The old Sugar Shane Mosley is the one going to resurface when he climbs the ring against Manny Pacquiao on May 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Definitely not the Mosley who lost a lopsided decision against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and certainly not the same guy who was held to a draw by Sergio Mora.
“Manny will come at me and I will knock him out," said Mosley when interviewed by ESPN moments after his 12-round title fight against the Filipino boxing star for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship belt was announced.
The bout is set at 147 lbs.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said Mosley clinched the deal over two others – long-time Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez and reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight king Andre Berto.
The legendary boxing promoter believes a fight with the 39-year-old Mosley of Pomona, California is the “most sellable" of all.
“I know they think I’m an old man and that Manny is going to beat me. Let them think that," said Mosley, who won titles as a lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight, “I still have power and speed. So they can think whatever they want. I know what I can do."
That such an impression has been attached to Mosley of late is understandable.
Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) lost to Mayweather Jr. in a 12-round decision last April, and then settled for a draw against Mora, ‘The Contender’ star, in a junior middleweight showdown five months later.
Mosley had his own reasons for his two sub-par performances, claiming he was able to hurt Mayweather despite the one-sided bout, and that Mora didn’t beat him at all, adding that his opponent ran away from him all night.
The same scenario won’t be happening when he faces Pacquiao.
“Come on, man. I’m a bigger guy than him and he gets hit. And you saw how I hurt Floyd. Manny is going to come forward and I will hit him on the chin at some point. His defense is not like Floyd’s," he said
Mosley winning the Pacquiao sweepstakes also signaled the end of his partnership with Golden Boy Promotions, the rival group of Top Rank and with which the American boxer reportedly owns a stake of four percent.
The lure of big prize money just by fighting Pacquiao definitely has something to do with that.
Mosley is assured of a $5 million guaranteed prize for the May 7 fight and a $5 share per pay-per-view buy above 500,000, meaning a 1.2 million sales in per-per-view would translate to a take of $8.5 million take the only man to beat the great Oscar De La Hoya twice.
His biggest career earning was $7 million in his loss against Mayweather Jr.
Arum believes hitting the 1 million mark in pay-per-view is doable. “I thought Mosley was the best draw of the three and it would do the best business."
The 79-year-old promoter also said the fight doing well in pay-per-view sales would give Pacquiao his biggest paycheck to date, as he is likely to receive between $12-$15 million in guaranteed purse.
Of course, it won’t be an easy one, Arum says.
“Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trample says it’s a very difficult fight. I believe it will be an exciting fight," said Arum. “Shane knows how to fight and how to deal with the speed. Manny is in for a hellacious fight. I really believe styles make fights." –
No comments:
Post a Comment