By Mark Vester
We are only a few days away from Manny Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) defending the WBO welterweight title against former champion Joshua Clottey (35-3, 20 KOs) at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach wants his fighter to get the winner of May's welterweight bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley. Pacquiao has to get past Clottey first.
"If the winner of the (Floyd) Mayweather-(Shane) Mosley fight (May 1) doesn't come around, where do we have to go? Without Mayweather, there's nothing else to prove. (But) let's face it. The people … want to see Mayweather and Pacquiao fight. It's a great fight for the world of boxing. It's a much better fight than Mayweather because both guys will come to fight and that's a real battle, a very tough fight, but it's one I welcome. If (Mosley) wins, we will definitely fight him," Roach told USA Today.
Even with the deep dislike, Roach calls it down the line. He picks Mayweather to beat Mosley, a fighter that Roach considers a good friends. He doesn't think Molsey will do well with Mayweather's style. If Mayweather wins, Roach will push for the fight but they won't let Floyd dictate the terms for the random drug testing.
"I like Mayweather (to beat Mosley) because Shane does really well with guys who come at you. He's used to those Mexican-style fighters coming at him his whole life. But you see his fights with speed guys, movers, he has a little bit of trouble. So I do think Mayweather will win it in 12 rounds," Roach said.
"Shane is my friend. I hope he wins, but I just don't think he will. I've never seen Manny make fun of a person, or emulate someone else in the ring, except Mayweather, because this guy tried to ruin his life by saying he's on steroids. He's not too happy about that. We're going to do whatever it takes to make that fight. The only thing we won't do is let Floyd call the shots and make the rules, because he's not that big."
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