Shane Mosley is enjoying the fact he's back in the spotlight. Photo / Tom Hogan-Golden Boy Promotions

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Shane Mosley wondered less than two months ago whether he would ever again take part in a huge boxing event.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao appeared to be close to a deal for an enormous March 13 showdown and Mosley, left out of the equation at 38, had signed to fight talented, but less-established Andre Berto on Jan. 30 in Las Vegas.

Then events suddenly turned in his favor. Mayweather and Pacquiao couldn’t come to terms and Berto pulled out of the fight because of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the homeland of his parents. That opened the door for Mayweather-Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

Now, Mosley is talking about beating Mayweather on May 1 and then again in a contract-required rematch before ending his career with a victory over Manny Pacquiao.

“There were three of us, me, Mayweather and Pacquiao” said Mosley, who had just finished a video shoot for Yahoo! Sports on Thursday afternoon. “Any of us could fight the other and it would be the biggest fight of the year. And it looked I was left out. That would’ve been a crime. I’m the oldest one, the one who has been around the longest. I believe I’ve given a lot to boxing. I thought I should’ve been the one in the big fight.

“This is what I wanted, to be in this position. Some of it’s the money. I definitely could use the extra millions of dollars to put in the bank for my kids. That’s not really the issue here, though. I just love to do this, to fight these type of fights.”

Yes, Mosley (46-5, 39 knockouts) got his big fight. Oscar De La Hoya, whose company is promoting the event, boldly predicted that the fight would generate a record 3 million pay-per-view buys. That would provide Mosley with those millions he mentioned.

However, the dream scenario he laid out — beating Mayweather twice and then closing out his career against Pacquiao — must start with a victory on May 1.

Thirty nine fighters have tried to beat the sublimely talented Mayweather over his remarkable 13-plus-year career and 39 have failed. Only a few — including Jose Luis Castillo and De La Hoya — were able to put up a competitive fight.

What makes Mosley think he’ll be different?

“The difference is going to be that I’m faster than the guys he’s fought,” he said. “I have better movement than the guys he’s fought. He’s used to fighting guys who aren’t on his technical level. I will be. I will be on his technical level and do the things he can do. Yet I’m stronger than him and I have more punching power. He might have a little more speed but we don’t know that yet, either; I’m very fast.

“He just hasn’t seen anybody like me but I’ve been in there with people like him before.”

And both he and his trainer, Naazim Richardson, even suggested the unthinkable could become a reality: Mosley knocking out Mayweather.

Richardson, who worked with Mosley when he KO’d Antonio Margarito in his last fight in January of last year, wouldn’t predict a knockout at a news conference to promote the fight earlier in the day Thursday but seemed to come pretty close.

“At 147 pounds, this dude's lethal,” he said. “He's a weapon. He can knockout any welterweight in the world. If I wasn't Shane's trainer and I thought I had a dude who could beat him, I wouldn't fight him at 147 pounds.”

Mosley wouldn’t argue with Richardson. He pointed out that he has had as many knockouts as Mayweather has had opponents.

“If I hit anybody just right on the chin, if I get in a good, clean shot, it could be happen,” he said. “If I get in a shot like (Juan Manuel) Marquez landed, it might be good night Floyd. Marquez is a lightweight coming up. I’m bigger than Marquez. And I’m faster. And my arms are longer. Nobody was able to knock out Margarito. He has a great chin. Everyone knows that. What happened when he fought me?

“If I can knock out a guy like Margarito, a guy who had never been stopped even by guys like (Miguel) Cotto, I can knock out anyone.”

Mosley said during the video shoot that he could see himself fighting for 10 more years. If his dream three-victory scenario comes true, though, he later confessed that there would no point in fighting into his 40s.

No fighter in history will have gone out with a more-spectacular flourish if he can pull it off. He admitted it would be anything but easy.

“If I fought those two guys,” he said with a smile, “I would probably need to retire. Those would be some brutal fights.”

Michael Rosenthal can be reached at [email protected]