MANILA, Philippines – Shane Mosley is willing to stake his WBA welterweight crown if he gets to face Manny Pacquiao even at a catch weight of 144 lb.
“I’ll meet him halfway so we can make the fight,” said Mosley in an exclusive interview aired by NBN-4 sports program Teledyaryo yesterday.
Mosley, the champion at 147 lb, said he’s willing to go down in weight, face Pacquiao on Oct. 17, and stake his crown just to see “who’s the best.”
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said they’re willing to face Mosley if the latter would agree to go down to 142 lb. Then Mosley said “halfway” could mean 144 lb.
“I can possibly make the weight and feel comfortable. I want to explore that,” said Mosley.
Snow Badua of Teledyaryo asked Mosley if he’d be willing to stake his WBA crown against Pacquiao, and the 37-year-old, 5-foot-9 champion said, “Yeah, definitely.”
Mosley also said the purse split shouldn’t be a problem, even if Pacquiao, now the pound-for-pound king, gets more.
“We will negotiate. Whatever is fair is what we’re gonna talk about. Maybe we can get a good split,” said Mosley, adding that Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy, his promoter, will do the negotiating for him.
“That’s what Richard Schaefer does,” he said. “Whatever is fair for both and we all make the money.”
Pacquiao said in his column that came out of philboxing.com the other day that he’s not afraid of anyone, and that he won’t back down from any fight, even if it means fighting in a different weight class for the fourth straight time.
He fought Juan Manuel Marquez at 130, David Diaz at 135, Oscar dela Hoya at 147 and Ricky Hatton at 140 over the last 14 months, and won them all.
Mosley, now considered as the top candidate to face Pacquiao, ahead of fellow welter Miguel Cotto, said money is not the issue.
“That’s not the main issue. Let’s see who’s the best fighter,” said Mosley, who hasn’t fought under 147 for the last 10 years.
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