Robert Jackson: In 1999, when Floyd Jr was 130lb champion he called out 135lb champion Shane Mosley to fight him in what would’ve been a super fight, Mosley declined!! Fast forward to 2005 after the Henry Bruselles fight a WBC Eliminator to determine who would fight Arturo Gatti next, Floyd was asked by Larry Merchant who he would like to fight next, amongst the names Floyd recited were Kostya Tszyu, Oscar DeLaHoya and Shane Mosley. Once again no rersponse from Mosley or the others for that matter.
A year later following his 2nd victory over Fernando Vargas, Mosley was asked whether he would face Mayweather by HBO host Larry Merchant, Mosley’s response he needed to get his teeth fixed and go on vacation.. This doesn’t sound like Floyd Jr is ducking Mosley to me!! Now in 2010 we’re on the cusp of a superfight between the 2 men scheduled for May 1, 2010 and Mayweather has yet to sign the contract; Mosley has already signed. Is this a case of Mayweather getting cold feet?? Many and I mean MANY will say yes!!
I’m going to look at it from a different perspective.
When Mosley was ON TOP he saw no need to fight Mayweather who was a notch or 2 below him at that time, Mosley had bigger fish to fry. Mosley now is in a different statusphere, recently divorced and closing in on the end of his pugilistic career, Mosley needs 2 or 3 BIG paydays to secure his future outside of the ring. Previous to the Mayweather fight landing in his lap Mosley was scheduled to face Andre Berto in a WBA/WBC unification bout, a bout that the Haitian earthquake put an end to. Before the Berto bout Mosley was in the running for a bout against Manny Pacquiao, where Mosley during an impromptu meeting with Freddie Roach at his Wildcard Gym conceded to ALL of Pacquiao’s terms including a 60/40 purse split and a 140lb fight weight; Pacquiao chose to fight Miguel Cotto instead.
Mayweather’s ‘almost made’ fight against Manny Pacquiao fell apart over a dispute regarding RANDOM drug testing and an acceptable cutoff day. To Mosley’s credit he has AGREED to RANDOM testing up to and ON the day of the fight, Mayweather has agreed as well. The 60/40 purse split in Mayweather’s favor, promotional and marketing arrangements, and a rematch clause has also been agreed upon by both fighters. So WHY hasn’t Mayweather signed the fight contract??
Mayweather a psychologist by nature will make Mosley sweat, reminding him of the times ‘when Mosley was on top’ and REFUSED Mayweather’s challenges. This move will also embolden Mosley’s belief that Floyd is SCARED of him. The MANY critics that Mayweather has are also chanting the MANTRA, “Floyd NEVER wanted to fight Shane Mosley”, he’s afraid to lose is 0. The frenzy that Mayweather is causing by not signing right away is what he wants and in the final analysis will put “asses” in the seats. Don’t believe for 1 minute that Mayweather won’t sign, he will when he is good and ready. Mayweather is GUARANTEED $20M plus moneys on the PPV upside. Mayweather WOULD ALSO like more than anything do more than DOUBLE the PPV buys of the Pacquiao/Clottey fight, to gain the upper hand for a FALL fight against the P4P king!!