Arum says no deal yet on Pacquiao-Mosley bout

MANILA, Philippines – Sugar Shane Mosley was quick to pounce on Manny Pacquiao’s public expression of interest in taking up his challenge, announcing through a press release that negotiations for their megafight are already underway. But Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank was as fast in pulling the plug on the Mosley missive, saying nothing’s final yet on Pacquiao's next foe for his October 17 fight. Reacting to Mosley’s press release, Arum told the Los Angeles Times: "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." A “surprised" Pacquiao himself clarified that he has not entered into a fight deal with Mosley or any other fighter. “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," Pacquiao said in a statement Thursday. “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," he added. WBA welterweight champ Mosley has been calling out Pacquiao, even expressing willingness to a catch weight and a 40/60 split in favor of Pacquiao just to face the reigning pound-for-pound king. Pacquiao, in an earlier interview with GMA Network’s 24 Oras on Wednesday, said that he’s ready to accept Mosley’s dare as long as both their camps could agree to the terms of the fight. He, however, maintained that it’s up to his promoters to make the final call. In reaction, Mosley said: “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," he said in a press statement posted by Examiner.com. Arum, in the LA Times report, admitted that he was contacted by Schaefer on Wednesday for a possible Pacquiao-Mosley fight, but stressed that the camp of the reigning pound-for-pound king would only make a decision possibly by July. Arum insisted that Pacquiao will wait until the June 13 world welterweight title fight between Top Rank stablemate Cotto and Joshua Clottey before picking a rival. "Shane's a good guy, he's definitely in the picture," Arum said, stressing they are also weighing other fights. "Why would I eliminate options?" And one of the options is Mayweather or Marquez. "I've also heard from Manny's people that he wants to wait and see the Mayweather-Marquez fight [on July 18] before he agrees to anything. That would mean we won't be ready until November," Arum said. Pacquiao, in his “Kumbinasyon" column last week, said he’s not backing down from anyone in the list of prospective rivals. "All that he's (Pacquiao) said is that he's willing to fight Mosley. But he still has to explore the best deal," Arum said. While waiting for his next fight, Pacquiao is savoring his victory and precious time away from the gym to be with his family in General Santos City. “We will make the announcement at a proper time and a proper place after all the fight details have been discussed," Pacquiao said. - GMANews.TV