PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 03 Mar 2010
NEW YORK (March 2) - "Who R U Picking?" "Who are you picking?" The buzz surrounding the biggest night of boxing this year has already started as superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd "Money" Mayweather and welterweight mega-star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet in Mayweather vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking?, on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
The bout, promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, Dewalt Tools and StubHub,promises to be a spectacular display of talent and skill with Mayweather and Mosley will meet in a 12-round welterweight battle that is already being compared to other great and historic welterweight match-ups like Sugar Ray Leonard against Tommy Hearns and Oscar de la Hoya against Felix Trinidad.
"Ever since I came back to the sport I said I only wanted to fight the best and Shane Mosley is one of the best," said Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO's). "Not only does he have the skills, but he is also fast, strong and a very tough competitor. His speed and power won't mean much that night against my will and determination to dominate him inside the square circle. When I compete against the best, I am always at my best; so on May 1 the fans will see one great performance."
"I have always wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather and now that dream is finally coming true," said Mosley, (46-5, 39 KO's). "Floyd is excellent at what he does, but my past record of beating the best competition and other great champions shows that he is just another one of my opponents I intend to beat. He has never faced anyone like me before and I think that will be a big factor on May 1 when I plan to show him just what it means to meet a true champion in the ring."
"This fight has been in the making for a long time and now Floyd has the opportunity to showcase his skills against a great champion like Shane," said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO, Mayweather Promotions. "It is these kinds of opportunities that elevate and excite Floyd. The people and the polls might be wondering who is going to win this fight, but on May 1, I have no doubt that Floyd is going to give them a dominant performance and continue to prove why he is the best fighter in the world today. "
"The theme of this fight is "who are you picking?" because when two champions of this caliber meet in the ring, you can expect nothing but an extremely competitive fight and an unknown outcome that will only reveal itself on May 1," said Richard Schaefer, CEO, Golden Boy Promotions. "Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and so is Floyd Mayweather, so it is a true gift that the fans will have the opportunity to see a fiercely competitive and fantastic night of boxing."
"MGM Grand is thrilled to host two of the sport's superstars," said Richard Sturm, President of Sports and Entertainment for MGM MIRAGE. "Mayweather and Mosley bring tremendous speed and skill to the ring and will no doubt electrify the fans on May 1."
"Mayweather vs. 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, the undefeated Floyd Mayweather 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. He now faces Mosley on May 1 in what will be one of his most challenging contests to date.
In addition to his boxing accomplishments, Mayweather has managed to become a crossover star, appearing in HBO®'s Emmy® award winning reality series "24/7" three separate times as he provided cameras with an all access look at his training and personal life. Additionally, as a competitor on ABC's Dancing With The Stars, Mayweather was introduced to a completely new audience with over 35 million viewers tuning in each week.
It would be easy for Sugar Shane Mosley to be a satisfied man, but Mosley will not be content until he feels that he has climbed every mountain the sport has to offer, including beating Floyd Mayweather on May 1. His goal is to continue to win as this future Hall of Famer always has, compiling six world titles and having ruled the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions over his storied 16-year career. Mosley has defeated them all, including the likes of Oscar de la Hoya, Fernando Vargas (twice), Luis Collazo and Ricardo Mayorga, but his most recent victory could be his most spectacular - a ninth round stoppage of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 to win the welterweight world title for the third time.
Mosley has a worldwide fan base and feels that he can continue to win, including one more world championship, his sixth, which is an amazing feat for any fighter, but seems easy when you're a given the hallowed "Sugar" nickname, shared by Mosley with the legendary "Sugars," Robinson and Leonard. He also hopes to ascend back to the number one spot on the mythical pound for pound list, which will only happen by taking on the best in the world, fight in and fight out.
Tickets priced are $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at
www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Source: PhilBoxing.com
