Philippine Sports News and Updates

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao yesterday laughed off reports that were pasted on the Internet saying he has already sealed a fight with WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley on Oct. 17.

The reports said Mosley has agreed to fight Pacquiao at a catch weight of 140 to 147 lb and that Pacquiao will get a 60/40 advantage in the sharing of the purse.

The native of Pomona, California was even quoted as saying, “Now that Manny has stated that he is ready to fight me, the only thing left to finish are negotiations. Richard Schaefer and Bob Arum are working out the details now. I will be ready to fight Pacquiao on October 17th.”

The other day, Mosley tried to lure Pacquiao to a fight when he said he’s willing to face the Pinoy icon at 144 lb and that he’d be willing to stake his 147 lb crown.

Yesterday afternoon, Pacquiao came out with a statement, dashing cold water on Mosley’s hot bid for a megabuck fight with the Filipino pound for pound champion.

Apparently, the false reports were based on an interview Pacquiao had on GMA-7 Wednesday when he said he was willing to fight Mosley but only if “their promoters agree on the negotiations.”

Pacquiao is under Top Rank, and Mosley is under Golden Boy.

Another Top Rank fighter, Miguel Cotto, is being considered as Pacquiao’s next opponent, and his performance in the June 13 fight with Josh Clottey in New York will weigh on his chances.

“It’s funny that I am the last man to know about this supposed fight. I know everyone wants to fight me and I have said I will fight anyone, including Mosley. But I have not heard from my promoter or have seen any contract or fight detail. So, there is no fight yet,” said Pacquiao.

“I am flattered that even the great “Sugar” Shane Mosley is now going after me by any means. I am not closing the door on any negotiations, though, and I trust my promotional and training team to make the best decision for me,” added Pacquiao, almost a month after knocking out Ricky Hatton of England in only two rounds.

“I am not blaming people for coming up with ideas to lure me to fight them. I have said it before and I will say it again, I will not run away from a great fight. Floyd Mayweather is even using reverse psychology, saying he will not agree to fight me for a 50-50 purse. Of course everyone wants to fight me,” said Pacquiao.

Top Rank president Bob Arum said a week ago that he will not come up with any name until Pacquiao gets a chance to watch Cotto vs Clottey.

Then the agelesss promoter told the Los Angeles Times yesterday there’s no truth to reports that Pacquiao vs Mosley is on.

“This has absolutely no credibility to it. Manny hasn’t decided who he’s going to fight. It could be Mosley, or it could be [Miguel] Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather Jr., [Juan Manuel] Marquez or [Edwin] Valero. They’re all in the mix,” Arum told the LA Times.

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• Philippine Sports Central