The deal is done. Floyd Mayweather Jr. has signed a contract to fight Shane Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Mosley were getting frustrated because Mayweather took several days before he signed his bout agreement. Mosley signed his contract for the fight last Friday.
Mosley's attorney, Judd Burstein, told Lem Satterfield of FanHouse, that Mayweather signed the contract. Burstein was advised of the information by Schaefer.
"Richard Schaefer just called me and told me that [Mayweather's adviser] Al Haymon called him, and it's [the bout agreement] is being faxed," said Burstein.
"I'm ecstatic. Shane and I have been together for seven years, and I love him as a client, and he's going to show the world how great that he is," said Burstein. "A lot of credit goes to Richard Schaefer. We work together beautifully. And Al Haymon has proven that my assessment of him as a real, straight shooter and a good guy are correct. He came through."
LAS VEGAS - It's official. Boxing's biggest superstar and six-time world champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather made his upcoming fight with welterweight mega-star and five-time world champion Sugar Shane Mosley, official today when he signed the contract that pits the two fighters against each other on Saturday, May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a mega-bout which will be televised live on HBO Pay-Per-View®.
"This one is definitely for the fans as I wasn't going to waste anyone's time with a meaningless tune-up bout and asked to fight Shane immediately," said Mayweather. "I have said ever since I came back to the sport that I only wanted to fight the best. I think Shane is one of the best, but come May 1, he still won't be great enough to beat me."
"I have always wanted to fight Floyd and now it is finally coming true," said Mosley, who signed his side of the deal last Friday in Las Vegas. "I am already in great shape and ready to show everyone on May 1 that I am stronger, faster and better than he is. I will have no problem beating him."
In addition to the fight being one of the most competitive and talked about contests in each of the fighters' careers, Mayweather and Mosley have agreed to Olympic-style drug testing for the fight.
"Floyd has been trying to make this fight for the last 10 years, so he is extremely excited about the opportunity to face Shane," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions. "He can't wait to extend his undefeated record and perform at the highest level. More importantly, he is also happy to set the precedent for random blood testing in order to ensure fair and safe contests for all fighters."
"When two champions of this caliber meet in the ring, you can expect nothing but excellence and that is what we are going to see on May 1," said Richard Schaefer, CEO, Golden Boy Promotions. "Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for not only agreeing to the fight against Mayweather, but also agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport."
"Mayweather-Mosley is a showdown of superstars that fans have been talking about for years", said Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View. "It has all the elements of a pay-per-view mega-fight."
A 1996 Olympic Bronze medalist for the United States, Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO's) has since gone on to strike Gold in the professional ranks, winning six world titles in five weight classes to firmly establish himself as one of the most elite fighters of his era. With dominating wins over the likes of world champions Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar de la Hoya and Ricky Hatton, Mayweather was on a meteoric rise to hall of fame greatness when he announced his retirement from the ring in 2008. But he left the door open for a return if the right challenge presented itself and after 18 months of a much needed physical and emotional break from the ring, he returned to boxing on September 19, 2009 with a dominating and spectacular victory over future Hall of Famer Juan Manuel Marquez.
A future Hall of Famer with five world titles to his name, Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KO's) has ruled the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions over his storied 16-year career and at 38 years old, the Pomona, Calif. native seems to be getting better and better as the years pass. Winner of seven of his last eight fights dating back to 2005, Mosley has defeated the likes of Fernando Vargas (twice), Luis Collazo and Ricardo Mayorga, but his most recent victory also was one of his most spectacular -- a ninth round stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 to win the welterweight world title for the third time.
The 12-round welterweight battle is a highly competitive match-up that already has sports fans across the world buzzing to see two of the sport's biggest names meet in the squared circle in the premier boxing match-up of 2010.
More information on Mayweather vs. Mosley, including ticket prices, HBO Pay- Per- View information and press tour dates and cities, will be announced shortly.
WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley is going wild with the news that Floyd Mayweather Jr. signed a contract to fight him on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mosley never thought the day would come, but now it's finally here. For the last ten years there has been a lot of trash talking between the fighters. During most of the last two years, Mayweather often brought up Mosley's five career defeats. Mayweather always boasted about his own undefeated record. Mosley told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that Mayweather wouldn't fight the guys who beat him - like Miguel Cotto, Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright.
“I lost to guys he wouldn’t fight,” Mosley said. “The bottom line is, I’m the best fighter in the world. I know that. I believe I’ve proven that. But this is a great fight, a big fight against a guy who is very talented. When I get my chance, I’ll show you who deserves to be the best in the world.”
Like he did with Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather made a demand for random drug tests. Mosley agreed to Mayweather's terms, telling Iole that he doesn't care how often they test him.
“They can test me every day, twice a day, if they want,” Mosley said. “I’m a clean athlete and I’ve been a clean athlete. I’m willing to do this for every fight I have for the rest of my career. I want it so you guys (in the media) know, so the public knows, so everybody knows. I’m clean, I’ve been clean and I have nothing to hide.”
Trainer Freddie Roach says Manny Pacquiao, should he beat Joshua Clottey on March 13, will be more than happy to fight the winner of May's mega-bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley. Roach sees the winner of Mayweather-Mosley as the best candidate for Pacquiao's next fight. Roach told BoxingScene.com that Mayweather should win the fight but it's going to be very tough for him.
"I like Shane. He's a good guy but I think Mayweather will outbox him. I think Mayweather will win that fight but it's a very competitive, good fight and I would like to see that fight," Roach told BoxingScene.
If Mayweather wins, Roach says a fight with Pacquiao will only happen under the rules of the governing commission. They will not agree to Mayweather's demand for unrestricted random drug testing. Pacquiao did tell BoxingScene's Robert Morales that he would consider taking random drug tests if the contract called for the random tests to stop 30-days prior to the fight. Pacquiao would also take a blood test immediately after the fight was over.
Mayweather is more concerned about the testing that takes place inside the 30-day time period. Mayweather has placed the test demands on Mosley, who accepted the terms. Mayweather and Pacquiao were unable to agree on the drug testing terms when they were negotiating for a tentative fight in March. Roach does think Mayweather fight will happen but under the right circumstances.
"When Mayweather loses a little more money gambling and he needs it, I think he'll fight us. I would like to see Pacquiao fight him under the commission rules and the counseling bodies but not under Floyd Mayweather's rules because who the f**k is he? We don't work for him," Roach said.
Mosley will be an easier fight to make because he doesn't care about random drug testing. He will fight Pacquiao with or without a clause that calls for random testing. Roach would love to have Pacquiao take that fight if Shane pulls off the upset.
"Shane would love to fight Manny. If he beats Mayweather...if he wins, we will fight him and that will be a great fight. Shane is a very good fighter and I respect him quite a bit," Roach said.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is making the rounds and talking up his May 1 fight with WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley. Mayweather has often been called a very defensive style. His critics think he is too defensive for his own good and that very defense makes for bad fights.
"It's not a defensive fighter, it's being a smart fighter," Mayweather said.
Mosley plans to make Mayweather fight. He wants to push Mayweather to the limit and make it war. Mayweather knows what Mosley plans to do. He doesn't think Mosley's power and speed will help him in the fight. Mayweather plans to using timing and distance to adapt and beat Molsey.
"Mosley is a boxer-puncher, I'm just a guy who is very, very versatile and can adapt and adjust to any style. I think I can win any fight that I can be put in. This is going to be the same Floyd Mayweather and we're going to see what Shane Mosley has to offer," Mayweather said.
"We both been in the sport of boxing for a long time. We both have tremendous backgrounds. I come from a fighting family and Shane has been around the sport for a very, very long time. I think you take the two and put them together and it makes for a very, very exciting fight. I think Shane has based everything on power and speed, it doesn't work like that. I believe everything in life is timing and inches."
Mayweather plans to start light training very soon. After soon after he will head back to the gym for the long stretch.
"In a couple of days we are going to start running and getting some cardio in and then after go into full force training," Mayweather said.
When Floyd Mayweather Jr. tried to land a fight with Shane Mosley a decade ago, he couldn't get it. Mayweather, a super featherweight at the time, was calling out Mosley, an unbeaten lightweight champion. Mosley would move up by two weight divisions to fight and beat Oscar De La Hoya for the welterweight crown. Mayweather slowly built his career through the weight division and the tables turned a few years ago when Mosley began demanding for the two of them to fight.
"Shane has been asking for this fight for the last few years becasue he finally found out that all roads really lead to Floyd Mayweather. He can make his biggest payday by fighting Floyd Mayweather. I'm not saying that he's not going to come out there to win. All I'm saying is that when I wanted to fight Shane in 1999 and 200, I couldn't get the fight when he was undefeated. Five losses later and a lot older, he says 'I want to fight Floyd, I want to fight Floyd,'" Mayweather told Fox Sports.
Mosley is going to be 39-years-old, but Mayweather is not going to overlook him due to age factor.
"Age is really nothing but a number. Bernard Hopkins can still going there and perform well at the age of 40. A lot of fighters late in their 30s and early in their 40s and perform well. Sugar Ray Leonard did it a few times. George Foreman showed he can do it. I look at fighters all the same. When fighters are facing me, they say 'whoa, I'm facing Floyd Mayweather' and I look them as just another fighter," Mayweather said.
The biggest flaw for Mosley, according to Mayweather, is his inability to deal with good boxers. Mayweather doesn't think Mosley can deal with a decent boxer based on his past performances in the ring.
"I've seen Shane Mosley fight Miguel Cotto and get ouboxed. I've seen Winky Wright beat him with just a jab. I've seen Vernon Forrest, may he rest in peace, also outbox him. If the fans don't know, Shane has problems with boxers. Every fighter I face they says it's toughest opponent but when I beat them they find an excuse," Mayweather said. "When I beat Mosley they will say he's too old."
For the last few years, Mosley has been trying to secure a mega-fight. When Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired in 2008, and Pacquiao was still competing in the lower weight classes, Mosley had no mega-fight dance partners in the welterweight division. Things got a lot brighter in 2009. Mayweather announced his return to boxing, and Pacquiao became a major player at 147-pounds. Mosley began a heavy media campaign to fight both of them. Neither fight materialized as Pacquiao and Mayweather were more focused on fighting each other.
To keep himself busy, Mosley signed for a unification bout with unbeaten WBC champion Andre Berto. Soon after, a string of unforeseen events would change Mosley's luck in a way that nobody could have ever predicted. The Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations fell apart and both fighters went their separate ways. And then Berto, stricken with grief over his relatives that were affected by the earthquake in Haiti, withdrew from the fight with Mosley.
Golden Boy Promotions, who handle Mosley and have a working relationship with Mayweather, immediately focused their efforts on matching the two fighters. Within a few short weeks, Mosley secured his mega-fight. He defends his WBA title against Mayweather on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mosley told BoxingScene.com that Mayweather has nothing in his arsenal that worries him. Long before the contracts were signed, Mosley studied tapes of Mayweather's style. He reminded me about Oscar De La Hoya's infamous training camp for the Mayweather fight in 2007. Mosley was De La Hoya's sparring partner for the Mayweather fight. He studied tapes to imitate Mayweather's style and body mannerisms for the sparring sessions. Mosley anticipates Mayweather's plan to box his way to a decision. Except Mosley has the same mindset, he plans to outbox Mayweather.
"I'm the veteran in this matchup and he has to watch out for a lot of things that I do. I'm very fast as well. I have good speed now and it showed in the [Antonio] Margarito fight. Speed that people thought I lost. I've had different changes in my life and I'm getting better and better and I'm feeling better and better. I had to imitate him when he was fighting Oscar. I pretty much know his thinking process, what he's going to do. He's a counterpuncher. He's very sharp but a counterpuncher. He only strikes when he knows he's got you beat. I'm not worried about that," Mosley told BoxingScene.com.
"We know his plan, that he wants box. What happens when he gets outboxed? I mean, Zab Judah outboxed him for four rounds, three or four rounds. He's [Mayweather] smaller and has shorter arms. [He has problems dealing with ] speed and southpaws and people going to their right. You put the guys that I fought against the guys that he fought and what happens? I fought guys who were big, coming in at 172. He fought guys who barely reached the 147-pound weight limit and guys who are 5'4 and 5'5, who are a lot shorter. And I'm fighting guys taller and bigger than me in every way and knocking them out."
Mayweather claims that he tried to make a fight with Mosley over a decade ago, and Shane blew him off. Back then Mayweather was competing at super featherweight and Mosley was dominating the lightweight division. Mayweather has repeated this story countless times over the last ten years. Mosley told BoxingScene the story is false. He says Mayweather is distorting the facts. Additionally, he says it was Floyd who walked away ten years ago - and Shane claims there is an old videotaped interview that backs his version of the events.
"He does a lot of lying. These are facts. There is a videotape. In fact somebody at FX told me that they have the videotape of me calling him out at lightweight, before I moved up to welterweight because I couldn't make lightweight no more. He knew that and he said in his words 'I'm not going to go up to lightweight, I'm going to stay at 130 and try to break the record for the most title defenses.' It was 26 defenses or something like that. He said that in his own words back then. What he forgets is that it's caught on tape when he tells that lie. I just need to find the tape," Mosley said.
And let's not forget the trash talking over the last ten years. Both fighters have done their fair share. Despite the years of trading verbal jabs, Mosley doesn't view the fight as something personal. He simply wants to take a statement to the media and the fans. Mosley doesn't think he ever received the proper respect from the critics. He believes his status in the sport was always downplayed.
Mosley's voice began to change when he discussed how the other top welterweights, like Mayweather, were beating opponents from lower weight divisions and the critics were glorifying the wins. At the same time, Mosley was fighting much bigger opponents and receiving far less credit and attention for the victories.
"It won't be the fight of my life but I just want to make a point that I'm the best welterweight fighter right now. There is no welterweight out there who can beat me. I'm not just going to talk about, I want to be about it. I'm going to beat him with speed, speed with speed. Everybody on their mind has Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather and I'm coming right through the back door. And I'm going to step right in an I'm going to make sure that they know that I'm here," Mosley said.
"Mayweather had no choice but to come to me if he wants to make any money. This is not going to be personal for me. This is going to be fun for me. I don't know if it's going to be personal for him. This is like when I fought Oscar the first time. People would ask - 'are you afraid? are you scared? - no, this is what I want. I'm not going to be angry or scared. This is what I want. I'm going to have fun beating Mayweather. It does have a ring of redemption because I get to let the people know, let the fans know, that I'm the best fighter when I've been overlooked and viewed as the second best and third best."
"And it's been like that throughout my whole career, even after I beat the top guys. I beat Oscar and I was still second best and I beat Margarito and I'm still like second or third best. I keep upsetting these people and fighting these guys outside of my weight class. Moving up to 154 and wiling to go to 160 to fight guys bigger than me. Losing to some but still beating guys bigger than me. And then you have these so-called tops guys at 147 go and fight people at 140 and 135 and they get glorified for it. But me going to 154 and trying to fight bigger guys, I get condemned for it."
He plans to exploit Mayweather's entire style. Mosley doesn't think Mayweather is capable of dealing with his style of physical dimensions. De La Hoya's bigger frame gave Mayweather a lot of problems. Mayweather won a twelve round decision but the fight was much closer than anyone anticipated. Mosley believes Mayweather has a lot of trouble with bigger fighters who are aggressive and know how to box.
"He's not going to be the same Mayweather, when you see him potshoting these guys. He wont be able to potshot me like that. I'm actually longer than him, taller than him. He won't be able to potshot me like that. I have longer arms. It's not going to work. I don't think he realizes that. He's had so much success fighting these little guys when he's been able to sit back and potshot them that he doesn't realize that I'm just as fast as him, just as slick as him and can outbox him too. I'm not even going by the power because that's just the icing on the cake. I'm going to beat him at his game," Mosley said.
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with former two-time world champ and current boxing trainer Roger Mayweather. He is of course the trainer and uncle of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who will face Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.
“Shane Mosley ain’t goin’ to beat Floyd,” said the mercurial Mayweather during a brief conversation. “It don’t matter if I was his uncle or not - I’d still say the same thing. All you gotta’ do is ask yourself one question. Shane lost to Cotto, right? Would Cotto beat Floyd? I think even you know the answer to that.
“I’ll tell you what this whole fight is gonna’ come down to,” continued Mayweather. “Shane Mosley can’t out think Floyd and that right there is all you need to know about it. He can’t out think him. Floyd’s too smart.”
While Floyd, who will be 33 by the time the fight takes place, is undefeated at 39-0, Roger says that the way to beat him, if anybody could, “Is with the jab. You gotta’ be able to probably hit Floyd with the jab, back him up and then get him on the ropes. Oscar did good, ‘cause Oscar got a good jab, he made it close. Thing is though, ain’t nobody out there can do that, you know what I mean?”
Many within the industry feel that perhaps Mosley, 38, could be the one to seriously test Floyd, but the opinionated Roger sees things differently.
“No, Shane don’t have the jab that he needs in order to hit Floyd. He’s got the speed, you know, the handspeed, but he ain’t got the jab. So, without the jab, how’s he gonna’ hit Floyd. To get to Floyd you gotta’ have the jab.”
Roger, however, did not totally dismiss Mosley as he has others that have challenged Floyd in the past.
“It will be a good fight, a good fight,” said Roger, 48, who is currently free on $13,000 bail and is facing battery and coercion charges from a Las Vegas incident last August with a woman he previously trained. If found guilty, he is facing from 3 to 16 years in prison. The trial is set to begin June 1.
“Shane Mosley is a good fight for anyone,” Roger theorizes. “But see, the thing here, the thing here is that he ain’t gonna’ be able to hit Floyd with the jab and he damn sure can’t outbox him. Then, like I said, he can’t out think him neither. So, since he can’t do none of them three things, then he in trouble.”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. plans to fight smart, stay focused on his boxing, and break down "Sugar" Shane Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Mayweather faces Mosley for the WBA welterweight title. Mayweather's big advantage with opponents has been speed. Mosley is another fighter with a high level of speed. When Mayweather steps in the ring with Mosley, he doesn't plan to rely on his speed to win. He plans box and rely on timing.
Mayweather views proper timing of his pucnhes as the real key to victory in this fight. Speaking with veteran boxing scribe Ron Borges, Mayweather is claiming to be in a bad spot because of Shane's age factor.
“The thing is in the sport of boxing, like life, everything is timing,’’ Mayweather said. “Just like inside the squared circle. A lot of people need to realize in 1999 I was trying to make a fight with Shane Mosley when he was still undefeated. Now, five losses later, I got the bad end of the stick."
“We’re a lot older now. I don’t know what he’s got left. He looked tremendous against Margarito but if I knock him out then it’s ‘He was supposed to knock him out.’ If I don’t then ‘He didn’t knock out Mosley.’ But I don’t care about the negative things people say. I’ll box. I’ll be smart. I’ll be me. I’ll break him down."
Mayweather doesn't think he receives enough credit for what he's been able to accomplish in the ring. He only wants to fight the best at this point. Mayweather told Borges that he could have went after much easier opponents and still made a lot of money. He knows the Mosley fight is very important because bigger things will come in the future if he beats Mosley.
“I could have easily gone on a world tour fighting stiffs and made $200 million but I want to fight the best. You got two guys who are fast,’’ Mayweather said. ‘That’s where timing comes in. Timing and inches. I know what I can do. I know a lot more is coming after this.’’
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has fired off on his May 1 opponent, WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley. Mayweather, during a recent interview with the Grand Rapids Press, called Mosley a desperate fighter who is looking for one final payday. Turning the tables a bit, Mayweather says it is Molsey who had no choice but to accept their fight. Mosley has said in several interviews that it was Mayweather who was forced to take their fight because of the failed Manny Pacquiao negotiations.
“I just think that Shane Mosley, he’s desperate, so he has no choice but to fight me. His career’s coming to an end and, before he goes, he wants that last big payday,” Mayweather said.
Yes he did. Mayweather went there. He brought up Mosley's recent divorce from Jin. He thinks the divorce, along with several other factors, cost Mosley a big chunk of his bank account. He vows to punish Mosley into retirement. He wants to make the California native regret his decision to step in the ring at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“I don’t really like to speak on people’s personal business, because his personal life is his personal life, but he just went through a divorce, and sometimes going through a hard divorce can be very, very excruciating,” Mayweather said. “It can cost a lot of money. And turning down a big-money fight with De La Hoya, then going back to ESPN -- things like that add up.”
“I told Shane Mosley that all roads lead through Floyd Mayweather and that everybody makes their biggest payday with me. I think it just took him 12 years to see that this is true.”
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