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Pacquiao-Mosley notes: Kenny Bayless named referee

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Veteran fight referee Kenny Bayless was selected to be the third man in the ring Saturday when Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley fight for a world welterweight title at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Bayless has worked Pacquiao’s most recent fights in Las Vegas, including his victory over Miguel Cotto and the quick second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton, when Bayless rushed over to the fallen Brit after Pacquiao’s destructive left hand caused the 2009 knockout of the year.

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--NO RECESSION HERE: Fight promoter Bob Arum said the sellout at MGM Grand generated a $9-million live gate, and that’s before Showtime’s pay-per-view and closed-circuit dollars are counted.

Arum said the bout is tracking toward 1.8 million pay-per-view buys, which would surpass the 1.4 million that watched Mosley fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year on HBO pay-per-view.

The promoter said more than 4 million people will have watched original and replay broadcasts of Showtime’s four-part ‘Fight Camp 360’ series that has aired both on the pay network and on CBS. The series concludes Friday at 10 p.m. on Showtime and will be replayed at 11 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday on CBS.

--LOOKED GOOD IN CAMP: Mosley’s participation in the bout has drawn questions about the fight’s quality given his draw and loss last year. Arum counters that reports from Mosley’s Big Bear training camp were ‘tremendous, that he was revitalized.

‘Mosley is a great professional fighter. He’s cagey, can fire punches that hurt, he has an iron chin. How can you not be concerned?’

Mosley owes Arum’s Top Rank one more fight, either a rematch against Pacquiao if he wins Saturday as a near 7-to-1 underdog, or a possible rematch later this year against Cotto.

--Lance Pugmire, reporting from Las Vegas

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