The announcement has been made that Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley will indeed fight on May 1st at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. However, despite the excitement and shock that’s buzzing over the fight, let’s not forget one major story here; this fight is 10 years too late.
Lou Block over at NowBoxing.com just wrote the article “What Can The Floyd Mayweather Jr. Haters Say Now?” I think this is the perfect place to start my article. I can give Mr. Lou Block 3 things that "Mayweather Haters" have to say.
Ducking
Steven Davis of Sacramento, CA “This fight should have happened last century. But Mayweather ducked Mosley for 10 years now.” Steven is absolutely correct. Mayweather has ducked Mosley for the last decade. Mayweather even retired from the sport instead of fighting Mosley. But, hey, don’t just take my word on this. Check out Mosley’s comments from Boxingscene.com:
“These guys are ducking and dodging me. Mayweather, I think, is scared. By avoiding me like they have they are only tearing their own legacy down and bringing their own reputation down.”
Hmm, Mayweather scared? Mayweather avoiding top contenders? Mayweather ruining his own legacy and reputation?
Where have I heard all of this before?
Necessity
Bob Arum and Manny Pacquiao forced Mayweather’s hand. When they signed to fight Clottey it showed that they weren’t going to hide behind politics and delay their careers. Manny went out and found a tough fighter that will add to his impressive boxing resume.
Mayweather’s people were receiving heavy criticism from fans and media over what they will do next. Adam Wayne, Citrus Heights, CA “I’ve been waiting to see how Mayweather would respond to Manny’s decision to fight Clottey. How was he going to spin this with the media and the fans?”
Shane Mosley was the only other big name out there that fans could accept Mayweather fighting. The backlash grew when Mayweather came out of the Pacquiao negotiations looking like the fool. If Mayweather would have picked a lesser opponent then the fans would have rioted and the “Non-ProMayweather” media would have buried him. So, Mosley was a necessity not a choice.
Money
Mayweather and Golden Boy Promotions didn’t take this fight because they wanted to. They took this fight because Mosley was the only other big name out there where Mayweather could get a decent payday especially since Mayweather lost out on a rumored $40 million dollar pay day when he destroyed the negotiations with Pacquiao.
“Mayweather keeps saying that he’s only fighting for money now and that he only wants the big fights. Well, here I am.”…Shane Mosley (source: Boxingscene.com)
So, Mayweather didn’t take this fight because he wants to fight top fighters. He took this fight out of necessity for name recognition and money. However, which ever way that Golden Boy Promotions try to spin this fight, its still “A Decade late and $40 million dollars short”.
Source: examiner.com
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