It looks like Shane Mosley finally has a dance partner for the end of this year and his opponent is a worthy challenger, former titleholder Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 knockouts).

BoxingScene.com is reporting that Mosley-Clottey has been set for December 26 and will take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The 12-round welterweight bout, which will be contested for Mosley's WBA title, will be televised live on HBO.

Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) had campaigned hard to land a bout with current and former pound-for-pound kings Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. since knocking out Antonio Margarito in January, but to no avail.

Pacquiao chose Miguel Cotto, who has close decision victories over both Mosley (in 2007) and Clottey (this past June), as his late-year opponent. Mayweather was originally scheduled to face Juan Manuel Marquez in June of this year, but a rib injury postponed that bout to Sept. 19, thus making “Money” unavailable for a late-year bout.

About two months ago, Mosley instructed Richard Schaefer to find a suitable opponent for a November or December bout and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO zeroed in on WBC titleholder Andre Berto and former IBF beltholder Clottey. There wasn't enough money available to entice Berto into the ring, but many fans and boxing insiders consider Clottey to be a more proven and formidable foe.

The 32-year-old Ghanaian gave Margarito a tough fight in 2006, dropping a close decision to the Mexican mauler after dominating the early rounds. Clottey, who is based in the Bronx, N.Y., won five consecutive bouts following the Margarito loss including a lopsided decision over the late Diego Corrales and a technical split nod over former champ Zab Judah for the IBF belt.

In June, Clottey gave Cotto all the Puerto Rican star could handle in a tough split decision loss that took place at Madison Square Garden the day before New York City's Puerto Rican Day parade. Many observers, including a fair number of Puerto Rican sports writers, believed that Clottey deserved the decision.