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Arum: Mosley Not Likely To Fight Pacquiao
Shane Mosley, who showed his age and the wear and tear of 53 professional bouts and 376 live rounds against the listless Sergio Mora on Saturday, did not help his standing in the Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes.
That's the word from Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who was busy with religious observance on Yom Kippur and did not view the bout live.
Asked on Sunday if he'd read the less-than-glowing reports of the controversial draw, Arum gave little reason to expect a Mosley-Pacquiao showdown.
"I did and I read them saying Mosley was huffing and puffing for air in the fourth or fifth round," Arum said. "To me, that is the real tipoff for an aging fighter. Even Big George Foreman did that in his 40s but he always had that big, big punch like in the (Michael) Moorer fight.
"What I've read is not very supportive to make any Mosley-Pacquiao bout. Look, he's going to be 40 and he's in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He's on a show with guys -- example, 20-year-old Saul Canelo Alvarez -- old enough to be his son.
"I guess Shane needs the money due to his matrimonial sitaution (a divorce under harsh California community property rules)," Arum said. "I've always considered Shane to be a nice guy but this is what happens to fighters when they age.
"It's like (Bernard) Hopkins, he still knows how to fight but who wants to pay to see him now? His fights are not very scintillating. What you see with Hopkins we're beginning to see with Mosley."
Arum said he wouldn't be interested in playing the flakcatcher if he made a Shane-Manny bout at this point.
"I have to constantly be aware of this, the flak from the naysayers. We've faced with (Antonio) Margarito for Nov. 13 and we got real, instant flak. But now even the naysayers are looking at that just as a fight. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way and they're saying maybe Antonio is too strong or too big for Manny."
On another front, Arum said Julio Cesar Chavez assured him face-to-face in a meeting at Top Rank's Las Vegas offices Wednesday that he will fly to the Philippines this Saturday to train with Freddie Roach and do some sparring with Pacman in Baguio.
Arum is planning a Dec. 4 doubleheader in Atlantic City featuring Chavez against Polish gamester Pawel Wolak and Miguel Cotto in the co-feature to hopefully set up a late February or March showdown between Cotto and Chavez.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz16zMsq4RU
That's the word from Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum, who was busy with religious observance on Yom Kippur and did not view the bout live.
Asked on Sunday if he'd read the less-than-glowing reports of the controversial draw, Arum gave little reason to expect a Mosley-Pacquiao showdown.
"I did and I read them saying Mosley was huffing and puffing for air in the fourth or fifth round," Arum said. "To me, that is the real tipoff for an aging fighter. Even Big George Foreman did that in his 40s but he always had that big, big punch like in the (Michael) Moorer fight.
"What I've read is not very supportive to make any Mosley-Pacquiao bout. Look, he's going to be 40 and he's in the lighter weights where speed is so important. He's on a show with guys -- example, 20-year-old Saul Canelo Alvarez -- old enough to be his son.
"I guess Shane needs the money due to his matrimonial sitaution (a divorce under harsh California community property rules)," Arum said. "I've always considered Shane to be a nice guy but this is what happens to fighters when they age.
"It's like (Bernard) Hopkins, he still knows how to fight but who wants to pay to see him now? His fights are not very scintillating. What you see with Hopkins we're beginning to see with Mosley."
Arum said he wouldn't be interested in playing the flakcatcher if he made a Shane-Manny bout at this point.
"I have to constantly be aware of this, the flak from the naysayers. We've faced with (Antonio) Margarito for Nov. 13 and we got real, instant flak. But now even the naysayers are looking at that just as a fight. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way and they're saying maybe Antonio is too strong or too big for Manny."
On another front, Arum said Julio Cesar Chavez assured him face-to-face in a meeting at Top Rank's Las Vegas offices Wednesday that he will fly to the Philippines this Saturday to train with Freddie Roach and do some sparring with Pacman in Baguio.
Arum is planning a Dec. 4 doubleheader in Atlantic City featuring Chavez against Polish gamester Pawel Wolak and Miguel Cotto in the co-feature to hopefully set up a late February or March showdown between Cotto and Chavez.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz16zMsq4RU
It's funny how things can change so dramatically in just 2 months.I think 2 factors are driving the Pacquiao-Mosley bout- 1) Shane leaving GBP 2) The success of Pacquiao-Margarito.
Bob is willing to play the 'flakcatcher' now that he knows he can spin **** into PPV gold. The outcry against the Margarito fight was deafening in the beginning, by both the media and fans, but then once the hype machine was cranked up, all that 'boycott' talk stopped and the fight did extremely well financially. So Bob know that what hardcore fans say on sites/blogs like this is completely and utterly irrelevant as long as he can sell the match to the casual fans.
Manny is a crossover star who's mentioned by the likes of Beyonce, Harry Potter, Mark Wahlberg, etc in interviews and his fans base just continues to grow. If he can pull in 1.2ish million against a disgraced fighter coming off a KO loss and year long suspension, then he can pull in similar numbers and more against anyone as long as the marketing is right.
And Shane dropping GBP solely to get a fight with Manny and Arum doing an about-face on it immediately sends a very strong sign to Top Rank's competitors. Wouldn't be at all surprised if Marquez and Berto do the same in the near future if/when they don't get a crack at Manny for April.