Pacquiao: Cotto bitter, Shane looking sweet

Following Miguel Cotto's June 13 questionable decision over Joshua Clottey, many thought the showdown between he and Filipino sensation, Manny Pacquiao was a done deal. Better than a month up the road, and a fight that seemed to be in the works is actually far from working.

Team Pacquiao has shifted a bit from the initial dialogue held - once citing that the weight wouldn't matter, and now citing that they won't budge above 143lbs; while Team Cotto has been completely firm in stating that Miguel will not take the fight below 145lbs.

What Miguel Cotto has apparently forgotten is that his name comes up a bit short on the pecking order and similarly to De la Hoya and Mayweather of the past, it is now Pacquiao's turn to dictate from the helm. It's completely understandable why Cotto wouldn't want to go below 145lbs considering his struggles below 147lbs a few years ago, but with few other marquee fights on the board, you have to wonder what would his other options look like, aside from a small money rematch with Joshua Clottey.
With Pacquiao's patience beginning to wear thinner than his 140lb razor sharp frame, the attention has shifted to a familiar name.

How 'Sweet' It Is

After all the bickering and un-like-him antics that we recently saw from Shane Mosley, it wasn't until after he got quiet on the set and went about his business that we ended up finally hearing his name as a possibility.

A Mayweather fight would bring even more negotiating drama, and a Mosley fight would be seemingly drama-less (with him already conceding to the monetary and weight demands of Pacquiao); so if Cotto doesn't act on the offer on the table, that makes this a simple equation.

The old adage states that "you get more bees with honey than vinegar", and in this case, it couldn't hold more true, as the 'Sugarman' is on clearly on the brink of landing a sweet and highly unexpected deal.

The Arum Factor

The only trump card left is the fact that Top Rank head honcho Bob Arum is still on vacation and currently somewhat out of the loop. When he returns, you can bet his first line of order is to salvage the showdown between Cotto and Pacquiao, because in the case of an unfortunate Pacquiao loss, his only option would be to pin a returning Margarito against Mosley, or a possible Pacquiao/Mosley rematch.

A loss for Pacquiao to Mosley would take Arum out of the big race, but a loss of Pacquiao to Cotto would mean a rematch, or another mega fight that would involve one of his marquee fighters.

In the end, there's no true telling how this will all play out, but what we do know is that the longer Cotto sits away, the sweeter Mosley looks!
Stay tuned...

Source: examiner.com