Shane Mosley Still Hunting For a Pacquiao Opportunity

By Mark Vester

WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley is still hunting for a title opportunity with Manny Pacquiao. He still wants to fight Pacquiao at a catch-weight between 141 and 147. He would put up his WBA title in the fight, even with the catch-weight. Pacquiao has reached a deal to face Miguel Cotto on November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. One issue to come up has been Cotto's refusal to defend his welterweight crown in a fight taking place at the catch-weight of 145. Unless Pacquiao agrees to jump to 147, Cotto is not going to put his title on the line.

“Tell them, what I offered is still on the table. The ball is in their court,” Mosley told Ed de la Vega of philboxing.com.

Mosley would make take a 40% split to fight Pacquiao. The problem with that, Pacquiao probably has at least a 65% [35% for Cotto] is his favor for the deal with Cotto. Cotto is a bigger fight in terms of ticket sales and pay-per-view buys. Cotto brings an an entire country to the table and a large Puerto Rican following in the United States. Because Cotto and Pacquiao are both with Top Rank, the promotional firm can offer a better deal with better guarantees to Pacquiao. If they had to co-promote a Mosley show with Golden Boy Promotions, the deal would not be as sweet. There is simply too much money at stake for Pacquiao-Cotto not to happen.

Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com