MANILA, Philippines - It all boils down to money, and nothing else, all these talk about Manny Pacquiao’s next fight on Nov. 14.
There’s Pacquiao and his master promoter, Bob Arum, on one side, and a pair of welterweight champions on the other.
In between them are millions and millions of dollars.
“There’s a ton of money involved,” said Arum who’s been pushing hard for a Pacquiao-(Miguel) Cotto fight, not only because he enjoys the rights over both boxers, but because he believes it’s going to be a “terrific fight.”
Shane Mosley, who’s with Golden Boy Promotions, begs to disagree.
“I’m frustrated by the situation, that Bob Arum’s just trying to put more money in his pocket,” Mosley told Lance Pugmire of The LA Times yesterday. “If he wants the fight that’s going to make the most money for Pacquiao, then that’s a fight against me.”
“Cotto doesn’t deserve that chance now, but Arum only has one more fight [in his promotional contract] with Cotto, and he needs to put him in a big fight to keep him. So he’s using Pacquiao for that – to throw Cotto a bone.
“Bob Arum makes out, he clears all the money and Cotto will get his $4 to $6 million. This is a fight for Bob Arum, not a fight for the fans or for Pacquiao,” said Mosley, who feels he can give Pacquiao a “better fight” and “more money.”
Negotiations are on, and Pacquiao has said he’s willing to face Cotto at 144 or 145 lb, and not at 142, which his trainer, Freddie Roach, had originally wanted, after watching the pride of Puerto Rico live in action last week.
Cotto looked so slow against Josh Clottey and won by the skin of his teeth. If he gets to fight Pacquiao, the 28-year-old, 5-foot-7 Cotto, might end up the way David Diaz did, a badly-beaten “statue with gloves.”
One of Pacquiao’s advisers, Wakee Salud, said Cotto won’t last seven rounds against Pacquiao, and another said the Filipino light-welterweight champion should win even if the fight is held at 147 lb.
“My point is, let’s make the best fights. What would make more money than Pacquiao and I? Cotto has a Puerto Rican audience in New York, that’s where it stops. I’m big everywhere. A fight with Pacquiao and I would be crazy,” added Mosley.
The pride of Pomona, California is also willing to face Pacquiao at a catch weight of under 147 lb, and said he’d be happy to get 40 percent of everything. Or even less perhaps.
“The fight does not make any sense to me. A fight with me will make more money. I know there have been numbers going on out there like Cotto making five or six million and Manny making 10, 11 or 12. But in a fight with me, he will make more money. Bob Arum is being the puppet master putting this together, but Manny will make more money fighting me,” Mosley said in a separate interview.
“It is the best fight for Bob Arum. Even if you look at Cotto’s gash, do you think it will heal in time? It might just open up again if he fights Pacquiao. The fans need to know that the best and biggest fight in boxing right now is with me,” he added.
Anything can happen in the next few days.
As the old saying goes, money talks in boxing, and Mosley, the WBA champion at 147 lb, won’t stop talking until the Pacquiao-Cotto fight contract is sealed, signed and delivered.