Monday's news that Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto had agreed to terms on a November fight should hardly come as a surprise to anyone who has been within earshot of Top Rank promoter Bob Arum over the last few weeks. Ever since Cotto won a tough decision over Joshua Clottey in June, Arum has been pushing for a megafight between two of the biggest stars in his stable. In many ways, this announcement was anticlimactic.
Still, this bit of news does carry some importance: It finally means that Shane Mosley can move on.
Mosley, you see, had developed a Robert DeNiro-in-The-Fan kind of obsession with Pacquiao ever since he established himself as the world's top welterweight with a brutal (and eminently entertaining) knockout win over Antonio Margarito last January. Mosley called out Pacquiao to every microphone, TV camera or tape recorder put in front of him. He had his boss, Oscar De La Hoya, call reporters to make his case for him. He had his publicist issue press release after press release declaring to the world (or anyone with an e-mail account) that he was ready to face Pacquiao.
The most recent release came last Friday, when Mosley declared he was prepared to meet Pacquiao at 140 pounds, an absurd weight for a man who hasn't fought below 147 since 1999.
"This is the fight the fans want to see," said Mosley. "It's up to Bob Arum and Manny Pacquiao to stop running from me and step up to the challenge."
Well, Shane, they passed. It's not that Arum doesn't like a Pacquiao-Mosley matchup. He loves it. He has tremendous respect for Mosley's skills in the ring and thinks a fight with Pac-Man would be a huge pay-per-view draw. But he wanted to match Cotto with him first, and that's his perogative.
What Mosley needs to do now is move on. There are other fights out there. Maybe not as big as Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather, but big enough. Mosley can add another alphabet title to his collection if he takes on Andre Berto. Or he can do what no one else in the 147-, 154- and 160-pound divisions seem willing to do and fight Paul Williams.
What Mosley can't do is sulk. Already the memory of his epic win over Margarito is beginning to fade. Mosley is 37 years old and there aren't many years left in his career. He needs to keep winning. If he does, Pacquiao and Mayweather will be there. I'm certain of that.
Deanna Clover
Jessica Hart.jpg)
College Superfans
SI's Pictures of the Week
Comments (27) Add A Comment
manny is running from shane...he wont fight some one with the same speed and more power than him...manny is a chump..who has he really beaten?..hatton is a bum..oscar was washed up..cotto isnt that impressive..shhane whipped on him for 9 rnds....im losing respect for manny...shane has fought everybody..why wont manny fight the best?
Willie Bone
Los Angeles , CA
Total Comments (8863)
Cotto has the title... Mosley doesn't... Why will he might someone who is not number 1
casperovjp
Total Comments (2)
fight
casperovjp
Total Comments (2)
Pac P4P after beating three busters in a row. Man my mother-in-law could have beat diaz, oscar ,and hatton easily. Man Pac is picking the easiest of the top three welter weights to fight, Cotto. But let me tell you clowns something, Pac gets knocked out by cotto anyway, and disappears into the phillipino sunset after this fight.
GetupBeforeTheRefCou…
Total Comments (42)
What are you guys Mosley fans? Have you forgotten that Cotto beat Mosley? If Mosley would have beaten Cotto then maybe you would have a case, but he didn't.
Lem214
West Hills, CA
Total Comments (2)
Funny, the guy that says that Mosley "whipped" on Cotto for 9 rounds... what fight did you see? It was a close competitive fight that Cotto won. Even Mosley himself said it after the fight... a few years later he claims that he thinks he won, but that's not what he said before.
rjfo
Total Comments (2)
Funny, Cotto beat Mosley... yet when Manny's stable decides to fight the winner (Cotto) and not the loser (Mosley)... he's called out as a ****? The logic failed somewhere.
McIzzo
Total Comments (66)
You sir, are a moron.
Dez3
Total Comments (13)
Noone is running from Shane Mosley my man. He beat a Margarito with no plaster of paris that could not hurt him. Cotto out boxed Mosley at his own game. If you watched the fight it was pretty evident nothing Mosley tried worked and he became quite discouraged. Pacq is fighting the best welterweight right now and come November 14th he will no longer be the P4P King.
HeavyHitter
Levittown , NY
Total Comments (1)
funny how before the dela hoya and hatton fights, most people were questioning if pacquaio bit off more than he could chew by agreeing to fight oscar and ricky, two naturally bigger opponents. after he finishes both in convincing fashion, people now say dela hoya and hatton are bums.
unclecliffy
Total Comments (214)
Shane Mosley is already a goner. he just wants his last paycheck because he knows fighting the pound for pound king would give him his retirement. But if this fight pushes through he won't stand a chance. Mosley wont have the footspeed nor the stamina to keep up with Pacquiao. Oh well Pacquiao has always been the underdog i think not because of his boxing skills but because of where he is from except for that Diaz fight but he always delivers. And come November he will again prove you doubters wrong just like before...
titor
Atlanta , GA
Total Comments (9)
T&R should pull your account... I gotta agree with Dez3... You are a moron
Panthro
Rensselaer , NY
Total Comments (437)
The only way that a Pacquaio-Mosley fight would have happened is if Mosley was promoted by Arum (just like Manny) and Cotto was not.
KL-SoCal
Total Comments (8)
you took the words right out of my mouth...
Gator_Force
Total Comments (256)
manny is running from shane...he wont fight some one with the same speed and more power than him...manny is a chump..who has he really beaten?..hatton is a bum..oscar was washed up..cotto isnt that impressive..shhane whipped on him for 9 rnds....im losing respect for manny...shane has fought everybody..why wont manny fight the best?
u could be a family of mosley who is desperate to fight manny 4 the money amirite? c'mon be realistic, mosley is old & if ever he'll be beaten by pacman... u & others will yap ur ass as usual, that pacman is into old boxers that can be beaten easily amirite again?lmao!
kaonbisong
Total Comments (7)
Mosley should be above begging. He looked great against Marga-cheat-o and no one is taking any props away from that. If he had beaten Cotto then he would have gotten the fight. Now he has to wait. Cotto is more of a draw anyway. Plain and simple.
at3t
Fredericksburg, VA
Total Comments (1)
I like Mosley and Im ready for him to fight. He should have fault Berto two months ago instead of waiting on Pac. Then he low ball Berto, he want fight Paul W and why would he fight Cintron who if he wins he suppose to and lose then he back at the bottom.. Fight Berto ASAP get his title and then fight the winner of Cotto and Pac. Mayweather will never fight Cotto or Pac because Bob Arum will not allow it happen.
J.D. 9698
Dallas , TX
Total Comments (9)
Hey Bone Malone, is your middle name "Head"?...Another Pacman hater hey, lmao...You guys are soo sad...It doesn't matter to you Pacquiao haters who he beats, your always gonna make excuses and say whoever he beats was washed up after he smokes their asses.
J-V-R
Total Comments (2)
Manny is the best fighter in the world today and he knows what he wants. Apparently, he wants to fight Cotto because Manny is after history. He wants to be world champion in six weight divisions so he's just doing the right move. And I'm confident, no doubt, he will knock out Cotto and i'll prove all you haters wrong.
kim abalos
Total Comments (3)
I am confused but some of your remarks, have people forgotten that Many is a 126-130 pound fighter and he is kicking the **** out of guys who walk around at like 160-170 pounds!!!!Pac-man ducks NOBODY!!! u wanna talk ducking lets talk mayweather!!!!!!Now i dont know about you but many must have some big balls to want to get in the ring with somebody as big as cotto and remember cotto is in his prime, i think if Many beats cotto he has got to be the best fighter of this generation and there would be bo point to him fighting mosely cuz cotto beat mosley.
I got one more question why the **** would mayweather want to fight marquez??? this is the dumbest thing mayweather has done yet. Marquez is an amazing fighter lets face it he is as good as Many he should have beat him the first fight and if not for the knock downs would have beat him the second fight y would mayweather pic him and not just wait a day and fight Many??? i personally think mayweather is gonna lose this fight!!!!!!!!
barbardaboss
Total Comments (1)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.