Manny Pacquiao has been given the chance to share the ring with his former rival after missing out on the opportunity to fight Mario Barrios.

Pacquiao was in line to fight for the WBC welterweight title against Barrios until advisor Sean Gibbons informed World Boxing News that “the boxing legend’s ship has sailed.” The next target of the talks in London was Amir Khan, before Pacquiao’s intentions went tranquil again.

Pacquiao will celebrate his 46th birthday in a few weeks, and the man he defeated in 2011 has taken up the challenge. Shane Mosley, now 53, former Pound for Pound star, wants to do battle with “Pac-Man” after returning to action on the show.

Mosley took part in a “Celebrity Boxing” fight against a trainer from Philadelphia, dominating the competition from start to finish. He looked good for his age, but wasn’t at the level required to face Pacquiao, who is nine years younger.

“Pacquiao. I want to fight Pacquiao, man,” Mosley told Fight Hub TV after his victory over the unheralded Bob Kofroth. Mosley then focused all his attention on Oscar De La Hoya in a fight that never happened. The boss of Golden Boy has already ruled out a return to the ring.

“I would fight Oscar [De La Hoya]but Oscar doesn’t want to fight,” Mosley noted. “He was talking about this whole mess [about me coming back at 53]but he doesn’t want to fight. I don’t understand this. He should keep my name out of his mouth.

“I wasn’t even talking about him, but he came up and started talking about me. He’s just jealous because I beat him twice. But we might as well do it a third time while he talks about this whole mess. But he doesn’t want that smoke. He really doesn’t.

“Sugar” Shane is already showing signs of wear and tear when he speaks, so it would be best to avoid any notions of Pacquiao. The De La Hoya fight isn’t impressive in itself, but it still sparks debate about boxers fighting in their 50s.

WBN talked about this possibility ten years ago and the writing was on the wall then. Ten years later, it may still take some catastrophic incident before retired fighters fully understand the message.

The next fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will take place on November 15.

In terms of critical pedigree, few boxing biopics can match the double Oscar-winning film documenting the lives and times of Micky Ward and his brother Dicky Eklund, “The Fighter.”

The film was nominated for Best Picture of 2011, with Christian Bale as Dicky and Melissa Leo as family matriarch Alice winning top awards for Best Supporting Actor.

It’s demanding to argue with critics.

Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward and the movie was his idea. The actor reportedly always wanted to star in a boxing movie, and he and Ward had known each other for years.

“The Fighter” presents a slice of Ward’s life and the ups and downs of his relationship with his trainer and brother, as well as his life in and out of the ring.

Bale stole the show in the nearly two-hour film, and those looking for flaws from a boxing perspective had a field day.

This was Hollywood – not a documentary after all. Which seemed pointless, because Micky and Dicky’s story was dramatic enough.

The period captured in the film was also met with criticism. For example, it stopped after Ward won the lesser-known WBU title with a victory over Shea Neary in London.

It did not include the period when Ward reached the height of his fame towards the end of his career, especially thanks to the trilogy with Arturo Gatti, which went down in boxing history as one of the greatest rivalries. There is some archived footage of these wild fights in the end credits, but that’s about it.

And the fact that the storytelling skipped that timeline always left a glimmer of hope that there would be a sequel – something Ward wanted and Wahlberg sometimes joked about.

Unfortunately, it was never meant to be.

What remains is an excellent biopic that falls into the “based on true events” category, documenting Eklund’s struggle with addiction and Ward’s career as a down-on-his-luck fighter, all set against the backdrop of a messy family.

Eklund is portrayed as a lovable if infuriating bastard, which could pass for fair commentary.

The brothers’ relationship was one of helping each other as best as they could, in their own way. It was as if Micky’s routine and discipline helped give Dicky structure, while Dicky, who had learned some of the hardest lessons in life, was able to pass on lessons about some of his many mistakes to his younger brother by saying: “do what I say.” , not like me” share this wisdom.

Wahlberg delivers an underrated and underappreciated performance as Ward. He is flawless and was probably his hardest job in the film. How can you play the role of an ordinary guy who still makes a living by paving roads? How do you make it believable without making it jump off the screen? That’s a challenge in itself, because despite all of Micky’s fame and his fights of the year against the likes of Emanuel Augustus, Gatti and Neary, and despite the movie and the fact that he was played by a star, Ward never changed.

I met Micky in 2001, a few weeks after the first fight with Gatti, while visiting him at his home in Lowell, Massachusetts.

Over the next 20 years I made many wonderful memories with Micky. I went back to his house in Lowell several times. Despite everything – distinctions; movies; success – never moved. He never changed his number. He remains everything you would want a worker’s idol to be – self-deprecating, humble and forthright.

If anyone watched “The Fighter” and felt inspired, Ward doesn’t fall into the category of heroes you’ll never meet.

In fact, when I left Micky’s house one day – and with a long journey ahead of me – he insisted on taking me out for food and coffee.

On another trip to Boston, I visited Micky to record my “Boxing Life Stories” podcast with him, and what we recorded is a faithful reflection of our friendship over the years, with some laughs and some somber moments along the way. While in the area, Dicky and I went out to lunch and he and I recorded another podcast episode. I thought Dicky would talk about his wild life and wasted youth, but he was actually demanding to figure out. I remember him telling me that wasn’t the case then it was bad and he argued: “The newspapers made me look like Al Capone.”

We often meet at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I took my wife there on vacation one year and we met Micky and Dicky at Graziano’s, which was demolished by bulldozers.

Micky and I went and sat in the cabin to talk while Dicky could court my wife.

You should have seen the look on her face when Micky and I rejoined them at the bar 30 minutes later!

Micky’s paths also crossed with mine when I was writing “Damage” and I read in his excellent biography “A Warrior’s Heart” that he donated his brain to research when he passed an exam as part of an significant brain study for athletes and competitors in Boston.

As always, he jokes, “It’s not like I used it too much!”

Of course, Ward underestimates his price, but a brain is one thing and a heart is another thing entirely, and it’s the latter that he’s best known for.

And that’s where “The Fighter” best showcases Ward, both in and out of the ring. Micky Ward was always full of heart.

That’s why the title was so poignant. In Micky’s case, there are no heirs or favors. I’ve never been. He was and always will be a warrior.

The WBO has granted Terence Crawford’s team a 10-day extension while they try to reach an agreement with Sebastian Fundora. If negotiations fail to produce results by October 10, a portfolio offer will be ordered.

As usual, the title situation is a bit misleading. Fundora won the WBO belt from Tim Tszyu. He also won the vacant WBC crown that night, almost two years after it was last officially defended by unified 154-pound king Jermell Charlo.

Meanwhile, Crawford moved up to 154 pounds in August, taking the WBA belt from Israil Madrimov along with the WBO interim super welterweight title. Now Crawford and Fundora hope to strike a deal that will unify their belt package.

Crawford’s rise is nothing brief of extraordinary. He is already the undisputed champion of two weight classes (four titles are needed to complete both fights), if he defeats Fundora, he will only have the IBF belt, which will be undisputed in three weight classes. Bakhram Murtazaliev currently holds this belt and will defend it on October 19 in a fight against Tim Tszyu. Crawford would be the favorite to win this competition. Suddenly, efforts to make history seem realistic.

Crawford has long been linked to a cross-weight clash with Canelo Alvarez. This would require Bud to jump several divisions or at least add weight in order to reach a catchweight agreement (which would favor Canelo).

The driving force behind the fight, however, was Saudi power broker Turki Alalshikh. Since “His Excellency” has since publicly fallen out with Canelo, it appears that the Canelo vs. Crawford has now dropped off the radar.