Smith: Mosley in no position to make demands

Sometimes Twitter beefs turn into actual fights, like what's shaping up to happen between Liam Smith and Shane Mosley should the two clear the hurdle of a rematch clause which is currently holding up negotiations. Shane Mosley is reluctant to sign-on to fight Smith because of an immediate rematch clause in the contract, which could pose problems for a bigger fight Mosley is trying to line up for early 2016. Smith isn't thinking much of the issue, though.

"I don't really care about a rematch clause because I'm 100 percent confident that I'll beat Shane Mosley," said the 27-year-old Smith when interviewed by RingTV.com. "It's just that from a business perspective, my team want to protect my interests in case there's a clash of heads or something of that nature.

"We have the right to request a rematch clause because this would be a voluntary defense and Mosley is in no position to throw down demands."

Smith sort of has a point here. Mosley has a name, but has faded from the relevant welterweight landscape for some years now. In 2015, the future Hall of Famer is ranked 46th by BoxRec, doesn't hold any titles, and his drawing power is fading. He is still a name though, and counts for something in this sport. For that reason alone Mosley would appear to have at least some leverage in negotiations while he tries to line up a more marketable fight to the public.

"Supposedly, Mosley has already signed to fight Ruslan Provodnikov at 147 pounds at the beginning of next year. The last I heard is we're still in talks with him but I'll be fighting in December whether it's against Shane Mosley or someone else."

There's been at least some rumblings of a Mosley-Provodnikov fight in recent months, and it should be a fan friendly fight, one I actually think is quite winnable for Mosley. Then again, he could also be abruptly thrust into a final retirement, particularly if Joel Diaz has shored-up Provo's deficiencies at all. We should get a glimpse of any improvements in Provodnikov when he fights on Nov. 7th in Monte Carlo.