Roach: Mosley will be tough competition

Former World Boxing Association Welterweight (WBA) superchampion "Sugar" Shane Mosley will guarantee Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao a real competition.

That is, if a match between the 2 pushes through next year, Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach told Boxingscene.com.

"I think Mosley could be a tough fight. Last year when he beat [Antonio] Margarito, everyone thought he was the greatest thing. Now after the Mayweather fight, they think he's nothing. I think Shane is a very tough guy," Roach said on Saturday (Sunday, in Manila).

The Californian Mosley is one of most sought after boxers to fight Pacquiao, as earlier declared by Top Rank promotions chief Bob Arum.

He leads fellow boxing superstars Juan Manuel Marquez from Mexico and AmericanAndre Berto on the Pacman's hitlist.

Roach believes Mosley will work hard to topple the pound-for-pound king Pacquiao.

"I think Shane's going to train very hard for the fight..." he said.

He said the Pacquiao team will never underestimate Mosley, who is a 3-divisionchampion. "We never take any fight lightly... and if he's the guy we're fighting, we'll be ready," he said.

Pacquiao (52-3-2) last fought Mexican Margarito in November. He defeated the "Tijuana Tornado" via a unanimous decision for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight crown, his 8th world title.

Interestingly, Mosley (46-6-1) also traded punches with Margarito in January 2009. He won the bout with a technical knockout (TKO) in the 9th round.

With the victory, Mosley harvested the WBA super welterweight title but was stripped the "super" label after a Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeat in May that same year.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao will have to decide formally on who to clash with as soon as Arum arrives in the country. The latter said he will arrive on December 13.

The 2 will discuss the possible fight that could be held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 16, 2011.