MANILA, Philippines — Less than 24 hours after getting back to his familiar haunt in Las Vegas, Bob Arum was back in business, meeting with rap mogul James Prince in an effort to close out a deal for a May 7 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley.
“We had a very good meeting,” Arum told the Bulletin on Tuesday, still fresh from a five-day working vacation in the Philippines where the Hall of Fame promoter discussed with Pacquiao the date and place of the fight and the name of the opponent.
Prince now represents Mosley and Arum is looking forward to a formal announcement being made anytime soon since the Top Rank chief is embarking on a vacation in Aspen in Colorado and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
James will now run the documents up with Mosley and Arum answered in the affirmative when asked if the entire proceeding was meant to just dot the Is and cross the Ts.
While in the country last week, Arum was able to finalize the date and venue of the much-awaited fight, naming the 17,000-seat MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas as the venue.
As this developed, trainer Freddie Roach said he will have Pacquiao ready for whoever is selected as foe, stressing that Mosley poses the biggest threat since the 39-year-old US puncher is more dangerous than the two other candidates: Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.
“I am not counting him out,” said Roach on Tuesday while wrapping up at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Roach said Mosley is “very dangerous in the first four rounds.”
Reminded that Mosley is pushing 40, Roach shrugged it off, citing that Mosley was devastating when he mauled Mexican toughie Antonio Margarito “when he was pushing 39 years old.”
“If people think this is going to be an easy fight for Manny, they’re crazy,” added Roach, who was also in the country last week with Arum.
