"All major deal points have been agreed upon," stated Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer as he talked about perhaps the second biggest fight that can be made in boxing, a potential May 1st showdown between WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. In a recent conversation with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Schaefer revealed that the fight was essentially a done deal and an official announcement will be made shortly. "I hope to have something to announce in the next few days," he added.
Of course, was there ever any doubt that this fight wouldn't get done? Wait! I take that back. I'm sure quite a few fans still have their doubts and will happily share their opinions in the comments below. Heck, for a split second, I too had my doubts. But really, after announcing that he was returning to face only the best, who else could Mayweather fight after negotiations with Pacquiao fell through? You can call him a "coward" or a "chicken" if you want, but the important thing to remember is that Floyd has an ego. Image is everything and after tossing out a few names like Malignaggi, Campbell and Cintron to gauge the public reaction, it quickly became clear to Team Mayweather that their options were extremely limited and their back was against the wall. As terrible as the catastrophe was in Haiti, it provided an opportunity for Mayweather to repair that image.
In a way, Mayweather was essentially cornered into fighting Shane Mosley, which is a good thing as Mosley is hungry enough to agree to any terms, including random blood testing, just for another opportunity to be in a megafight. When it comes to negotiations, Mosley is easy to deal with, particularly since his ex-manager and ex-wife, Jin Mosley, is no longer in the picture. Basically, whatever Floyd wanted, he could get, making a Mayweather-Mosley bout as easy to close as Pacquiao-Clottey. Whether he wanted to or not, Mayweather really had no other option but to agree to face Mosley. When news broke last week that the UFC was moving their May 1st event to avoid going head-to-head with boxing, it was clear that another clash between two of boxing's best fighters was set. Even Bear Richardson, the son of Mosley's trainer Naazim Richardson, evidently let the cat out of the bag early on his Facebook page, naming the date, May 1st, in one of his status updates. It seems like everyone involved with the bout has known for quite some time that it's going to happen, it's just a matter of timing regarding the announcement. According to Iole, that announcement will likely take place next week in press conference held in New York.