Mayweather turns down Mosley

Shane Mosley (above) defeated Antonio Margarito by TKO in January. AP Chris Mannix's Mailbag Submit a comment or question for Chris. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Chris Mannix on Twitter

Shane Mosley has spent the better part of his professional career fighting in someone else's shadow. First, it was Oscar De La Hoya, who Mosley defeated twice -- in 2000 and '03 -- but who he could never match in popularity. Then it was Floyd Mayweather Jr., who danced in and out of Mosley's weight class before dancing (literally) right off the boxing stage.

Most recently, Mosley has battled for recognition with young welterweights Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito. In November 2007 Mosley lost a narrow decision to Cotto, but rebounded in January to emphatically knock out Margarito in the defining win of Mosley's career. The victory entrenched Mosley at the top of the welterweight division, a position that should have earned him the right to handpick his next opponent from a talented field.

But it hasn't.

According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, Mayweather, who recently gave his advisors permission to explore a comeback fight, has rejected overtures from Mosley's camp to lure the former pound-for-pound champion out of retirement.

"I was told by [Mayweather's manager] Al Haymon that Floyd was not coming out of retirement to fight Shane Mosley," Schaefer told SI.com. "I feel bad for Shane. It's as if he looked too good in his last fight. It was the best performance of his career and maybe it made some guys not want to face him."

It's a disappointing turn of events for Mosley, who at 37 had hoped to fight a series of lucrative, high-profile fights to finish his career. Still, he will have options. The suspension of Margarito for attempting to place an illegal substance in his hand wraps before his Jan. 24 fight with Mosley opens the door for a rematch with Cotto, who will fight unheralded Michael Jennings in a tune-up fight next Saturday before looking for a big-name challenger this summer. Mosley could be that name.

"I have had a few preliminary conversations with [Cotto promoter] Bob Arum," said Schaefer. "I was told even before [the Margarito suspension] that Cotto preferred to fight Shane over Margarito. I'm sure we will talk some more."

Other options for Mosley include Andre Berto, the WBC champion who won a tough decision over Luis Collazo in January. Mosley and Berto have been eyeing each other for some time and were almost matched up before the Margarito fight came together. Another option is the winner of the May 2 Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton junior welterweight fight. But Schaefer does not think Mosley will want to wait until the fall, preferring to fight again sometime this summer.

There is one other potential opponent out there: De La Hoya, who has yet to announce if he will fight again after his December loss to Pacquiao. But even if De La Hoya chooses to get back into the ring, it won't be for a third fight with Mosley.

"That's not going to happen," said Schaefer. "I honestly don't know what Oscar is going to do. I don't think Oscar is ready to commit to anything right now. And Shane has moved on. He's clearly the No. 1 welterweight in the world. He wants to be in there with the biggest and the best."