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Door open for Mayweather-Mosley?

Fighters Network
18
Jan

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley could end up fighting one another as result of the events of the past few weeks.

Mayweather was tentatively scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao on March 13 but the fight fell apart when the participants couldn’t agree on a cut-off date for blood testing. And Andre Berto on Monday pulled out of his Jan. 30 fight against Mosley because of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, his parents’ homeland.

Thus, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Mayweather and Mosley, has begun working on a fight that probably would take place either May 1 or May 8 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Golden Boy has the March 13 date reserved at the MGM Grand but Schaefer would want more time to properly promote the Mayweather-Mosley fight and he doesn’t want to go head to head with Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey, which is scheduled for March 13 at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.



Schaefer said both Mosley – who has desperately tried to get Mayweather or Pacquiao to fight him – and Mayweather – who needs a high-profile opponent – have expressed interest in the fight.

“That’s the fight that obviously pops into your head,” Schaefer said. “That’s one of the few superfights out there, the kind of fight that would interest not only boxing and sports fans but the general public. They are two of the best pound-for-pound fighters, two Americans. It would be like turning back to the clock to the days of Leonard and Hearns.

“I’m going to focus all my energy in the coming hours to see if I can put that fight together. All I can say is I’ll do my best.”

Schaefer has both May 1 and 8 reserved at the MGM Grand but said the fighters would have to decide on a fight date. All Schaefer knows is that March 13 doesn’t work.

“It wouldn’t be right for a super fight like that,” he said. “If I have a choice, with Shane Mosley being a Golden Boy fighter and us having a (promotional) piece of Manny as well, to go on the same night wouldn't feel right. I’m going to do whatever I can to find another date, although it’s up to the fighters at the end of the day.

“What I’d like to do is implement a marketing campaign, activations at super markets and stores, the type of things that really takes the fights to the people. We really couldn’t do that with seven weeks to go. We’d need more time.”

The fight would be perfect for Mosley, who at 38 doesn’t have many big events left in his body.

The welterweight titleholder took the Berto fight only because he couldn’t land a more-lucrative, higher-profile fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao. Mosley trained hard for the Berto fight and was almost ready to go for Jan. 30 but he’ll gladly wait for a much-bigger fight against Mayweather.

Meanwhile, Mayweather needs a legitimate big-name opponent after his fight with Pacquiao fell out. Kermit Cintron, Paulie Malignaggi and Nate Campbell were among possible replacements but none them carries the credibility of Mosley, who is a bigger name and future Hall of Famer.

Thus, Mayweather would get his big-money, high-profile fight and also silence those who have said he avoids the best-possible opponents.

On top of that, Mosley and Pacquiao are on a very short list of fighters who experts believe can give Mayweather a fight. Mosley has more experience than Mayweather and might be just as quick.

Michael Rosenthal can be reached at [email protected]

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