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In any campaign, it always helps to have the big gun ready to fire. When Barack ***** was going head-to-head with John McCain last fall in the fight for the White House, ***** brought out some heavy ammunition when he needed a boost on the campaign trail. That's when he pulled the ace out of his sleeve and dispatched former president Bill Clinton to make some key appearances for him.
That's sort of how it is right now for Sugar Shane Mosley, who needs all the help he can get in his own rough battle to land a big fight, which has been surprisingly elusive since his masterful knockout performance of disgraced Antonio Margarito in January. It was a victory that gave Mosley a title, pushed him back to the top of the welterweight division and gave him a big lift on the various pound-for-pound lists.
Mosley desperately wants to fight pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in the fall. He wants it so badly that he's willing to drop down into the low 140s to make the fight with the junior welterweight champ. He has also said he'll ask for only 40 percent of the fight purse.
But Pacquiao and his promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, still haven't bitten. They seem much more interested in making a November fight with Miguel Cotto, Arum's other star fighter, who won a bloody and highly competitive split decision against Joshua Clottey on Saturday to retain his version of the welterweight crown. Pacquiao sat ringside with Arum and told him during the fight, in which Cotto struggled at times, that he wanted to fight Cotto next.
Arum has been making plans to put that match together.
So Mosley is pulling out the biggest gun of all: Oscar De La Hoya, his former ring rival (Mosley beat him twice), promoter and partner at Golden Boy Promotions.
De La Hoya called me from his home in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to make his case that Mosley should get a fight with Pacquiao ahead of Cotto, though he made it clear his goal was not in any way to disrespect Cotto. He watched Cotto's fight and had nothing but good things to say about him.
"It was an excellent fight, and I thought Miguel Cotto showed a lot of guts," De La Hoya said. "He showed he is really one of those warriors that never gives up."
But De La Hoya also wants to see Mosley get Pacquiao first.
"We don't want to take anything away from Cotto, because he's a great fighter," De La Hoya said. "But Shane Mosley is now heading into that place as that most feared fighter on the planet. People don't want to fight him, especially Pacquiao. Shane is the top guy at welterweight, and I don't see why or how Cotto can come down in weight. He struggles to make 147. You have Shane wanting to come down a few pounds to accommodate Pacquiao and Cotto not really wanting to do that. Everybody is avoiding Shane. I don't care who you are -- Manny, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather -- if you want to be the best welterweight, you have to fight Mosley. The biggest fights out there for Pacquiao are Mosley and Floyd Mayweather. There's no doubt."
Mayweather, as De La Hoya pointed out, is out for now because of an injury and plans to reschedule his postponed July 18 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez for Sept. 19, at the earliest. That leaves Mosley as the next most lucrative option for Pacquiao, according to De La Hoya.
"Manny wants a huge event and he wants most of the pie, so to make all the money you are asking for, then fight that fight with Shane."
De La Hoya questioned whether a Cotto-Pacquiao fight could satisfy both fighters financially.
"Pacquiao wants to make the big dollars, and if Cotto decides to take the fight, he'll have to make big dollars," De La Hoya said. "I just don't see the numbers being there. Pacquiao can fight the best welterweight, Shane Mosley, and make the most money doing it. Shane has been in big pay-per-view fights. He knocked out Margarito. It's a way bigger fight."
I can certainly appreciate De La Hoya's dogged defense of his guy. Mosley is the No. 1 welterweight right now because he destroyed Margarito, who last summer knocked out Cotto (albeit in a tainted victory because many believe Margarito cheated by using loaded hand wraps).
But Cotto owns a decision victory over Mosley in their November 2007 title fight, so there is certainly merit in him facing Pacquiao.
One thing I am sure of is that a Pacquiao fight against either guy would be an exciting fight that would score big on pay-per-view.
So I can see why Arum wants to make Cotto-Pacquiao: He would control the entire promotion (rather than having to clear anything with Golden Boy), and he will satisfy the thirst of his top two fighters for a big fight.
If Cotto-Pacquiao is indeed made, De La Hoya said Mosley will move on.
"He's not going to sit for the rest of the year. Shane has his options," De La Hoya said. "You have the young ones coming up, like (titlist) Andre Berto and Paul Williams. That's the character Shane has. We all know he fights the best fighters out there. If the big-name fighters don't want to fight him, what else are you going to do? Shane is always willing to fight anybody, so we would fight one of those other guys."
Remember, before Mosley-Margarito was finalized, Mosley was very close to fighting Berto in January. Williams is another guy few top fighters want to fight. If Mosley can't get Pacman to dance with him in the fall, Berto would make sense. So, too, would Williams, whose promoter, Dan Goossen, has been calling on Mosley to face "The Punisher."
That's sort of how it is right now for Sugar Shane Mosley, who needs all the help he can get in his own rough battle to land a big fight, which has been surprisingly elusive since his masterful knockout performance of disgraced Antonio Margarito in January. It was a victory that gave Mosley a title, pushed him back to the top of the welterweight division and gave him a big lift on the various pound-for-pound lists.
Mosley desperately wants to fight pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao in the fall. He wants it so badly that he's willing to drop down into the low 140s to make the fight with the junior welterweight champ. He has also said he'll ask for only 40 percent of the fight purse.
But Pacquiao and his promoter, Top Rank's Bob Arum, still haven't bitten. They seem much more interested in making a November fight with Miguel Cotto, Arum's other star fighter, who won a bloody and highly competitive split decision against Joshua Clottey on Saturday to retain his version of the welterweight crown. Pacquiao sat ringside with Arum and told him during the fight, in which Cotto struggled at times, that he wanted to fight Cotto next.
Arum has been making plans to put that match together.
So Mosley is pulling out the biggest gun of all: Oscar De La Hoya, his former ring rival (Mosley beat him twice), promoter and partner at Golden Boy Promotions.
De La Hoya called me from his home in Puerto Rico on Tuesday to make his case that Mosley should get a fight with Pacquiao ahead of Cotto, though he made it clear his goal was not in any way to disrespect Cotto. He watched Cotto's fight and had nothing but good things to say about him.
"It was an excellent fight, and I thought Miguel Cotto showed a lot of guts," De La Hoya said. "He showed he is really one of those warriors that never gives up."
But De La Hoya also wants to see Mosley get Pacquiao first.
"We don't want to take anything away from Cotto, because he's a great fighter," De La Hoya said. "But Shane Mosley is now heading into that place as that most feared fighter on the planet. People don't want to fight him, especially Pacquiao. Shane is the top guy at welterweight, and I don't see why or how Cotto can come down in weight. He struggles to make 147. You have Shane wanting to come down a few pounds to accommodate Pacquiao and Cotto not really wanting to do that. Everybody is avoiding Shane. I don't care who you are -- Manny, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather -- if you want to be the best welterweight, you have to fight Mosley. The biggest fights out there for Pacquiao are Mosley and Floyd Mayweather. There's no doubt."
Mayweather, as De La Hoya pointed out, is out for now because of an injury and plans to reschedule his postponed July 18 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez for Sept. 19, at the earliest. That leaves Mosley as the next most lucrative option for Pacquiao, according to De La Hoya.
"Manny wants a huge event and he wants most of the pie, so to make all the money you are asking for, then fight that fight with Shane."
De La Hoya questioned whether a Cotto-Pacquiao fight could satisfy both fighters financially.
"Pacquiao wants to make the big dollars, and if Cotto decides to take the fight, he'll have to make big dollars," De La Hoya said. "I just don't see the numbers being there. Pacquiao can fight the best welterweight, Shane Mosley, and make the most money doing it. Shane has been in big pay-per-view fights. He knocked out Margarito. It's a way bigger fight."
I can certainly appreciate De La Hoya's dogged defense of his guy. Mosley is the No. 1 welterweight right now because he destroyed Margarito, who last summer knocked out Cotto (albeit in a tainted victory because many believe Margarito cheated by using loaded hand wraps).
But Cotto owns a decision victory over Mosley in their November 2007 title fight, so there is certainly merit in him facing Pacquiao.
One thing I am sure of is that a Pacquiao fight against either guy would be an exciting fight that would score big on pay-per-view.
So I can see why Arum wants to make Cotto-Pacquiao: He would control the entire promotion (rather than having to clear anything with Golden Boy), and he will satisfy the thirst of his top two fighters for a big fight.
If Cotto-Pacquiao is indeed made, De La Hoya said Mosley will move on.
"He's not going to sit for the rest of the year. Shane has his options," De La Hoya said. "You have the young ones coming up, like (titlist) Andre Berto and Paul Williams. That's the character Shane has. We all know he fights the best fighters out there. If the big-name fighters don't want to fight him, what else are you going to do? Shane is always willing to fight anybody, so we would fight one of those other guys."
Remember, before Mosley-Margarito was finalized, Mosley was very close to fighting Berto in January. Williams is another guy few top fighters want to fight. If Mosley can't get Pacman to dance with him in the fall, Berto would make sense. So, too, would Williams, whose promoter, Dan Goossen, has been calling on Mosley to face "The Punisher."
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