Manny Pacquiao's decision to take on Shane Mosley continues to receive at best a mixed receptions from both fans and the media. In fact numerous writers and fans alike are already calling for a boycott of the fight, in many cases the same people who were saying similar things shortly after it was announced that Pacquiao would fight Johua Clottey and Antonio Margarito.
Many however just don't like the idea of Shane Mosley getting to fight Pacquiao. They say he's too old or that he didn't perform well in his last couple of fights and those are both fair criticisms.
Others would just have preferred to see a young and unbeaten champion in Berto or an old rival in Marquez get their chances, regardless of whether or not this would have made the fight any more or less competitive. Also failing to note that had either Berto or Marquez been chosen that they would have carried with them their own shortcomings.
So just why was Shane Mosley chosen as Pacquiao's next opponent?
It is a well known fact that Marquez is just too small to make much of a fight of it at two divisions up from his natural weight and that Andre Berto doesn't have enough of a track record against the best to warrant the fight. Similarly had either of them been chosen, the doubters and naysayers would then no doubt have said that Pacquiao was ducking Mosley.
The official line from Top Rank and Bob Arum is that Mosley makes the most financial sense and that of the opponents on offer he and Pacquiao would sell the most pay per views. Certainly for Top Rank he makes the most financial sense now that he is free from any involvement with Golden Boy, but in terms of pay per view sales Pacquiao really doesn't need a big name opponent to do well anyway.
After all not long ago he fought pay per view non entity Joshua Clottey and still managed to sell 700k buys, so it isn't as if, with either Marquez or Berto, he would have sold a huge amount less than the predicted one million buys his fight with Mosley is expected to generate.
Perhaps the main reason Mosley was chosen?
Because of his link to Pacquiao's nemesis and only real rival in the pound for pound stakes Floyd Mayweather.
Despite the fact that Mayweather has been largely inactive for the past couple of years, he is still regarded as the pound for pound best fighter in the world by many fans and reputable organizations. At time of writing around half of the widely subscribed to pound for pound ranking lists have Mayweather as number one while the others now have Manny Pacquiao at the top, a few even going with Sergio Martinez to the number two spot.
If as the odds makers expect, Pacquiao beats Mosley in a more impressive fashion than Mayweather did, that is to say he knocks him out, then his claim to the number one spot ahead of Mayweather will be undeniable.
From there the only way for Mayweather to ever regain the pound for pound throne would either be to beat Pacquiao, or beat Pacquiao's recent former opponents in quick succession. Neither of which he appears either currently able or to too keen to try to do.
Another win over Marquez would mean little given that he is after all a lightweight anyway. Handing Berto his first loss similarly wouldn't really be big news given that Berto has yet to really fight an elite opponent anyway.
Facing Mosley rather than anyone else right now leaves Pacquiao as the universally accepted pound for pound king should he win, rather than interchangeably one or two depending on what source you subscribe to.
Jonny Morton, Pitt: "Mosley would destroy Berto or Marquez so why does everyone have a problem with him? Floyd is the only other interesting opponent and he's as good as retired"
Elvis Vayan, Manila: "Manny is making Floyd need him now not the other way around. It's the only way the fight will ever happen"
Many however just don't like the idea of Shane Mosley getting to fight Pacquiao. They say he's too old or that he didn't perform well in his last couple of fights and those are both fair criticisms.
Others would just have preferred to see a young and unbeaten champion in Berto or an old rival in Marquez get their chances, regardless of whether or not this would have made the fight any more or less competitive. Also failing to note that had either Berto or Marquez been chosen that they would have carried with them their own shortcomings.
So just why was Shane Mosley chosen as Pacquiao's next opponent?
It is a well known fact that Marquez is just too small to make much of a fight of it at two divisions up from his natural weight and that Andre Berto doesn't have enough of a track record against the best to warrant the fight. Similarly had either of them been chosen, the doubters and naysayers would then no doubt have said that Pacquiao was ducking Mosley.
The official line from Top Rank and Bob Arum is that Mosley makes the most financial sense and that of the opponents on offer he and Pacquiao would sell the most pay per views. Certainly for Top Rank he makes the most financial sense now that he is free from any involvement with Golden Boy, but in terms of pay per view sales Pacquiao really doesn't need a big name opponent to do well anyway.
After all not long ago he fought pay per view non entity Joshua Clottey and still managed to sell 700k buys, so it isn't as if, with either Marquez or Berto, he would have sold a huge amount less than the predicted one million buys his fight with Mosley is expected to generate.
Perhaps the main reason Mosley was chosen?
Because of his link to Pacquiao's nemesis and only real rival in the pound for pound stakes Floyd Mayweather.
Despite the fact that Mayweather has been largely inactive for the past couple of years, he is still regarded as the pound for pound best fighter in the world by many fans and reputable organizations. At time of writing around half of the widely subscribed to pound for pound ranking lists have Mayweather as number one while the others now have Manny Pacquiao at the top, a few even going with Sergio Martinez to the number two spot.
If as the odds makers expect, Pacquiao beats Mosley in a more impressive fashion than Mayweather did, that is to say he knocks him out, then his claim to the number one spot ahead of Mayweather will be undeniable.
From there the only way for Mayweather to ever regain the pound for pound throne would either be to beat Pacquiao, or beat Pacquiao's recent former opponents in quick succession. Neither of which he appears either currently able or to too keen to try to do.
Another win over Marquez would mean little given that he is after all a lightweight anyway. Handing Berto his first loss similarly wouldn't really be big news given that Berto has yet to really fight an elite opponent anyway.
Facing Mosley rather than anyone else right now leaves Pacquiao as the universally accepted pound for pound king should he win, rather than interchangeably one or two depending on what source you subscribe to.
Jonny Morton, Pitt: "Mosley would destroy Berto or Marquez so why does everyone have a problem with him? Floyd is the only other interesting opponent and he's as good as retired"
Elvis Vayan, Manila: "Manny is making Floyd need him now not the other way around. It's the only way the fight will ever happen"
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