By MARK WHICKER, The Orange County Register
There was one logical sporting event in 2010. That's before the sport of boxing got into the ring with logic. That bout was over quicker than Ali-Liston II.
Now, from the ashes of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s defunct showdown with Manny Pacquiao, comes a new and maybe more interesting possibility, from a Big Bear snowbank.
Mayweather needs a big occasion and Mosley is the best box-office athlete available, with Pacquiao already headed for a March 13 fight with replacement Joshua Clottey.
Mosley is part of Golden Boy Promotions. Mayweather has been represented by Golden Boy in his past few fights.
Mosley is a comfortable welterweight. Mayweather has grown into that class and looked comparatively massive when he dominated Juan Manuel Marquez.
The word has filtered up to Big Bear, where Mosley was training for Shane Berto, who backed out of their Jan. 30 fight because of his personal anguish over the Haiti earthquake.
Naazim Richardson, who masterminded Bernard Hopkins' big victories and trained Mosley for the destruction of Antonio Margarito a year ago, is restraining his enthusiasm.
"All of our preparations have been for Berto," he said by phone the other day. "We haven't thought about anybody else. You hear a lot of talk about who's going to fight who. I don't pay any attention to it until somebody signs the contract. And maybe not even then.
"I guess you can say it's exciting. Floyd Mayweather, I've known him since he was a kid in the amateurs. I've seen him lose (Mayweather is unbeaten as a pro). He has mastered the art of being a winner. You can't say anything bad about him. If it does happen, we'll have a lot to prepare for."
As good as Mayweather-Mosley might be, it won't make anyone forget the perplexing crash of Mayweather-Pacquiao.
Mayweather's camp insisted that Pacquiao go through tests for performance-enhancing drugs, including HGH, which requires a blood test. Pacquiao replied that he has an aversion to needles (which some thought odd, since he bears tattoos) but that he would cooperate, even submitting to a post-fight test.
The two could never agree on how many tests or when, but it did inflame Pacquiao. Ultimately the fight collapsed, which made people wonder how much Mayweather wanted Manny.
If he signs with Mosley, that question will be answered. Mayweather might or might not want Pacquiao, but he definitely doesn't want Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter now and Mayweather's promoter once upon a time.
Mayweather will want testing for this fight, because Mosley has admitted he used performance enhancers he received from BALCO. But one has the feeling Mosley might agree to blood tests between rounds, if it meant a shot at Mayweather.
"Where I come from, you don't need $40 million to have a fight with somebody," said Richardson, who is from Philadelphia. "That is, if you really want to fight him.
"I don't question Floyd's motives. It's like being at a dance. You go to a pretty girl, you ask her to dance. If she says no, you go to the next one. And then the next one. Floyd wanted Pacquiao to dance and it didn't work out. Now he had to ask somebody else.
"The thing is, Shane Mosley has been standing there by the punchbowl all along."
Mosley has been standing outside the ring since Jan. 24 of last year, when his victory over Margarito broke Staples Center's all-events attendance record. That's a lot of idle time for a 38-year-old. Mosley has been understandably itchy to fight someone, to keep some semblance of momentum. At one point he told Richardson he wanted Clottey, a tough piece of leather who bloodied and nearly beat Miguel Cotto.
"I said, who the hell wants to fight Clottey if you don't have to?" Richardson said. "But now Pacquiao is in a different place. He has to fight Clottey because that's the only fight for him. I think he'll win. It's like Mayweather. Manny has proved he has mastered the art of winning. Clottey has proved he has mastered the art of competing. There's a difference.
"I really don't think Manny wants Shane. I don't think anybody really does. If Shane fights Floyd, there are a lot of elements to it. But Shane, when he goes into the ring, everybody knows he wants to finish the other guy. He wants to take him out. Floyd wants to win but he doesn't necessarily want to finish, because he isn't always able to. I think that's the difference."
In truth, HBO wasn't terribly excited about a March 13 boxing date involving anyone, because of various advertising and marketing factors. Mayweather-Mosley would be in early May. By then Big Bear will be fully thawed. Mayweather, having dodged Pac-Man, might still find himself within the reach of an abominable snowman.
mwhicker@ocregister.com
Source: ocregister.com
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