A CUT ABOVE Manny Unveils A Beiber Bob In Cali

Dig that 'do. Pacman showed off a Beiber bob in Cali on Thursday. Will Mosley have any luck getting to the Congressman's head when they clash in May? (photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank)BEVERLY HILLS-If fan popularity can be judged by a press conference, then Manny Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title defense against Sugar Shane Mosley is going to be a blockbuster.

Several hundred members of the media converged on the Beverly Hills Hotel to watch the kick-off press conference for Top Rank’s May 7 fight between Pacquiao and Mosley at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.

Showtime pay-per-view will be televising the event.

Fresh off a tremendous victory against Mexico’s Antonio Margarito, the Filipino super star Pacman is raring to go against Mosley, who’s suffered a draw and a loss in his last two fights.

But that doesn’t mean a thing.

“This is definitely not an easy fight,” said Freddie Roach, one of the more honest prognosticators in the sport. “He’s been there many times and this is a dangerous fight.”

That’s what many in the media who have followed Mosley’s career realize and they consider the Pomona speedster a sure thing to go the entire route against Pacquiao. Mosley is nobody’s kicking stool.

“This is very big and I’m very excited to be able to show my stuff,” Mosley said in his typically nonchalant manner.

Mosley had been chasing Pacquiao for two years and felt he would get the shot after surprisingly knocking out Margarito two years ago. It didn’t happen.

Then after he lost to Floyd Mayweather and then drew with Sergio Mora this past summer, most pundits and fans relegated the former lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight champion as an also-ran.

“Styles make fights,” said Mosley. “Those other guys were defensive fighters. Pacquiao comes to you. He likes to fight. I like to fight.”

Pacquiao was last seen beating Margarito over 12 rounds and nearly stopping the rugged Mexican last November. Mosley had enough power to stop Margarito. That fight remains the barometer to this fight. Or does it?

“This is a going to be a good fight on May 7,” said Pacquiao while in front of the podium, sporting long hair and looking like a 1950s beatnik. “I hope you train hard. I will train hard too.”

Bob Arum, the president of Top Rank, ingeniously enlisted the help of Showtime and CBS to promote the coming fight and also plans to showcase further boxing cards in the near future.

It could be the boon to boxing that the sport needs.

“It’s now our job to take it to the next level and bring it back to the masses where it belongs,” said Ken Hershman, the Showtime honcho.

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