Pacquiao says ‘no fight yet’ with Mosley
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Shane Mosley has made no bones about his desire to fight Manny Pacquiao, appearing on ESPN’s ‘SportsCenter’ to call him out, then announcing in the last week that he’s willing to fight at a catch weight against boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter and accept a 60-40 split of the purse for an Oct. 17 bout.
On Wednesday, Mosley’s publicists released ‘news’ implying Pacquiao wanted to fight Mosley next.
That isn’t necessarily true, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told The Times later Wednesday. And now Pacquiao’s saying it, too.
In his own press release, Pacquiao was said to be ‘surprised and flattered over the enterprising reports which came out in the media that a fight with Sugar Shane Mosley has been forged Wednesday.’
‘It’s funny that I am the last man to know about this supposed fight. I know everyone wants to fight me and I have said I will fight anyone, including Mosley,’ Pacquiao said. ‘But I have not heard from my promoter or have seen any contract or fight detail. So, there is no fight yet.’
‘I am flattered that even the great Sugar Shane Mosley is now going after me by any means. I am not closing the door on any negotiations, though, and I trust my promotional and training team to make the best decision for me.’
‘I am not blaming people for coming up with ideas to lure me to fight them. I have said it before and I will say it again, I will not run away from a great fight. Floyd Mayweather is even using reverse psychology, saying he will not agree to fight me for a 50-50 purse. Of course everyone wants to fight me.’
‘We will make the announcement at a proper time and a proper place after all the fight details have been discussed.’
Pacquiao, 30, has won world titles in six divisions, including his May 2 second-round knockout of England’s Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao will watch Miguel Cotto fight in New York on June 13, then huddle with his team to discuss his next bout. He could decide to fight Cotto, Mosley, or wait to see the July 18 bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez, whom he has already fought twice.
In his Thursday news release, Pacquiao announced, ‘For sure, my next match will be on June 18 to 21 and it will be against some of the best darters in the world’ -- the $100,000 Pacmania II Darts Tournament in Burbank.
--Lance Pugmire