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Sugar Shane Mosley finally gave up on chasing the Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao for a mega fight.

The recognized welterweight champion Shane Mosley reportedly ordered his promoter Golden Boy Promotions to stop negotiating for the fight with Manny Pacquiao. He then told his promoter to look for other opponents for him. Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Joshua Clottey or Kermit Cintron are the fighters in his current wish list. Mosley must have figured that it would be futile for him to pursue a fight with Pacquiao when almost everything is pointing to a Pacquiao-Cotto match.

“Shane says he will be the last man standing, anyway,” Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, told The Los Angeles Times. “Shane’s legacy is intact, and it is not dependent on a Pacquiao yes or no.”

Meanwhile, Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson, also expressed his desire for Mosley to eventually face Pacquiao. Naazim sees this as an opportunity to figure out Pacquiao’s fighting style.

Naazim Richardson complimented Manny Pacquiao, saying that Pacquiao is actually a bigger fighter physically than most people think. He added that other guys often underestimate Pacquiao, thinking that he is a small man. “Cotto keeps saying he’s the bigger man, but that’s going to be his downfall because if they make him suck down to 142-143 lbs., then his strength becomes his weakness because he is the bigger man and that is a lot of weight for him to cut,” he added.

Naazim Richardson had trained Mosley for his fight against the Mexican boxer Antonio Margarito last January. Mosley won the fight as an underdog knocking out the Margarito in the ninth round. Besides Mosley, Naazim had also worked at the corner of the light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins.

Hopefully, before Pacquiao retires from boxing, Mosley would be able to get a fight with him, but for now, he should chose his next opponent wisely. Kermit Cintron is his safest opponent. He might even have a chance against Andre Berto. But if I were Mosley, I would go for Paul Williams, especially if he can get up to $3 million out of the bout.

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Manny Pacquiao being on top of the boxing world today, is in the position to chose who is going to be his opponent and impose his conditions upon them. But a lot of skeptics would ask if he really deserves to be in the driver’s seat.

Among Pacquiao’s list of contenders, Miguel Cotto is the leading candidate. Manny Pacquiao demands that Miguel Cotto should come in at a catch weight between 144lbs to 145lbs and that he gets the 65% of the purse split. Would that be a reasonable offer in Cotto’s part?

If we take a look at the credentials of both fighters, we could say that Miguel Cotto has a more stellar career compared to Pacquiao’s. Miguel Cotto had beaten Zab Judah and Shane Mosley in 2007, Alfonso Gomez and just recently Joshua Clottey. Manny Pacquiao on the other hand, skeptics would say, that he had beaten a weight drained Oscar De La Hoya and just recently a soft-chinned Ricky Hatton. And even before those fights, Manny had a hard time against the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.

Many people would say, that Cotto has better credentials than Pacquiao. But every fight of Pacquiao is full of excitement and drama. In his previous fights, he was always considered the underdog. Critics had predicted that he would lose against Barrera, Morales, Marquez (which was really a controversial split decision), De La Hoya and Hatton, but he was still able to pull through. He gives the fans exactly what they come to see in each of his fights.

If we would look at Pacquiao’s credentials without making any biased excuses that may underrate his performance, then we would be able to see what he really had accomplished in his career.

Pacquiao deserves to be in the driver’s seat because everyone is calling out for him. They want to fight him because of the massive earnings that he attracts. It is safe to say that the sport of boxing is not always about the credentials, but it is also about the pay day. If a fighter fights Pacquiao, a 65/35 or a 60/40 purse split is worth more than a 50/50 purse split with somebody that nobody really knows.

But if Pacquiao really wants to silence his critics and prove himself to them, then this fight should have to happen at 147lbs. If he fights Cotto at a catch weight, he would not be fighting the real Cotto and prove nothing. A fight at 147lbs with Cotto would cement his place as one of the greatest boxers of all time.

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Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s reappearance has initiated a debate regarding the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter. In his absence, the Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao has climbed to the top of the rankings. Following closely behind is the Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez climbing up the pound-for-pound rankings and is widely regarded as the number 2.

You can say that the Mayweather-Marquez fight would make sense, since Mayweather has been out of the ring for about 18 months. He would, rather fight the current number two instead of rushing himself straight into a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao. This will give him the boost in terms of progression. Taking down Marquez out of the list will bring him closer to regaining his most craved status: the world’s number one pound-for-pound fighter.

Mayweather obviously has the size advantage over Marquez for being the naturally bigger man. Marquez, on the other hand, has his career based between the 125-lbs and 130-lbs. His last fight at 135-lbs was only the second time that Marquez has fought above his 130-lb weight bound. Marquez has to step up two more weight divisions to meet Mayweather for the fight on July 18, which will take place at the 147-lb welterweight limit. Something that Marquez will be doing for the first time in his career.

Moreover, Mayweather will be having a speed, size and a major reach advantage over Marquez, something that might become a problem for Marquez, because of Mayweather’s defensive style of fighting. You could assume that Mayweather would be faster than his opponent, based on his past performances, not taking into consideration of his absence from the ring.

Marquez is definitely at the disadvantage against Mayweather’s speed, reach and size. However, Marquez is still a talented, brave, skilled and strong fighter, hopefully that will be enough to upset the odds of Mayweather dominating him. The best chance Marquez has is to go after Floyd in the early rounds, and hope that he can tag him while he is still trying to get back the feel of being in the ring. The other option for Marquez is to force Mayweather to make the first move, and try and draw him out of his comfort zone. Marquez hits hard, and is also an excellent counter puncher, so this may be his best outlet for victory.

This may be the last chance for the 36 year old, Juan Manuel Marquez, to cement his legacy, and with a win, he may get what he really deserves. A rematch with the Pac Man, Manny Pacquiao.

For Floyd, this is the perfect opportunity to dive straight back into the big time.

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Manny Pacquiao’s career has been so superb that he has become a target even amongst celebrity boxers. Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Juan Manuel Marquez, Sugar Shane Mosley, and Miguel Cotto had already expressed their intentions of fighting the pound-for-pound king. Aside from these four boxing superstars, there are also others who are battling for the opportunity of fighting Manny Pacquiao. It seems that the list of Manny Pacquiao’s challengers goes longer and longer.

Former IBF and WBO welterweight champion Antonio Maragarito (37-6, 27KOs) is wishing that his suspension from boxing be nullified by the California State Athletic Commission. Apparently, even after being banned for allegedly inserting a substance in his gloves before his fight with Mosley, he has been staying in shape all this time. He definitely wants to avenge his defeat against Mosley or get a breakthrough match against Pacquiao.

Edwin Valero, from Venezuela, is an undefeated southpaw boxer in his 25 professional fights. He started boxing at the age of 12, reportedly compiling an amateur record of 86-6 with 57 knockouts.He has an awesome punching power and a perfect knockout ratio. He defeated Antonio Pitalua via technical knockout in round 2 on April 4, 2009 to capture the WBC Lightweight Champion belt which was vacated by pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Former WBO interim lightweight title holder and the current WBO Asia Pacific lightweight champion Michael Alan Katsidis, recently sought for Pacquiao for a possible match. The Australian professional Boxer of Greek descent, has a very promising boxing career, especially in his amateur years. He had recently won against Jesús Chávez in the lightweight eliminator tournament (entitled Lightweight Lightning). Katsidis is best known for his brutal 12-round slugfest against Filipino Augusto Caesar Amonsot two years ago in Las Vegas where both fighters ended up in the hospital. He had currently fought 27 fights, winning 25 of them with 2 losses and 21 knockouts.

All these boxing champs are looking forward to face Manny Pacquiao, in order to either claim or reclaim the spot of the worlds number one pound-for-pound king. They are attracted to the fame and glory that Manny is experiencing now. Pacquiao has expressed his readiness to take on anyone in the roster of challengers but reiterated they all have to go through the process of negotiations with his promoter and training team.

Pacquiao is said to be waiting to see the June 13 bout of Cotto with Joshua Clottey and the July 18 match between Mayweather and Marquez before making his choice and starting the ball rolling on pre-fight talks.

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Manny Pacquiao is on top of the ranks, therefore, he should be the one dictating the terms. Whether he decides to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Sugar Shane Mosley or Miguel Cotto, it will still mean business.

Manny Pacquiao wants to fight this October, that means, Mayweather will not be ready to fight him. Mayweather will be fresh from a fight against Juan Manuel Marquez this June. In addition to that, Mayweather Jr. demands a 60-40 split in his favor, which makes this dream match less likely to happen. Mayweather has to realize, with respect, that he is no longer the attraction. Mayweather is a great boxer, but Pacquiao has the control of who he wants to fight.

The Cotto vs. Pacquiao fight is also rather vague, since Cotto is not interested in fighting at a  catch weight. He was already happy to leave 140, so why should he go back? He doesn’t need to suck weight anymore. However, there is still the possibility that his decision will change, because of all the money and glory that is always at stake in a Pacquiao fight. In addition to that, Pacquiao would be asking a lot of himself to fight someone as large as Cotto. Cotto might have too much strength and size for Pacquiao.

Bob Arum, the promoter of both Pacquiao and Cotto, obviously knows that a fight between Cotto and Pacquiao would likely be a blockbuster, although it is pale in comparison between Hatton-Pacquiao, De La Hoya-Pacquiao, or a possibility of a match between Mosley-Pacquiao or Mayweather-Pacquiao.

On the other hand, Sugar Shane Mosley is eager to fight Pacquiao. Unlike Cotto, he is very much willing to meet at a catch weight to make the fight happen. Mosley needs either Pacquiao or Mayweather, but he can not fight Mayweather for the same reason that Pacquiao can not fight Mayweather. Which leads us to Manny Pacquiao vs. Sugar Shane Mosley. This will be a fight where he may be able to make money more than he could ever imagine.

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In the ring after Chavez Jr. win over Luciano Cuello, The promoter Bob Arum mentioned three possible next opponents for Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., namely Oscar De La Hoya, John Duddy and Manny Pacquiao. And Chavez Jr. does not mind who he fights next as long as the opponent has established a name in boxing.

Arum said that “There is John Duddy, There is Oscar De La Hoya if he continues to fight and there is third one which is a little different because of the size difference but it would be the biggest fight of the year, with Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Manny Pacquiao -  Mexico vs. Philippines,”

De La Hoya has long been hyped as one of the possible opponent of Chavez Jr. due to his father’s fight Chavez Sr., The much-awaited tussle will serve as a vengeance of the son on the boxer who defeated his father twice.

Although Chavez Jr. won unanimously over Cuello, only one of the three judges scored for the Mexican in a convincing fashion at 98-92, while the other two were more realistic of the outcome by having it 96-94 and 96-95. However Chavez Jr. remains undefeated while Cuello suffered the first loss of his pro career. The Tijuana crowd were expecting a knockout and boos were heard when the result of the fight was announced.

The crowd expected a better performance from the son of a boxing legend and a future Hall of Famer. Chavez Jr. has now a record of 39-0-1 with 29 KOs. He threw several punches to the head and body of Cuello who dropped to 23-1 with 9 KOs, who bled from his nose since the third round.

For the fans of the father and the son, they want the younger Chavez to do what Golden Boy had done to the elder Chavez (107-6-2, 86 KOs), beat him in his fading career. Payback is the name of the game.

But the Golden Boy is not an ordinary fighter and he is out to retire with a very convincing win to erase the trauma of the “Dream Match.” And a victory over the younger Chavez could very well be an exciting conclusion to de la Hoya’s golden boxing career.

It will be a great tune up fight for the Chavez Jr. and with him bringing the legendary name of his father plus de la Hoya’s marketing magnet, though it was diminished by his loss to Pacquiao, the “payback” could rake in enough pay-per-view sales.

Granting Chavez Jr, could successfully extract revenge on de la Hoya, he has to fight more quality opponents first before reaching an agreement to face the number one fighter pound-for-pound. Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Chavez Jr. considers the marketability of the fight and is a must before Pacquiao hangs up his gloves for good.

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“My dream was to come here to England and it has come true,” Pacquiao told the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph. “I also have the desire to take the light welterweight title, and it’s a big honor to be in another fight which the fans want to see.”

Manny Pacquiao will be after Hatton’s International Boxing Crown on the May 2 – “The East vs the West” slugfest. Having the winner of the said match the chance of being the light welterweight kingpin of the Ring Magazine.

“Every time I fight, I have to win because millions of Filipinos are hoping for victory,” said Pacquiao, who wore a suit. “Millions of people look to me to win. I have to go out and give everything.”

Hatton was more optimistic in front of his countrymen who naturally made up majority of the estimated 6,000 fans.

“On May 2, I’ll be the new pound-for-pound king,” Hatton vowed. “I’ve never been beaten at 10 stone (140 lb). This is my weight. This is where I do best. I promise all my fans I’ll win for Manchester!”

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