Don't Be Surprised If Mosley-Mayweather Rumors Escalate

Recently Golden Boy Promotions honcho Richard Schaefer said that the big fight in boxing is now Shane Mosley vs. Floyd Mayweather? As most know GBP has promotional ties with Shane and has worked with Floyd. Before Mayweather took apart the seemingly diminutive Juan Manuel Marquez last Saturday night, the thought of getting Mosley and Mayweather together was a pipe-dream. It's no secret that Mayweather has been smartly waiting for Shane to age and decline before taking a chance fighting him. And please, anyone who thinks Mosley ducked Mayweather is blinded with bias. Is there any boxing fan/writer out there who really believes Mayweather would've gone through with a fight between them circa 2000-2007? Based on the history of both fighters – Mayweather hasn't earned the benefit of the doubt in this case.

For those needing a brief history lesson – it was in late June of 2005 and Mayweather had just looked sensational in stopping the late Arturo Gatti. Shortly after fighting Gatti, Mayweather issued a challenge to Winky Wright who defeated Felix Trinidad a month earlier after beating Shane Mosley in their rematch in November of 2004. At that time I wrote for another entity and said Mayweather was just trying to get attention and had no intention of ever fighting Wright. None whatsoever. Stating that Floyd would get out of the fight by making outrageous demands that Wright would never accept. Only Mayweather was wrong and Wright did accept his terms knowing he'd do exactly to Mayweather what Floyd just did to Marquez. Winky knew his size and strength would neutralize Mayweather's speed and skill set. Once Wright agreed to accept the ridiculous deal, surprise, Mayweather turned a deaf ear and went another direction and fought Sharmba Mitchell.

The point is – just by looking at the record and resumes of both Mosley and Mayweather, any objective/insightful boxing fan can see which fighter has avoided the toughest fights and biggest challenges and which one looks to make them, something that may not have always been the greatest for Mosley's career monetarily and strategically. As mentioned before, Mayweather hasn't defeated a single fighter that Mosley wouldn't have defeated easier.

Back to the current scene. Look for the rumors and talk of a Mosley-Mayweather bout to escalate before Pacquiao-Cotto meet this coming November 14th. The only problem with that is it's just subterfuge. Mosley's name will be thrown out as an opponent for Mayweather by GBP because Shane wants a big fight, and it serves them both well. And the Mayweather faction will do it trying to gain some of the leverage Floyd failed to reel in with his fight against Marquez for a proposed fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Mosley's scripted theatrics in the ring after Mayweather's fight with Marquez has helped and benefited Mayweather. The idea that some were insulted and thought Mosley's behavior was classless must be kidding. In other words the fighter who came to the ring with a wrestler named triple-H, and also learned his own form of outlandish behavior from the WWE, is too dignified to be challenged by another fighter in the ring? Please! Mosley did himself and Mayweather a huge favor. Shane's so-called classless act gave Mayweather and even more viable opponent to face than Pacquiao. On the other hand Mosley put a little heat on Floyd to possibly fight him.

This will no doubt irritate and outrage the Mayweather apologist, but while Shane and Floyd were standing face to face in the ring, it sure looked like Mayweather had more reservation about Mosley than the opposite. Then again maybe I'm wrong and Mosley is the one who harbors trepidation about a potential fight between them. All I know is that it's doubtful we'll see the fight. Although it would be great to see Mayweather in there with a real fighter his size despite him crowding 40 years old, and the thought of Mosley not going after Floyd because he fears getting hit by Mayweather's lead left-hook doesn't exist.

When all is said and done, Mosley-Mayweather is a better fight than Pacquiao-Mayweather. It's been said in this space since Pacquiao knocked out Ricky Hatton that Mayweather has the perfect style along with speed and strength to handle Pacquiao. Actually, Floyd may work Manny over more than he did Marquez due to the fact that Marquez never believed he could hurt Mayweather and for that reason never pressed him. Pacquiao has a punchers mindset and would believe he was never more than a punch away from putting Mayweather to sleep. And it would be that mindset that would induce him to take more chances and jump in, which Mayweather lives for his opponents to do.

Now that Mayweather-Marquez is history, the focus will be on Pacquiao-Cotto. So look for GBP and Mayweather to try and steal some of the limelight from Pacquiao-Cotto by speculating that Mayweather doesn't need Pacquiao and is considering a fight with Mosley. It makes perfect business sense for all parties involved with the exception of Mosley, who stands a good chance of missing out on fighting both Mayweather and Pacquiao.

Here's why. If Pacquiao beats Cotto, the obvious big fight is with Mayweather. However, if Cotto beats Pacquiao then Mayweather is in the driver’s seat. Knowing how Mayweather thinks, it's easy to see how it will unfold. If given the choice between fighting Cotto and Mosley, it's Cotto. For starters it would be for more money and with Cotto holding a win over Mosley, why would Mayweather fight a guy Cotto already beat? Secondly, Mayweather matches up better with Cotto than he does Mosley. In a bout with Cotto, Mayweather would force Miguel to lead and push the fight and would be open to get busted up on the way in. Maybe Cotto could hurt Mayweather if he could get inside, but he'd pay a price in doing it. Whereas Mosley could adjust better and has more weapons to deal with and handle Mayweather than Cotto does, especially with the way he's looks to have improved under new trainer Nazeem Richardson.

Regardless of what's floated out there teasing boxing fans about a potential Mosley-Mayweather showdown, it's not gonna happen in the foreseeable future if ever. Conventional wisdom says Mayweather will just sit back and hope for Pacquiao to beat Cotto. And if he doesn't, he'll make the smarter business decision and fight Cotto. Which for Mayweather is definitely the prudent thing to do.

So don't believe the Mosley-Mayweather hype if it starts.

Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com