Sports Radio Interviews

Shane Mosley Might be the Odd Man Out

The drama of match making in the welterweight and junior welterweight division between boxing’s biggest draws might leave Shane Mosley, the welterweight champion, out in the cold with no one to fight. He’s been calling out Manny Pacquiao for two months now, and Mosley’s tactic of trying to secure a fight through the media looks pretty tired at this point.

Mosley is undoubtedly one of the best boxers in the sport right now, but he’s never been much of a draw since his back to back losses to Vernon Forrest in the early 2000’s. He probably should have stayed away from BALCO all together, regardless of the steroid accusations, as fighters are shying away from him due to his overwhelming strength and size.

He does have a legitimate claim to fight Pacquiao next, but withTop Rank Promoter Bob Arum controlling both Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, his preference would be to match the two of them and collect a king’s ransom in the process.

Shane Mosley joined the Hardcore Sports Radio to elaborate on the logjam that currently is in the welterweight/junior welterweight division and his views on why the Marquez vs. Mayweather fight was postponed.

His take on being somewhat out in the cold when it comes to a major fight in 2009:

“The thing is, withthis promoter, he wants to take all the money I guess. He benefits by both of his guys fighting. (Miguel) Cotto and (Manny) Pacquiao are both promoted by Top Rank. It’s just a bad thing. Cotto really, he lost to (Antonio) Margarito, and then he kind of gets beat by (Joshua) Clottey but they give it to him on a home town decision. Now he’s going to get a big mega fight? How did he do that? He still has a cut on his eye. So what’s going to happen? Pacquiao’s going to hit him on his eye and that’s going to stop the fight because of a big old cut. It doesn’t make sense.”

Mosley was asked if he thinks Pacquiao is ducking him due to being promoted by Bob Arum:

“I wish that was the case. That’s not the case. The case is Bob Arum has Cotto, has the obligation to Cotto to get him a big mega fight before Cotto leaves him. So the big mega fight that Bob Arum is going to be pushing is Pacquiao to fight. Pacquiao told me already, Pacquiao and Freddy Roach both told me that they would rather fight me than any of the guys, than (Floyd) Mayweather or Cotto. They know they’re going to get a fight out of me. You never hear anyone mention my name but Freddy Roach. Nobody else mentions my name on that side of the gate. I wish it was Pacquiao trying to hide behind Bob Arum, but its not. It’s really Bob Arum trying to get all the money from the pot. He’s going to lie to Pacquiao and tell him he can get more money fighting Cotto than me.”

Mosley’s take on why the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Floyd Mayweather fight being delayed due to an injury to Mayweather:

“Well the reason why Marquez and Floyd Mayweather is delayed is because they cant sell tickets. Because Floyd needs somebody to help him sell tickets. If he’s not fighting Oscar De La Hoya or he’s not fighting Ricky Hatton who’s bringing ten thousand or twenty thousand England guys over here to America, then he can’t sell tickets. People forget that before Floyd fight those two guys nobody really wanted to see him fight. So now they’re having problems with Marquez. Now they’re going to fight on Mexican Independence Day, September 15th or 16th, to try and lure the Mexicans in to see the fight in Vegas. That’s why, I believe, Mayweather has that ‘phantom’ bruise rib. 2000, 3000 tickets sold.”

On if he’s going to wait it out past the possible Miguel Cotto vs. Manny Pacquiao fight tentatively scheduled for sometime in November:

“The fight isn’t signed, sealed and delivered yet. Bob Arum is lying to the people making it seem that it’s already done. It’s not a done deal. Pacquiao hasn’t agreed to it. Freddy Roach is on vacation somewhere until Tuesday. They’re not going to know anything until then. They keep lying to the people telling them ‘the fight’s done, the fight’s done, the fight’s going to be in November’. No the fight’s not going to be in November yet, it’s not done yet. Freddy Roach, from the last time I talked to him, he said he didn’t want to fight Cotto. It does nothing for Manny Pacquiao.”

Listen to Shane Mosley on Hardcore Sports on Sirius with Gabriel Morency

Tags: Bob Arum, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley