By Lem Satterfield
Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, is hoping to have a deal in place by Dec. 19 for Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs) to face WBA/WBO lightweight king Juan Manuel Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs), WBC welterweight belt-holder Andre Berto (27-0, 21 KOs), or five-time champ Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs), that is, if nothing materializes with unbeaten six-time titlist Floyd Mayweather. Arum will arrive in the Philippines on December 14, and plans to present Pacquiao with several scenarios for his next fight.
When sizing up the three Mayweather alternatives, Arum says Berto is the least likely to land the fight because he's the toughest sell for the general public. In Arum's opinion, Mosley is easily the best opponent to secure the interest, and the pay-per-view dollar, of the general public. Arum was not convinced by Berto's first round knockout of Freddy Hernandez, which took place on Saturday.
"Of all of the three guys, Andre Berto is the toughest sell because to the general public, he is totally unknown. I mean, when you look at the general public, of those three guys, who would be the guy that would be most well-known? Easily, it's Shane Mosley," arum said. "Shane Mosley's been around forever, he's beaten Oscar De La Hoya twice. So, it's Mosley. The second-most well-known of the three would be Marquez. You know?
"And, you know, with Marquez, there is a big drop off from Shane Mosley as far as the general public is concerned. I'm not talking about the boxing public. And then, third, you have Andre Berto. Nobody knows who Andre Berto is. So, again, that has to be taken into consideration. I have to estimate with Manny how many buys that he thinks that he'll do with one of these guys. I don't think that Andre Berto's recent victory means anything in particular, because he was fighting a real Class C fighter."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.