By Jake Donovan
As the 2011 boxing schedule begins to take shape, its first major event is now on the books.
Former three-division world champion Shane Mosley has been selected as the opponent of choice when pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring on May 7. Mosley confirmed the news to Lem Satterfield of AOL Fanhouse earlier Tuesday evening (Lem Satterfield is also the News Editor for Boxingscene.com).
The bout will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will air live on HBO PPV.
“We came to an agreement today, in fact, just a few minutes ago. Bob Arum, James Prince and I," Mosley told AOL Fanhouse. "We sat down, and we came to an agreement. The only thing that I have to do now is to sign it. Bob Arum is writing it all up right now."
The news is probably the worst kept secret in the sport, though not made official until Tuesday evening. Mosley (46-6-1, 39KO) was on the short list of desired opponents, along with undefeated welterweight titlist Andre Berto and current lightweight king Juan Manuel Marquez, who drew with and lost a tightly contested split decision against Pacquiao in their two memorable bouts.
Promoter Bob Arum fielded offers from all three, though almost immediately dismissed Marquez from the running, claiming his demands were ‘unreasonable.’ Marquez is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who is currently stuck on the business end of a Cold War with Arum.
Mosley emerged as the frontrunner once he revealed that he was no longer under contract with Golden Boy and that he would be negotiating the fight on his own, along with manager James Prince.
Financial terms are still being worked out, though Mosley reported to AOL Fanhouse that he expects to make a guarantee of around $5 million, with the pay-per-view upside surpassing the career-high $7 million payday he collected in his 12-round loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. earlier this year.
The bout will serve as Mosley’s first since his disappointing draw against Sergio Mora this past September. Many believed the verdict should have went his way, though nearly everyone agrees that the fight itself was largely forgettable.
Nevertheless, the official verdict left him winless in his past two fights, with his last victory coming in his upset knockout win over Antonio Margarito in January 2009.
Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38KO) is coming off of a 12-round whitewash this past November, extending his present win streak to 13 straight. The Filipino southpaw, who turned 32 years old on December 17, has won lineal championships in a record four-weight classes, and alphabet titles in four more.
Still to be determined is at what weight the fight will take place, though strong inidcations point towards Pacquiao's welterweight belt being at stake. Pacquiao owns alphabet hardware at welterweight and junior middleweight, though he will eventually have to relinquish the latter as sanctioning body rules discourage the practice of holding belts in more than one weight class.
Regardless of what’s at stake, the fact that he will be facing Pacquiao next May is all the news that Mosley needs to know, as weeks of speculation have now transitioned into an enjoyable holiday season for the 18-year ring veteran.
“[T]he main thing is that I got the fight on May 7, and me and Bob and James Prince, we're all in agreement on everything. I think that I can go in and sign it in about two days or so. But the bottom line is that it's done."
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
