Updated July 08, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - WBA (World Boxing Association) welterweight champion Shane Mosley finally got tired of chasing Manny Pacquiao.
The classy boxer from Pomona, California, said he has already ordered his promoter to shop for other opponents.
“Shane says he’ll be the last man standing, anyway,” Richard Schaefer, Mosley’s promoter, told The Los Angeles Times.
Mosley has been trying to get a shot at Pacquiao since the latter demolished Ricky Hatton with a devastating second round TKO last May. But the Filipino icon has already set his sights on a welterweight showdown with Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto on Nov. 14.
That prompted Mosley to ask Schaefer to arrange a fight with other welterweight contenders, including Andre Berto, Paul Williams, Joshua Clottey or Kermit Cintron.
Schaefer, for his part, said Mosley doesn’t even need Pacquiao to enhance his already hall-of-fame career.
“Shane’s legacy is intact, and it’s not dependent on a Pacquiao yes or no,” Schaefer said.
However, Naazim Richardson, Mosley’s trainer, expressed desire for his ward to eventually face Pacquiao, saying he also wants an opportunity to solve the Pacquiao puzzle.
“I hope the fight (Pacquiao-Mosley) does happen man.” Richardson told fighthype.com. “I would like the chance to figure out the Pacquiao puzzle with Mosley.”
Richardson trained Mosley for the latter’s title bid against Antonio Margarito last January, which ended up with Mosley knocking out the tough Mexican in nine rounds.
Richardson also had kind words for Pacquiao, whom he described as a bigger fighter physically than what most people think.
“All of these guys underestimate Pacquiao thinking he’s the small man. When I met Pacquiao, I wasn’t saying ‘how does this guy make welterweight?’ I was saying how in the hell he was making 130 and 135 (lbs.)? Pacquiao is a big dude. 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 explained.
Richardson, obviously, has witnessed how Pacquiao came in as the heavier guy against the legendary Oscar De La Hoya last December.
Besides Mosley, Richardson has also worked the corner of light heavyweight legend Bernard Hopkins. – Contributor Dino Maragay
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