Roach: Mosley not on Pacquiao radar

Posted at 06/05/2009 6:55 PM | Updated as of 06/06/2009 1:39 AM

MANILA -- Although negotiations on Manny Pacquiao’s next fight are not yet finalized, Freddie Roach revealed that the No.1 pound-for-pound boxer prefers to fight Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. over “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

“Manny wants Mayweather because that’s the biggest fight, the fight everyone wants to see. Shane isn’t even on my radar,” Roach told Ring Magazine’s Michael Rosenthal.

Mosley, the WBA welterweight champion, already offered a 40-60 split to face Pacquiao. But “the People’s Champ” clarified that his next opponent has yet to be chosen.

Roach even shared his conversation with Mosley when the latter went to the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California to discuss a possible bout with Pacquiao.

According to Rosenthal’s Ringtv.com blog, Roach reportedly asked Mosley, “Can you make 142 (pounds)?” to which “Sugar” replied, “No, I can’t get below 147.”

“Then there’ll be no fight,” Roach declared. Mosley countered, “But you fought Oscar (de la Hoya) at 147?”

Roach replied, “You’re not Oscar.”

But Pacquiao’s trainer noted that anything is still possible. “I think 142 is best. I’m not saying 143 or 144 is impossible, though. Everything is negotiable.”

Mosley too big

Meanwhile, de la Hoya declared that a Pacquiao-Mosley fight will probably not happen because “Mosley is too big a threat.”

“Mosley would crush Pacquiao in a heartbeat,” said de la Hoya, who believes that “Sugar” can defeat “Pacman” with brains and speed. De la Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Promotions, has Mosley in its stable of fighters.

De la Hoya continued, “Was I a risk when I came down to 147? Freddie Roach is smart. He saw something. Was Ricky Hatton a risk? Again, Freddie is a smart guy. That’s why he’s the best.”

And it’s why he’s not going to risk his fighter’s pound-for-pound status against a real champion like Mosley.”

Roach, meantime, fired back, saying, “We crushed Oscar… and we can crush Mosley too because they had two close fights.”


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