The Perfect Opportunity for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By
Dustin M. Miller
Let me start off by saying that my heart goes out to those who have been affected either directly or indirectly by the horrifying events taking place in Haiti.
I was disappointed to find out that Andre Berto would not be able to meet Shane Mosley on Jan 30th, but then it took a second for my brain to click and say “Duh, now is the perfect opportunity for Shane Mosley to take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Berto wouldn’t be able to fight Mosley, considering the amount of family loss and personal grieving that Berto is going through at this moment. Let’s all hope that Berto can physically and emotionally recover from these tremendous losses and continue his career as planned in the future.
Now we move on to Mosley and Mayweather and the all the hoopla that surrounds this potential mega-fight. This is a fight that boxing fans have been clamoring for since Floyd was dominating the 130lb division and Mosley was the lightweight champion who was knocking out everyone he stepped in the ring with. Over the years both fighters have moved up in weight and they have also moved up in status as well. They both got and won their dream fight against Oscar De La Hoya (Mosley defeated DLH twice). They both were recognized as the top fighter in the sport for a time since leaving their original divisions and both have won titles as far up as 154lbs. For whatever reasons and there are a million of them (that I won’t get into), valid or not, that this fight hasn’t taken place as of yet.
When the negotiations fell apart for the mega showdown between Mayweather and Pacquiao the obvious choice for Mayweather, if he really wants a super fight, was Shane Mosley. There have been rumblings of Mayweather fighting Nate Campbell, Kermit Cintron, Paulie Malignaggi, and a laundry list of other potential opponents. Now with Andre Berto out the picture for now, Mosley’s name should be the only one on that list. A fight with Mosley, would give Mayweather the two things we are told to believe he wants. 1.) A high profile fight that will make lots of money, 2.) A legitimate opponent that will quiet the critics who think he is afraid to challenge himself, and along the way he gets to stick it to Arum, Pacquiao and all those who said he issued the drug testing demand as way to get away from a tough opponent.
Mayweather’s advisor Leonard Ellerbe has been quoted as saying, “That is the fight Floyd wants more than anything. Floyd has instructed me and Al (Haymon) to make the biggest fight possible. Floyd against Shane is the biggest fight in boxing right now that can be made.” Mosley has said that a fight with Mayweather is the one that he wants and that he would be willing to comply with the same testing standards that broke apart the negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Since the news came of Berto’s dropout, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said he would be working feverishly on getting this fight done signed, sealed, and delivered. If the last month and a half have reminded us of anything it is that negotiations are never easy and that nothing is 100% done until both fighters are in the ring. I just hope that this fight can be not only be made, but be done so in a respectful and private manner. I hope that Golden Boy and Mayweather have learned their lessons from the fallout surrounding the Pacquiao negotiations and that all matters can be kept private until the fight is signed or each guy goes in a different direction.
This is the perfect opportunity for Floyd Mayweather to have his cake and eat it too. The cake is getting the negotiations over with smoothly and giving us the kind of fight we all want to see Mayweather in. Eating the cake will be defeating Shane Mosley and proving that he is the welterweight champion of the world and the pound for pound #1. Shane Mosley also has the opportunity to get the fight he claims he always wanted and to prove that at 38 he is still the top welterweight in the world today.
Random Thoughts
Congratulations to Jermain Taylor for pulling out of the Super Six. Jermain had no problem showing all of us how tough he is and how he is willing to face the best opposition out there. Now Jermain shows us his smarts and I think recouping mentally and physically is the best choice out there for him now.
Is six weeks of promoting Pacquiao vs. Clottey enough time to garner the kind of buys necessary to warrant a 50/50 split with Mayweather if Floyd fights and a bigger if, beats Shane Mosley.
The rematch between Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins should be on Golden Boy’s Fight Night Club series and not PPV. I’m insulted that someone wants me to care about this, let alone pay for it. No one cares anymore and why Hopkins and Golden Boy can’t see that baffles me. They’ve got to know they will lose money on this “event.” Hopkins at this point has earned the right to fight whoever he wants but Golden Boy should know better.
Email your comments and responses to dmill_1@msn.com
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