Shane Mosley announced on his twitter account that he’s next in line to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 7, 2011.
Via the OC Register:
Mosley broke the news earlier tonight (December 21st) on his Twitter page: “Well Twitter land it’s official me, bob, and jay prince hammered everything out and bob is drafting up papers May 7 Sugar and PAC…..”
Payout Perspective:
Andre Berto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley or Devon Alexander. These 4 men would be much more entertaining than Sugar Shane. Mosley has not won in his last two fights and has been far from sharp. According to ESPN, Pacquiao’s camp picked the biggest name out of the bunch (Berto and Marquez. Not sure if Bradley or Alexander were considered for the fight). ESPN’s Dan Rafael disagrees with Mosley as the choice. Although the fight will draw PPV numbers and garner a sell out in Vegas, it is far from the most entertaining or challenging fight for the Pac Man.
Fight Opinion has the back and forth between Steve Cofield and Kevin Iole on whether this fight is worthy of fight fans’ PPV dollars. The interesting part about their talk is how HBO’s 24/7 should sell the fight. The 24/7 shows have become such an important vehicle in the promotion of a fight. I think that the shows really get the casual viewer excited about the fight. It’s been so successful that the NHL is using it to hype its annual January 1st game.
It was the wrong fight to make for the fans but the right one for Manny. It will be an easy fight and he should earn an impressive stoppage. Mosely is a good foil against which Manny can showcase his skills and make $15M while doing so. Not what I was looking for, but I don’t begrudge Manny an easy fight after fighting someone 17 lbs heavier in his last outing.
It sucks most for Marquez, who had a great year and deserves another shot at Manny and the paycheck that comes with that.
Diego,
I agree re Marquez. It would be a great fight but I recall Pacquiao not wanting another go with JMM after their last fight.. I wonder if Pacquiao the brand is not willing to take fights that Pacquiao the fighter would take. Basically, I think a fight with JMM is a fight Pacquiao could lose. The brand picks Mosley, and you get a nice payday and an easy fight.
I also think an Andre Berto fight would be great. Yes, Berto is not a big name. But, that what’s 24/7 is for, right?
I definitely see Bob Arum’s fingerprints all over this.
Smart fight for Manny. Might as well keep busy and keep your name in the media.
if Manny’s camp feel this is a good fight for them than it was the right move. They likely want to keep him around and winning and see if Money can straighten his legal stuff out and make one last effort to put together the fight for late 2011