Pacquiao-Mosley–Best Fight in Boxing Hands Down!!

I found this article floatin' online........ Once in a while sports are presented with history making events. Sometimes we see them, but sometimes we don’t. If Manny Pacquiao decided to meet Sugar Shane Mosley at a catchweight of 144 or 143 pounds, boxing would have had its best fight on paper this decade. This is fight is our Henry Armstrong-Barney, Ross, this fight is our Sugar Ray Robinson-Carmen Basillo. Don’t let people tell you Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao is a better fight. While that fight may do more business, it is not the sort of paper match-up that promises to be an exciting fight. Also don’t let Bob Arum sell you Miguel Cotto. Cotto is an excellent fighter, but he does not bring the history Mosley can. Plus that fight is less marketable to a mainstream sports audience. I will explain this all in a bit. Let’s examine why this is boxing’s best fight. History: In respect to history this is the biggest fight this decade. It is not Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali, nothing is nowadays. But it is something special. The reason why is Shane Mosley is the current welterweight champion. And if Manny were to win this match-up, he would have won his 5th lineal title, and he and his supporters could argue he is one of the 10 greatest fighters of all time. I love Ring Magazine, they have the best writers in the business. But their reasoning behind not recoginzing Mosley as the Welterweight champion makes little sense. Shane defeated Antonio Margarito, which was a 1 vs 3 match-up. But Mosley was not crowned the champion. Yet in 2002, when Vernon Forrest beat Mosley in a 1 vs 3 match-up, Forrest was crowned the champion. (Andrew Lewis was the number 2 contender at the time) No consistency from the bible of boxing. Many other observers, including Cyberboxingzone.com recognize Mosley as the lineal title holder. Nothing sells better then history. And this would be a great story line. Shane Mosley was once the best fighter in the sport in 2001. He fell from that pedestal. If he were to win, he would have an argurment that he is again best fighter in the sport. You would also have 2 of the top 10 fighters of the era. I personally have Pacquiao number 1 right now. But Shane fits right in there from 7 to 10. Floyd is top 5 too, but my next section will explain why other things rather then rankings are important. Styles: As the old timers say, styles make fights. And this is a style match-up for the ages. Manny Pacquiao has the fastest feet and hands in boxing. Shane Mosley has the fastest feet and hands in the Welterweight division. Both like to come to fight, both have power and both will be gunning for a knockout. What more could a fight fan ask for. And here is the problem with a Mayweather-Pacquiao match-up. For all the hype, it promises to be a let down. Let us not forget De La Hoya-Mayweather. That fight that was supposed to save boxing, it did far from that. All it did was line Oscar and Floyd’s pocket books. I guarantee you that not one young mainstream sports fan came away from that fight saying they just witnessed a great fight. My thinking is Mayweather-Pacquiao does 1.4 million buys in a down ecomony. But will the fight inspire sports fans?? When was the last time your saw Floyd Mayweather in a great fight?? Will boxing add new young fans?? Mosley-Pacquiao would do good business as well. In the 900k- 1 million PPV buy range. But it has the potential to leave the lasting impressions few super fights have in the past. People will come away talking about this fight. It has the potential to leave an impression, much like Hagler-Hearns, and Corrales-Castillo. Remember De La Hoya-Trinidad did great business, but it was a forgettable show. Money: Oh yes the all mighthy Dollar. In the end this is what it all about, right? Let’s engage in a hypothetical here. Let’s say the pot for Mayweather-Pacquiao is $40 Million in purses. Both are going to want the bulk share, which is to not going to happen, one of them will have to take less money. Will Mayweather? Heck no, he will have just beaten Pacquiao’s nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez. Will Pacquiao? I could see him agreeing to 50/50 when push comes to shove. But in the end, that will not happen either. Floyd will demand more. There you have a stalemate my friends. Leaving fight fans angry and bitter. This hogwash about Mosley not being an attraction is just laughable. The funny thing is people buy into it. Yes Shane is not Oscar De La Hoya, but who the hell is. He has done 5 PPV fights in this career. Doing around 2.5 million buys in total, that is pretty darn good. Cynics will say he was not the main drawing card. But he was still on the card, and those cards sold well. His name helped out more then a little bit. Also when was the last time you saw Miguel Cotto doing an interview on Sportscenter? Mosley is one of the top 5 attractions in the sport (probably number 4 or 5) While he can’t sell a card by himself, few fighters can. Everytime he is in a big event, people watch. With Mosley-Pacquiao, Manny stands to make more money. Here is my reasoning. The purses will likely be around $26 Million. Mosley has already asked for 40% of that, leaving him 10 Million and Manny 16 million. In the end, Manny can get it to a 70/30 or 65/35 in his favor. Because Mosley truly wants the fight, he wil not turn down 8 million if Manny is making 18 million. In the end Shane will ask the question. I could make 2 million fighting Paul Williams or Andre Berto. Or I can make triple that, and enhance my legacy. Manny will get his 18 Million. Plus he could negotiate a 70/30 in the PPV purse only adding to his royalties. (All of this is guess work with number) Chance of Winning. Odds makers will make this a pick’em fight. But Pacquiao has a much better chance of beating Mosley on styles alone. Mosley will be there to be hit. Mayweather will not allow Manny to get comfortable. He will confuse him with his movement, and side to side. Manny has never fought anything close to Mayweather, while Mosley presents a style he has seen before. Mosley is a bigger, faster and smoother version of Erik Morales. Legacy Quite simply, Manny will have won world title’s in 7 different Weight classes if he defeats Sugar Shane Mosley. He will have defeated a top 5 pound for pound fighter. He will put himself in discussions with the best of the best. Critics would say, “Shane is 38.” But Shane is also the Welterweight Champion of the world, coming off a watershed win over Antonio Margarito. History will judge this win well. The winner would also win the fighter of the year award. For Manny it would be his 3rd in 4 years. For Shane it would be his 2nd. (BWAA 1998) 2 future Hall of Famers, what more could we ask for. You just have to hope that promoters, trainers, advisors, writers, and fans realize. They need to stop selling you this Mayweather-Pacquiao bag of goods. The combination of great fighters, great fights, and great business saves the sport boxing, and without all 3, the sport will continue to lose young fans to MMA. Make this fight happen! also here's a little part of ANOTHER article I found Pacquiao, the number one fighter in the world according to most Pound for Pound listings, was seen and heard on a video from a Philippine news company agreeing to fight Mosley if terms can be mutually agreed on. Of course, that’s another hoop to jump through. Meanwhile in Hollywood, California, at the Wild Card Boxing gym, master trainer Freddie Roach unraveled his interpretation of the various doors open to Pacquiao. A number of choices are available to Team Pacquiao. “The easiest fight is (Floyd) Mayweather,” said Roach in between rounds while his young charge Amir Khan sparred with various boxers as he prepares for his showdown against WBA junior welterweight titleholder Andriy Kotelnik on June 27 in England. “Shane Mosley is the hardest fight.” Roach also went on to say Cotto was the second hardest fight..........I know this has been touched on ALOT here.......but did Team Pac make the right choice in Cotto?..........was Mosley ducked or avoided? is Team Pac goin' after the WEAKEST belt holders?........whats good?.......something just isnt right my dudes :nonono:........and from the gate.......I dont hate or dislike the lil' Phillipino Warrior......I'm a fan of his work and I ADMIRE his heart and care for his peeps outside the ring........Manny is exempt from any disrespect in my book.......but his advisors are full of shit.........:boxing: