In less than two weeks, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley will finally step into the ring to face each other in a long overdue clash between two of the biggest names in the sport. Even before the announcement of the bout, there had been much debate as to why this fight hadn't already taken place a lot earlier in their careers. Supporters of both fightes claim that their man was avoided throughout the years for one reason or another. In an effort to shed some light on the matter, FightHype.com scoured the archives to see if we could dig up more information regarding the history between both men. In an interview published on September 30, 2003, Mayweather, who was getting set to defend his WBC lightweight title against Phillip N'dou at the time, revealed that although he was more than willing, it was Mosley's unrealistic purse demands that kept the fight from happening.
"Mosley had a chance, but he could still get it. When he was a lightweight, I told him he could get it, but he bid himself out and asked for 10 million," Mayweather stated in the interview when asked if he was interested in the possible showdown. At the time, Mosley had just defeated Oscar De La Hoya in their rematch which took place at 154 pounds. Unimpressed with performances of both fighters, Mayweather made it clear that although he was still a lightweight, he had no problem moving up all the way up to jr. middleweight to make a fight with either man. "Any day of the week. That would be easy work. Easy work," he added. "Shane Mosley was swinging with his eyes close. And to be honest with you, I wasn't impressed with none of them. If Shane Mosley let De La Hoya outbox him, please! I'll box circles around him."
Ironically, if what I hear is true, Mosley still won't be making the $10 million that he was asking for nearly 10 years ago. Although he will be making a career high payday, from what I'm being told, Mosley has only been guaranteed $6 million for his bout with Mayweather. Ouch! Granted, it will be his "biggest ever" purse, as his lawyer Judd Burstein astutely pointed out, but still, I'm sure that's hardly the kind of huge payday that Shane Mosley was hoping for.
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