On May 1, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, unbeaten Floyd "Money" Mayweather "is going to be the hardest fight that he has ever had in his life."

"Everybody else Floyd has been in with has been 135 pounds or at around 140. He's not fought any real 147 pounders, other than Oscar de la Hoya, who gave him a lot of trouble," said Shane Mosley, from his training camp in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Tuesday.

"Right now, my weight is great. I'm probably weighing around 152-ish when I leave the gym. I look at Floyd as a natural welterweight -- a real 147-pounder. In fact, Oscar de la Hoya is the biggest guy that he's fought that was a big welterweight, and Oscar did well against him," said Mosley, who will face Mayweather live on HBO pay per view.

"I'm pretty sure that Floyd will feel more power in this fight that he will have ever had to feel," said Mosley. "And if I can get that knockout, if I get that one shot, and if I can get him hurt, then I'm going to be all over him."

That's how confident the 38-year-old Mosley (46-5, 39 knockouts) was feeling about defending his WBA welterweight (147 pounds) title against the 33-year-old, unbeaten Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) after having showered up following a morning workout just priot to shaking out with trainer, Naazim Richardson.

"I was 38-0 with 35 knockouts when I stepped into the ring and lost for the very first time, wo when you say 40-0, that doesn't mean a thing to me," said Mosley, referring to a January, 2006, unanimous decision to the late Vernon Forrest.

"All that it means is that I'll be the one giving him his first loss," said Mosley. "No disrespect, but I really don't think he's been in there with a fighter like me. I believe that when I beat Floyd, I will send him into retirement. May 1 will be Mayweather's first loss."

Mosley has owned a home in Big Bear since 2000, and has trained there since 1996.

"I've been training in Big Bear, now, for the last 10 years, so this would be my spot. I've been sparring, I've been working with Brother Naazim on different things, strategies and stuff on how to approach the fight," said Mosley.

"I've been doing nine to 12 rounds. Usually, I can do 12 at the beginning of camp, because, basically, I'm always pretty much in shape. Today, I did a little bit of running, and I kind of shook out a little bit," said Mosley. "I had a pretty good session with Brother Naazim today for, like, hitting mits and stuff like that. I probably won't spar today. I don't spar everyday."

But when Mosley has sparred, lately, it has been with a versatile group such as 24-year-old, junior welterweight (140 pounds) Karl Dargan (7-0, three KOs), of Philadelphia.

Another goer has been 29-year-old Enrique Ornelas (29-6, 19 KOs), a durable fighter who has gone at middleweight (160 pounds), supermiddleweight (168 poounds), and, even at light heavyweight (175 pounds), and, whom Mosley calls, "a big body to punch on."

"We've got a couple of guys coming in there for speed. We're doing a couple of things, and we're getting him a few different looks. Dargan imitates Mayweather really well, but nobody actually fights like Mayweather. If they did, they'd be in their own camps getting ready to defend their belts," said Richardson, who also trains legendary middleweight and light heavyweight king, Bernard Hopkins.

"We're trying to get Shane in the best shape that we can, and if we get the best Shane Mosley, that should be enough to carry out our best plan," said Richardson. "Right now, I feel like Shane's really adopting what we're trying to get into, and he's so confident that I think we'll be in good shape."

Mosley believes that he is ready for anything that Mayweather has to offer.

"I expect him to expect him to fight in the center for a little while and to see what he can do with that, and I expect him to fight off of the ropes a little bit. I expect him to do whatever he can to try to disrupt and upset my rhythm," said Mosley.

"For a while, I think that we're both going to be playing the same game, but if I have an advantage of outboxing him, then I'll outbox him," said Mosley. "If I have an advantage of being stronger than him, then I'll use that. Whatever is at my advantage, I'll do."

Could Mosley's strategy involve being "a dictator" of the action, as he was against Margarito?

"Style-wise, Floyd just doesn't really like to engage in a fight until he's ready to engage. He has to be forced to engage in a real fight, which makes him different. Other fighters will try to engage and try to knock you out early and really fight you, where Floyd kind of boxes around, moves, touches, taps," said Mosley.

"Floyd is the type of fighter who, if he doesn't feel comfortable or confident, he's not going to fight you. So I have to be ready for that type of mentality that he has of touching and moving, touching and moving. I have to make it difficult for him to just touch and move," said Mosley. "So that's going to be one of the assignments is to make it harder for him to get his shots off so that he fights me a little bit. When he fights me, that will open him up for my speed and power."

A solid body attack could also be critical, said Mosley, adding, "But you just can't do one thing" against Mayweather.

"With Floyd, you have to focus on everything. You have to have a broad picture," said Mosley. "Maybe a couple of rounds, I'll focus on a body attack, and spend another round focusing just attacking. It will be a total package of things that I will want to do in there."

Not only will Mosley be fighting for only the third time in 30 months when he enters the ring against Mayweather, but he will also be ending a nearly 16 month ring absence since his last fight -- a January, 2009, ninth-round knockout victory which dethroned Antonio Margarito as WBA super world welterweight champion.

After losing his, November, 2007 bid for Miguel Cotto's WBA crown by 12-round, unanimous decision, Mosley rose to junior middleweight (154 pounds), where he stopped former world champion, Ricardo Mayorga, in the 12th round in September of 2008.

Still, Mosley contends that neither age, nor ring rust will be a factor against Mayweather, a man who, himself, will have fought once in 29 months -- September's lopsided, 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez that ended a 21-month span between his December, 2007 10th-round stoppage of Ricky Hatton.

"Fortunately, I'm a guy who loves the boxing game and who loves to fight," said Mosley. "If I wasn't, then maybe the layoffs would have affected me if I wasn't into boxing the way that I am. I just like to train, and I just like to go to the gym."

Having been scheduled to face WBC king, Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KOs), on Jan. 30 before the latter pulled out of the fight amid distress for his Hatian relatives who were killed in a mid-January earthquake that rocked that island nation, Mosley said he was never far from being in fighting condition.

"I prepared myself for the Berto fight. The only thing that I didn't get to do was to get into the ring and fight. But I did an entire training camp getting ready for Andre Berto, which was a tough fighter -- very fast and quick," said Mosley.

"It may be considered a layoff, maybe, because of the people outside didn't get a chance to see me fight, but I was in great shape," said Mosley. "I was in training camp shape. And before that, I fought Antonio Margarito, and that was a great training camp."








Among the aspects that assists with Mosley's motivation, he said, is the presence of his son, 19-year-old Shane Mosley Jr. A 6-foot-1, 19-year-old, Mosley Jr. is a budding amateur who competes at 152, and, could soon rise to 165.

"My son has been with me since before the Margarito fight, and I think that my son being in boxing kind of helps me stay around the gym more, training him, showing him different things. I just want to show him the ropes, and show him the way that a boxer is supposed to behave," said the elder Shane Mosley.

"It's all about the mentality, because I believe that boxing is from the mind, not so much, how fast and how strong you are, but where you are mentally and how you focus and the determination and the will," said Mosley. "It's how you get into certain positions, and why you're in those positions, and why you throw those shots, and why you move your feet that way, and why you move your feet this way, why you're ducking, and why don't lean back."

Shane Mosley Jr., said the father, often spars with the same fighters as dad.

"When he gets in there sparring, I'm in there sparring too, with the same guys I'm sparring with. So he's learning very fast," said the elder Mosley. "I mean, I started at around 8 years old, but the knowledge that I have with him just being here and me watching him, it's making him get better and better faster and faster. And after I finish my duties shocking the world, I'll go ahead and give all of this to my son."

There were some very surprising happenings at the Mosley vs. Mayweather Los Angeles press conference earlier this month which seem to have been overlooked by the media. I just saw the video this week and let me tell you this, Floyd is showing signs of falling apart mentally.

Manny Pacquiao, the fast and furious Filipino fighter who is considered pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world, is still the sport's top draw.

His easy victory over Joshua Clottey in March raked in 700,000 pay per view buys and $35 million in revenues.

Pacquiao has been on an unprecedented winning streak, including sending Oscar de la Hoya into retirement, beating him so badly that the former Olympic Gold Medalist quit on his stool in between rounds.

The big fight for Manny Pacquiao, against Floyd Mayweather, remains elusive. The two could not agree on terms for pre-fight drug testing and a fight in March between the two fell apart. The fight would likely break all-time boxing pay-per-view records.

Source: Joshua Molina | hispanicbusiness.com

Source: Ronnie Nathanielsz | boxingscene.com

source: Michael Feliciano - boxingnews24.com

In the wake of Edwin Valero’s knockout win over Antonio Demarco (23-2, 17 KOs) last month on February 6 which brought him to an incredible record of (28-0, 28 KOs), it is easy to assume that only blockbuster fights against caliber fighters lie ahead for him. However, the Venezuelan native may soon instead find himself begging boxers to join him in the ring. He has already called out Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5, 37 KOs) and boxing’s new golden boy Manny Pacquiao (50-3, 38 KOs) but I don’t think anyone really expects either of these fights to take place. A fight with Valero is just too risky for established pugilists like them.

 Valero is an animal in the ring and at the sound of the bell, he seems to have one thing on his mind; blood and he has yet to take a step back any of his fights. He mirrors another fighter who has already captured the world of boxing with his relentless attack and fearless performances Manny Pacquiao. His relentlessness in the ring and his non stop attack make him the same type of fighter as Pacquiao, cut from the same cloth but not nearly as disciplined.

However Pacquiao is much more disciplined. Where Valero is a hungry beast with a huge appetite, Pacquiao is a learned hunter and if Valero continues his reckless assaults in the ring, he’ll find his new found glory short lived. But like I said, I doubt Pacquiao will fight him since the risk is much greater than the reward and at the moment Valero is still in the lightweight division and is not nearly as well known.

Conceivably, Valero could face Juan Manuel Marquez especially since he recently pulled out of negotiations for a fight against the British star Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) after being offered to little money. But again, Marquez has little to gain from fighting a guy like Valero and at his age it’d be a little dangerous considering all the wars he has been through already two of which were against Pacquiao.

Valero would be better off facing the other top-tier contenders in the lightweight division like Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) or Michael Kastidis (26-2, 21 KOs) for example. Both fights would be easy for him and knockout wins against either of them would get him even more recognition and acclaim. But as he has stated previously, he feels he is ready for the big time fighters. Perhaps a move to the Jr. Welterweight division would serve him well considering all the name talent at 140lb.

Usually, for a boxer take on a big challenge he has to feel there a chance to win and unfortunately, Valero’s astonishing 100% knockout ratio gives little room for comfort. At 28, Edwin Valero is in his prime and it’s logical that he and his camp want to face the superstars of the sport. Given his remarkable record, Valero has earned the right to call out anyone he wants and as long as his health and behavior remains in tact he can continue to do so. It seems however, that no one seems to be ready for him. Bad timing perhaps.

The ferocity and excitement that Edwin Valero brings to the ring on fight night are key elements to great boxing and it would be more than a shame if he is evaded by the current stars of the sport. Let’s just hope that some one of notoriety takes up the challenge and gives him a chance to become a superstar.

It is however, the largest indoor crowd for a U.S. boxing event NOT featuring an American fighter. The largest U.S. crowd, with 63,350 spectators, was the 1978 rematch between Americans Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks at the Louisiana Superdome, while coming in second, at 59,995, was the 1993 controversial draw between American whiz Pernell “Sweetpea” Whitaker and Mexican icon, Julio Cesar Chavez, held at the Alamodome.

Who would have thought that a Filipino and a Ghanaian would draw the third largest crowd in Arlington, TX, during a time when boxing is trying to regain the level of popularity it once held? That Pacquiao drew close to 51,000 spectators against a relatively unknown commodity (though quite familiar to those of us who closely follow boxing) is even the more astounding and a testament to the drawing power of Pacquiao.

It is too bad, given the backdrop, that only Pacquiao came to fight.

If the Pacquiao-Clottey fight was considered “boring,” and there are some fans out there that have characterized it as such, one can only imagine how things would have turned out if Pacquiao, the ever-moving whirlwind, were taken out of the equation and a counter-puncher or “defensive specialist” was inserted in his place instead. Sounds like the makings of “Must-See-TV.”

Perhaps Pacquiao-Clottey served as a preview of a potential Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather match-up? Of course, Mayweather would not be as stationary and would probably have his gears on reverse for the majority of the fight. At least you can expect more movement in that regard. And there would probably be more punches of the pitty-pat variety being thrown towards Pacquiao, which would be more than the occasional thunderous uppercuts thrown by Clottey.

As the Clottey fight demonstrated, you need some offense to score points and win rounds. Mayweather will need to throw some punches. And Pacquiao, as seen during the Miguel Cotto and Clottey fights, is willing to absorb punishment to get an opponent to engage with him. And if he was able to withstand firepower from both Cotto and Clottey, he should also be able to weather through a Mayweather patty-cake attack.

Pacquiao detractors will say, “If you can’t even put away a stationary target like Joshua Clottey, how are you even going to knock out a moving and shifting Floyd Mayweather?” Well, first of all, Clottey was not exactly opening himself up, and would not engage with Pacquiao. So if even bigger welterweights who have engaged a more aggressive Clottey cannot knock him out (and no one has), how is a smaller Pacquiao suppose to do that to a non-engaging shell? If you have to commend Clottey for something, he made it difficult for Pacquiao to land a clean shot! And Clottey must have had iron ribs, because he sure took his fair licks to the body and did not wilt.

Which leads us back to Pacquiao-Mayweather: If Mayweather is too busy defending from a buzzsaw attack, and Pacquiao can withstand the counter-punches from Mayweather, can Mayweather garner enough points to beat Pacquiao? Some judges favor the busier, forward-moving aggressor over the defensive back-peddler who throws single counter pecks at a time, even if those single pecks are landing.

The Pacquiao detractors will once again chime in with, “Well, it worked for Juan Manuel Marquez, and Mayweather is of an even higher caliber than Marquez.” That’s why Marquez has zero wins to show for. And before people start arguing over subjective scoring, let us not confuse the Pacquiao at 130 with the Pacquiao at above 130. More weapons, improved defense, improved footwork, improved everything. Most people call that “development of skills.” Mayweather and Paulie Malignaggi call it “PEDs.” A new Pacquiao was born after he left the super featherweight division, a division in which he won his first Fighter of the Year Award in 2006.

But will we even get to see Pacquiao-Mayweather later this fall, even assuming they get past the negotiations hurdle? Word has it that there is a rematch clause in the Mayweather-Shane Mosley deal. It is uncertain whether the clause can only be exercised by Mayweather, or if Mosley can exercise that option too. If both have that option, then a return match is very likely (unless the fighters allow the rematch to take place after the winner takes on Pacquiao).

If the Nevada State Athletic Commission wants to avoid another negotiations impasse, then they should institute new rules regarding Olympic-style testing. As Pacquiao already stated, he is willing to abide by the NSAC’s rules, whatever they may be. But what he will not do is give in to baseless demands made by a reluctant opponent, one who apparently was OK with a 14-day testing window, when his primary concern was that PEDs can conceivably be used and flushed out of the system within a couple of days before fight night. How does the 14-day testing window really address his concern, if it wasn’t mere pretext and posturing in the first place?

With the cost of conducting Olympic-style testing, don’t count on the NSAC adopting it any time soon.

Erik Morales expressed his desire for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao as he prepares to return to the ring after a two-and-a-half-year absence. Poppycock. Yes, they had memorable battles, but those inside boxing know that Morales’s best days are well behind him. In the thirty months he has been away, Pacquiao has gained in thought and deed. The idea of matching them now seems ludicrous.

source: Boxing fan's

This are my thoughts on Pacquiao's should be/would be opponents in the future.

Floyd Mayweather Jr.
This is the fight the i have been wanting to see and everyone wants to see. it should have been the one that took place in that wonderful stadium in dallas. i believe mayweather will win his next fight with mosley to a cat and mouse game that would end in a decision. but still there's a chance that this fight might not happen! why? just in case if pacquiao won't take the test will floyd give way? i dont think so! but if pacquiao suddenly agrees to take the test but demands the fight to be in dallas where xylocaine can't be used although it's not illegal, will floyd say yes? or if pacquiao demands something to counter the drug test if he ever agrees to it, will it be enough for the fight to take place? we will see!

Till then there are other options. although not as great but atleast something something to keep us entertained before retiring.

Shane Mosley
If by surprise shane wins his fight with money may maybe before he goes on with his rematch there might be a chance for him to square off with pacquiao. it will be a good fight in my opinion. both guys comes to fight toe to toe. it will be nice for pacquiao to have another fight with another great fighter.

Antonio Margar[i]ito
I say forget this fight. this shouldn't even be happening nor be mentioned. pacquiao has a great status now. he shouldn't ruin it fighting with a cheater and a disgrace to boxing. although i see bob arum making an offer pacquiao can't refuse. the only place it would take place is either mexico or philippines but i dunno really. fuk this fight seriously!

Juan Manuel Marquez
This is a fight i would also want to see just to finish the doubts. but in my opinion if pacquiao defeats him people will just say marquez is old and slow at welterweight. to make it exciting maybe pacquiao has to go down somewhere below 147 maybe at 145. i dont see it going that way since pacquiao is the man now and marquez has to be the one to make adjustments. but i really hope pacquiao will come down just to make this fight exciting for us. but like i said if he beats marquez he wont get that much credit!

Tim Bradley, Andre Berto, Devon Alexander
Good up and coming fighters but i still think they are green for the pacman. they will give him a little trouble early but experience and pacquiao's ability will still be the outcome. maybe they can have an elimination fight. something that didn't happen with the featherweights and the lightweights who wants to challenge the pacman. again i just dont see the public going for this because it's just another unknown fighter for them, they dont want to see another clottey type(im not talking about his style) who would just be another addition to pacquiao's victory. casual fans which is the majority in the world wants a good fight with a great fighter.

Edwin Valero
a fight with a guy like valero is the lowest he can go. but the good thing about it is that it will be the most action pack fight for 3-5 rounds. im not too sure with how long it will last but there will be a fuking knockout! but again this will be a fight in dallas or philippines. but i would say philippines is the best place to put this fight. i dont think a fight with valero will fill the dallas stadium. it happened with a guy like clottey but i dont think fans wont but into that type again unless it's mayweather.


My final thoughts is that if pacquiao-mayweather happens floyd will have difficulties with pacquiao's speed, angles, and power. but according to experts floyd is really a smart fighter who can adjust. if he ever does adjust well against pacquiao i see him winning a decision if he sticks to the plan which is back off, block and counter to decision. but because of the criticism that he's been getting from everybody he would need to throw more punches. if he does that pacquiao might get a chance. if pacquiao does something extraordinary and win im pretty sure there's a rematch. which is a good thing so we got something to wait for on 2011 since after this there's not a lot for boxing to be excited about.

source: Rick Reeno - boxingscene.com

BoxingScene.com spoke with trainer Freddie Roach about the possibility of Manny Pacquiao defending his WBO welterweight title against Antonio Margarito in November. Roach is not even thinking about Margarito because the Mexican fighter has yet to obtain a license to box in the United States.

Last February, the California State Athletic Commission revoked Margarito's boxing license. Margarito was punished over an illegal substance being discovered in his handwraps moments before the fight with Shane Mosley on January 24.

Margarito is making a ring return on May 8 in Mexico. The former welterweight champion has the ability to request a new license, but there is no guarantee the California commission will grant his request. As an alternative to the problem, Roach was approached with the idea of holding the Pacquiao-Margarito fight in Mexico, which the trainer quickly shot down.

Roach views undefeated Edwin Valero as the best fight for Pacquiao in November. Valero is licensed to box in the state of Texas. If the fight is held in Cowboys Stadium, Roach believes the entire venue will be sold out. But, Valero has some issues of his own. In early 2009, Valero was busted in Texas for driving under the influence of alcohol. Because of the charge, he's been unable to obtain a visa to enter the United States. Roach is confident the visa issue will be cleared up.

"[Margarito] has no license. They said we could fight in Mexico but that's not going to happen. That would be a real bad move for Manny Pacquiao - to slap the commissions in the face. I'm thinking about it and the number one contender in my mind right now is Valero," Roach told BoxingScene.com.

"Valero is licensed in Texas. If we do Valero there, we could sell out the whole place. You don't have to close half of it down. I've been watching him a little bit. I know he's a big puncher. He's a southpaw and does pose some difficulties. He's better than just a guy who could punch but I think that's the best marketable fight out there for us."

I mentioned a few other possibilities like undefeated WBC/IBF 140-pound champion Devon Alexander and unbeaten WBO champion Timothy Bradley, who makes his HBO debut on June 26 - at welterweight. Once they become bigger names, Roach will consider them as opponents for Pacquiao.

"Once they start selling tickets, and we could get them on pay-per-view and start making money - [then] we'll fight those guys," Roach said.

And of course there is the option of a trilogy fight with Juan Manuel Marquez - which is Freddie's personal favorite to take place.

"Personally, that's the fight I want. Nacho [Beristain] is a good trainer and we're competitive and I'd love for Manny to knock him [Marquez] out," Roach said.

All of the names previously mentioned are "Plan B" opponents. The immediate goal for Roach and Pacquiao is to fight the winner of Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Shane Mosley, taking place on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

  "I would like to congratulate Manny on his victory Saturday night even though I think it put most of the fans watching to sleep. Now it’s time for the world to focus on May 1 when I promise you nobody will be sleeping except for Floyd after I knock him out and send him back into retirement.  Maybe if Floyd comes back a second time, he and Manny will fight one day, but it will only be for the opportunity to fight me again:, the man who beat both of them.

Tickets priced are $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person.  To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (800) 745-3000      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.  Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound.  Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, ‘N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert.  The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA), Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game and the U.S. Open of Motocross.

The Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box

source: Lance Pugmire / Los Angeles Times- sports

ARLINGTON, Texas—What Manny Pacquiao most effectively accomplished in his one-sided punching-bag treatment of Joshua Clottey is that he has kept the intrigue of a future showdown with unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. as topic No. 1 in the boxing world.

source: Tobias Xavier Lopez / Fort Worth Star-Telegram - Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas—Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum went ahead and made it official  on Saturday. Floyd Mayweather is a chicken. “Floyd Mayweather is ducking Manny Pacquiao,” Arum said. Arum, Pacquiao and Jerry Jones celebrated late into Sunday morning after a thrilling night of boxing at Cowboys Stadium. Pacquiao kept his World Boxing Organization welterweight title with an overwhelmingly unanimous decision against Joshua Clottey. Pacquiao’s utter dominance against a woefully cautious Clottey only renewed talks of a super bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Mayweather would be wise to jump on the PacMan money train before he gets left behind. Arum said Pacquiao will make around $17 million to $20 million off of Saturday’s fight once the pay-per-view totals are complete. The Pacquiao-Clottey fight is scheduled for replay on HBO at 10 p.m. on Saturday. A Mayweather bout could certainly produce the richest purse in boxing history. Jones confirmed last week he’d initially bid $25 million to host the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout. However, Pacquiao isn’t going to wait. Mayweather is slated to fight Sugar Shane Mosley in May. Pacquiao said he’d take on Mosley, as well, should he knock off Mayweather. “It’s up to my promoter, whoever he gives me as an opponent I will fight him,” Pacquiao said. “My job is to prepare and fight in the ring, and that’s my promoter’s job to give me a fighter.” It’s getting harder to see things from the Mayweather camp’s point of view. The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight was yanked after Mayweather’s team demanded stringent blood testing, which isn’t required by the sanctioning bodies of Nevada, California or Texas. Arum and Freddy Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, repeatedly said last week that the reason for having sanctioning is so that state-run organizations create the guidelines, not the fighters. Pacquiao’s camp filed a libel lawsuit against Mayweather in response to his allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs. It doesn’t help Mayweather’s case that he didn’t insist on such measures for the Mosley bout. Mosley admitted using Balco designer steroids, although he claimed he “unknowingly” did so. Meanwhile, Pacquiao said he’d love to return to Cowboys Stadium and left that up to Jones. As for Clottey, he discovered firsthand the speed of Pacquiao’s punches. “A fight with Mayweather is going to be very, very tough for Mayweather, very, very tough,” Clottey said.  “He’s fast, that’s what he does, he throws punches and Mayweather doesn’t throw punches too much. But Mayweather leads, he always jabs. So I think Pacquiao would give him a lot of problems, a lot.”

The Take: Calderon, inactive since September and with no fight currently locked in place, teeters on the brink of removal but an interesting mandatory with Johnriel Casimero looms.  It should happen sooner than later.  Struggles with Rodel Mayol in 2009 didn’t help Calderon’s standing but perhaps they weren’t what they appeared.  While the circumstances were controversial, Rodel Mayol followed two competitive affairs with Calderon (a technical draw and loss, both shortened by cuts) with a win over the 108 lb. division’s longest reigning titlist, Edgar Sosa.  Hugo Cazares, since his second loss to Calderon in 2008, has emerged as a serious force at 115 lbs.  Arguably the best pure boxer of the decade, Calderon is certainly aging.  He needs a big fight before his legs don’t have the bounce for him to win it.  Are there any big fights to be had?  Mexico’s Giovanni Segura would certainly be close to the real deal.

Five More Who Could Easily Be Here: Chris John, Nonito Donaire, Arthur Abraham, Celestino Caballero, Devon Alexander

Five More Who Could Be Here Shortly: Andre Ward, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Andre Berto, Roman Gonzalez, Sergio Martinez As always, feel free to agree…and disagree.  This list is for entertainment purposes only and based purely on imagination, hypotheticals and conjecture just like every other pound for pound list ever written.  Neither it nor any other such list made up of such illusory ingredients should be used to forward corporate agendas of any kind. 

That doesn’t make it any less fun to argue about.