Why is Mosley such a big underdog?

Look at these quotes from Legendary promoter Bob Arum back in Nov;


“I think Cotto probably beats Mayweather. I think Manny probably beats Mayweather and I think Mosley beats Mayweather. I think Shane Mosley, because of his style, has the best chance to beat Mayweather,”

“The fight that should be made is Mayweather and Shane Mosley. But Mayweather won’t take that fight. He won’t take any fight where there is any possibility where he might lose. Money is secondary with him. He will not take a chance like a normal fighter. He cares more about his legacy and being able to retire undefeated, so he could say that he never lost a fight.”


Many people seemed to feel the same way just a few months ago. So why is the man who is either Mayweather's toughest or second toughest challenge at WW a relatively big undergdog? I mean even up until the day Mayweather signed the contract everyone was saying Shane was going to give Floyd work. Jim Lampley once remarked that "fighting Floyd Mayweather is a dose of cold reality".

Is this what has happened here? Did people simply invest false hope into Mosley beating Mayweather only to snap back into reality once the fight was on and they remembered just how good Mayweather is? I guess we'll find out in about a week and a half.

 

Think about it. Bob Arum owns Top Rank yet claims Mosley is a tougher fight for Mayweather than Pac or Cotto(two Top Rank fighters). He also claimed Mayweather would not take the fight. He did this despite the fact that he had no control over the fight. So it seems to me that he actually believed what he said. If Mosley is truly Mayweather's toughest challenge according to Arum, and if Floyd beats Mosley, what are the chances Arum puts his cash cow in there with his archnemisis?

 

Well obviously Arum was wrong. That wasn't my point. My point was that he actually believed that quote and he wasn't just spouting nonsense.

 

I highly doubt it. He said this right before the Cotto vs. Pac fight. At that point, Mosley was scheduled to fight Berto. Also at that point, it was assumed that the winner of Cotto/Pacquiao would fight Mayweather.

 

Didn't Mayweather give into Pacquiao's demands? Let's get real here, Mayweather's side comprimised several times. After the fight dissolved, Mayweather went on to fight a guy that Arum believes is a tougher fight than Pac. Meanwhile, Pacquiao went on to fight Clottey. So who really was at fault there? It's kind of hard to blame the guy that went on to take less money to possibly fight a tougher opponent.