congressman has won 13 straight fights while claiming world titles in an astonishing eight weight classes.
Arum realizes he could have trouble selling a fight against a 39-year-old opponent who will be nearly 2 years removed from his last victory when he faces Pacquiao, but believes Mosley's skill and speed will challenge Pacquiao.
The deal further cements Mosley's acrimonious split from Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company. Mosley was a founding partner in Golden Boy, but he has cut ties with the organization since his draw with Mora last September, even refusing to answer phone calls from Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. Mosley apparently was angry that Golden Boy pushed Marquez, the talented Mexican champion, as Pacquiao's next opponent.
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