Mosley has tremendous respect for Pacquiao, particularly after the Filipino’s second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton last month, but he says the biggest obstacle he would have to overcome would be weight.
Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer, said he likes the matchup because Mosley will come directly to his fighter. However, Roach would give his consent only at a catch weight between 140 and 147 pounds.
Roach has mentioned “143 or 144.” Mosley said Tuesday that “we’ll talk about it but I think I can get to 144.”
“To make things fair, we’ll meet half way,” he said.
The problem for Mosley, 37, is that he hasn’t fought below 146 since 1999, when he stopped John Brown in the final defense of his 135-pound title. And he has fought above 147 10 times, four times at exactly 154.
Mosley said he weighs 160 now and that the ideal official weigh-in limit for him would 150, meaning he’d have to come in six pounds below the weight at which he would be most comfortable.
To do that at his age and with his already-lean body would be difficult.
“In my case, that’s a lot of weight to lose,” he said. “I previously fought at 154. Coming down to 147 can be a task. Then coming down even further, that is a real task. Even one pound makes a big difference.”
That said, he’s pretty sure he can do it.
The key would be losing a few pounds of muscle. Mosley said he built muscle mass through rigorous weight training over the years, a practice he recently abandoned. Thus, he said, he was able to make 147 for his stunning knockout victory over Antonio Margarito in January with no problems.
“The weight came off pretty easily,” he said. “I was at 147 three weeks before the fight. I think if I stay off weights, it’s easier to make weight. And I learned that lifting too much weights isn’t good for a boxer anyway.
“I noticed that my knockout ratio went down when I was lifting. I stopped before I fought Fernando Vargas (in 2006) and I started knocking people out again. I just didn’t have the same snap on my punches.
“The minute I stopped using a strength trainer I started to fight better,” he continued. “Before, people were saying I was old, washed up. It was probably because of my workouts. Now, I’m back to the old Sugar Shane. I’m 37 and looking better than ever.”
Mosley said he wouldn’t even allow issues over money to stand in the way of the fight.
“I think we can make it easy,” he said. “Everyone does the money thing; they want this, they want that. It’s like they try to prevent it from happening. I definitely want to do this. It would be historical, a fight I think boxing needs.”
Mosley acknowledges that it might not be so easy in the ring.
The WBA junior welterweight titleholder has long admired the fire and skills of his prospective opponent. However, he reacted as many observers did after Pacquiao’s dramatic second-round KO of Ricky Hatton.
“I thought Pacquiao looked phenomenal,” he said. “It opened my eyes, surprised me a little bit, the way he hurt Hatton with different types of shots. I think Hatton caused some of the problems himself by throwing caution to the wind and keeping his chin in the air.
“But that doesn’t negate the fact that Pacquiao had the power to do that. It was a shocker to me.”
But Oscar De La Hoya said Pacquiao has little power.
“Yeah, Oscar told me that too,” Mosley said. “I don’t know. Against Hatton, (Pacquiao) showed otherwise. It took (Floyd) Mayweather a long time to knockout out Hatton. Maybe it was Hatton’s chin in the air; maybe Pacquiao has developed power.
“I’m a different type of fighter, though. Smarter. I don’t rely on power to win fights, overwhelming a fighter to win fights. I think in the ring. And I have a great strategist in (trainer) Naazim Richardson. Together we’re able to outthink, outfight the other fighter.”
Now all they have to do is make the fight."
source: The Ring
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