By Lem Satterfield

The deal is nearly done. All signs are pointing to Shane Mosley as being the announced opponent for eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao in an HBO pay-per-view televised clash on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, denied overseas reports that claim the hall-of-fame trainer is planning to request a drug testing clause as a condition of a proposed fight with Mosley, who has denied having knowingly used the steroids commonly referred to as "the cream," and "the clear," prior to going to a grand jury in December 2003.

Mosley ingested the drugs, provided by former BALCO founder, Victor Conte, before facing De La Hoya the second time.

Mosley subjected himself to random drug testing as a condition of his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May. But Pacquiao has twice refused to undergo random drug testing during the negotiations with Mayweather, whose camp had insinuated that Pacquiao's ability to climb weight classes and retain his power was linked to steroid use.

In December of 2009, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character against Floyd Mayweather Jr. that also names Floyd Mayweather Sr., his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, as well as Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya, CEO and president, respectively, of Golden Boy Promotions, which handled Mayweather's part of the negotiations with Top Rank Promotions' Pacquiao.

"That's a lie. I never said that. We turned that [drug testing] down once ourselves, so I would have to be a hypocrite to have said that," said Roach. "So some Filipino writer has written that I had said that, but that's not true. So I never said that. The thing is that I think that we're taking the fight that would bring the most money to the table, and that's what the deciding factor will be."