Mosley, Clottey verbal deal done, but site, date uncertain

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Promoters for Pomona’s world welterweight champion ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley and respected contender Joshua Clottey have struck an oral deal for a fight, but when and where the bout will be staged remain points of negotiation, boxing sources including Clottey promoter Bob Arum told The Times on Wednesday.

Mosley and his promoter Golden Boy Promotions want the bout to be Dec. 26 at Staples Center, and a Staples executive said in an e-mail to The Times on Wednesday that AEG has already cleared the date for the bout. Mosley has won two title fights at Staples, beating Oscar De La Hoya in 2000 and Antonio Margarito in January.

The problem is that HBO doesn’t like the idea of a boxing card one day after Christmas, and wants a January date to be found -- in Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

The decision is now Mosley’s and Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer, neither of whom were immediately available for comment Wednesday.

--Lance Pugmire