Mayweather Sr, Jack Mosley Trade Strong Fight Opinions

Mayweather vs Mosley
By Rick Reeno

Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Jack Mosley have similiar background stories in the sport of boxing. Mayweather Sr. started training his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr., at a very young age and guided his pro career until the two of them had a falling out many years ago. Floyd Sr.'s brother Roger took over as head trainer.

Like Mayweather Sr., Jack Mosley started training his own son, Shane Mosley, at a very young age and guided his pro career until the two of them had a falling out a few years ago. Shane's current trainer is Naazim Richardson.

Both Jack and Floyd Sr. sit in the background as their sons prepare for a scheduled super-fight on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

According to Jack, a plan to beat Mayweather Jr. was discussed as far back as ten years ago, when Floyd Jr. was dominating the super featherweight division and Shane was an undefeated lightweight champion.

"We've had strategies to fight Floyd, since Floyd's been boxing....so if we ever had the chance to fight him - we already knew how to fight Floyd, and beat him. It won't be a surprise to me when Shane beats him. We already studied him over and over and I'm sure Floyd studied Shane over and over," Jack said.

"We already laid tracks across our brains on how to fight him. Just checking him out, everything he does. It's not going to be a surprise to me when Shane wins because we've already had the strategy for years."

Jack believes his son's physicality and boxing abilities will overwhelm Floyd Jr. as the fight plays out.

"Shane is a boxer-puncher. I call it power-boxing. I'm thinking that when you're boxing a guy who may be defensive in all of his other fights, he may not be as defensive against a guy of Shane's talent. In that respect, I think Shane will be too much for Floyd to handle. He's too powerful. He takes a good punch. He hits like a heavyweight and he's fast enough to hit Floyd," Jack said.

"He's fast enough to hit Floyd, over and over and over again. And that's going to be a big problem for Floyd, and with power."

Floyd Sr., who is never at a loss for words, heard Jack's comments and fired off his own thoughts on the fight. He believes Shane's power will be neutralized by Floyd Jr.'s defense and speed.

"First off, I heard these crazy things from Jack about what Shane is going to do. Shane is going to get his ass whooped. This is what's going to happen because little Floyd is faster than Shane, much faster, much slicker, more clever, smarter and he has so many things that he can do. We already know the outline on him because Oscar De La Hoya already showed that. We already know what to do with Shane," Floyd Sr. said.

"To tell you the truth, he never really beat a black fighter, and that tells you right there on how it's going to be."

Shane is coming into this fight with a lot of steam due to last year's dominating knockout of Antonio Margarito. Floyd Sr. is not impressed with Shane's win over Margarito, and he doesn't view Shane as the biggest and/or strongest opponent in the career of Floyd Jr.

"Margarito was a walking mummy. He was a tailor-made for Shane. Floyd just has too many thing he can use against Shane. Shane is not smart. He had quick hands. He doesn't use the jab enough and when he does use it, he's going to get countered," Floyd Sr. said.

"Shane don't punch as hard as Oscar De La Hoya? Floyd fought De La Hoya and Shane is not a bigger puncher than De La Hoya. He might swing a little wider, but as far as him hitting harder I don't know about that. You have to remember one thing, hitting doesn't mean sh*t if you can't find something to hit."

"What Oscar did to him already, it's a blueprint. Oscar beat the hell out of him already. The blueprint is already laid out for him. He ain't get no better. How is he going to get better? Shane knows what's coming."

As far as the level of difficultly is concerned, Floyd Sr. does view Mosley as a stiffer test for his son than a possible fight with Manny Pacquiao.

"On the real, I think Shane would be the tougher fight. Shane would be the tougher fight because of certain reasons, so figure it out. Shane would be a much tougher fight than that 'whatever' over there that fights like a machine," Floyd Sr. said.

Source: boxingscene.com

JACK MOSLEY: "WE ALREADY KNOW HOW TO FIGHT FLOYD AND BEAT HIM"

Mayweather vs Mosley
By Ben Thompson | April 07, 2010

"Floyd and Shane are two great fighters. They both have speed and tremendous talent; both have great defenses. I just think it will be a tremendous fight on May 1st...we've been having a strategy to fight Floyd since Floyd's been boxing. So if we ever had a chance to fight him, we already know how to fight Floyd and beat him. So it won't be a surprise to me when Shane beats him, you know? Because we already studied him over and over again...I just think Shane will be too much for Floyd to handle. He's too powerful, he takes a good punch, he hits like a heavyweight and he's fast enough to hit Floyd. If they think Floyd is faster than Shane, let me just say it this way, he's fast enough to hit Floyd over and over and over again. And that's going to be a problem for Floyd.," stated Jack Mosley moments ago during a conference call with Floyd Mayweather Sr. to discuss the upcoming showdown between their sons, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr.. Check out what else he had to say regarding Mosley's training, the actual fight and much more.

JACK MOSLEY:

Floyd and Shane are two great fighters. They both have speed and tremendous talent; both have great defenses. I just think it will be a tremendous fight on May 1st. It should've happened a long time ago, but better late than never and the winner should go on to fight Pacquiao.

I'm secure enough to know that he knows how to win if he's in the corner by himself.

As far as I'm concerned, he's gonna always be a great fighter. That's just the nature of Shane. Shane has been taught to train vigorously for each fight, so he's gonna always be in a situation where he's gonna progress, even if it's not just him doing the work himself. Shane knows how to train. He knows what to do. This is his job.

It would be a great feat for Shane [to beat Mayweather]. He can go on and fight Pacquiao and once again prove to everybody what a great talent he is and how much he's bringing to the sport of boxing.

I've always told Shane he needs to talk a little more because a mouth that stays closed never gets fed. So guys like Floyd and Roy and Bernard, they usually kind of get the jump on him because they're running their mouths and people, while they might not like that, they're on top with the PR stuff. So I enourage Shane to start talking a little more to let people know that, "Hey, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." So a win would be tremondous, in fact, stupendous.

Shane trains year round. He don't stop training. He's always busy playing basketball or something. He's like a big kid. I mean, 38, it doesn't mean anything because Shane takes his supplements, he takes care of himself, he drinks a lot of water, things like that, and that keeps him in shape.

Well, from what I've been told, Shane was getting ready to move up to 147 and he asked Floyd if he wanted to fight him. If he did, come on up to 135 and they can fight and then he can go on ahead and move up to 147. But Floyd said he wanted to remain undefeated...he wanted to break the record of, I don't know, I'm not sure who the guy was, Carlos Monzon or something, break his record of being undefeated or something, title defenses or something like that, I'm not exactly sure, but it was something like that. So Shane said, "Well, fine," and he just moved up to 147. And then, of course, shortly after that, Floyd moved up to 135.

I haven't been up to Big Bear to see what he's doing. Like I said before, Shane already knows how to fight. I've trained him from age 8 up till now and that's 30 years, so if he don't know how to fight now, he never will. I don't think anybody can train him to fight any different. He already knows how to fight and so if Shane, at this point, wanted someone else to traine him, well fine.

I don't know what he's [Naazim Richardson] doing with Shane. I know when Shane fights, he fights the way that I've trained him to fight. I see that, you know? But like you said, a strategy to do certain things, well, I mean, that's what he says he's doing, he has a strategy, but let me say this hear, we've been having a strategy to fight Floyd since Floyd's been boxing. So if we ever had a chance to fight him, we already know how to fight Floyd and beat him. So it won't be a surprise to me when Shane beats him, you know? Because we already studied him over and over again. I'm sure Floyd has studied Shane over and over again. We've already laid the tracks across our brains how to fight him...we already know how to beat him.

The style that they've given Floyd Jr. hasn't changed...basically, he's been the same fighter all of his career. Coming out the Olympics, he's the same fighter. He might be slightly more defensive, because you gotta be kind of offensive as an amateur, but as a pro, he's been more defensive. Unless you're a guy that he knows he can really, really beat. He'll come after you then. So he's not a stupid fighter at all. Now, he's not just going to run after Shane like Shane is Marquez. He's not going to do that. That's his style. He's got a style where he'll try to adapt to your style, and also Shane can do the same thing.

I think Shane is a defensive fighter also. People don't know that. They think he's not, but Shane is a boxer-puncher. I call it Power Boxing. And so I'm thinking when you're boxing a guy who may be defensive against all of his other fights, he may not be so defensive against a guy of Shane's talent, you follow what I'm saying? So in that respect, I just think Shane will be too much for Floyd to handle. He's too powerful, he takes a good punch, he hits like a heavyweight and he's fast enough to hit Floyd. If they think Floyd is faster than Shane, let me just say it this way, he's fast enough to hit Floyd over and over and over again. And that's going to be a problem for Floyd.

Source: fighthype.com

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR.: "SHANE IS A WALKING MUMMY...THIS FIGHT WON'T GO PAST 11"

Mayweather vs Mosley
By Ben Thompson | April 07, 2010

"I think this could be one of his biggest victories, but, I mean, overall, I'm not...I'm going to be honest with you, I really believe that Shane's not going to be Lil Floyd's toughest fight that he done had yet. Because from what I done seen of Shane, all that Margarito stuff that he was doing, that ain't nothing man...Floyd has been looking great. In what way? Every way possible. I'm just telling you. Floyd's not having a problem at all. Floyd's rarely getting hit...Lil Floyd got too much mind for Shane. Trust me! You gonna see Shane is going to be a walking mummy," stated Floyd Mayweather Sr. moments ago during a conference call with Jack Mosley to discuss the upcoming showdown between their sons, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley. Check out what else he had to say regarding Floyd's training, the actual fight and much more.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR.:

Shane gonna get his ass whooped! That's what's going to happen because Lil' Floyd is faster than Shane. Much faster, much slicker, more clever, smarter, you know what I'm saying? He's got so many things he can do. Shane's gonna do just what his daddy said, be strong and come straight ahead, and he [Floyd] ain't gotta worry about that.

Like I said, I already know the outline on him because Oscar De La Hoya already showed that. He did that the second time when he fought him, so we already know what to do with Shane. He ain't about nothing!

To be honest with you, to tell you the truth, he never even beat a black fighter.

I think this could be one of his biggest victories, but, I mean, overall, I'm not...I'm going to be honest with you, I really believe that Shane's not going to be Lil Floyd's toughest fight that he done had yet. Because from what I done seen of Shane, all that Margarito stuff that he was doing, that ain't nothing man. Margarito was a walking mummy, so he was taylor-made for Shane.

Floyd got too many things he can use against Shane. Shane is not smart.

He gonna get a whoopin' on the 1st and that's all I'm concerned about. If they whoopin' his ass right now [in training], it'll make it more easier for Lil' Floyd when the 1st get here.

Floyd has been looking great. In what way? Every way possible. I'm just telling you. Floyd's not having a problem at all. Floyd's rarely getting hit. All that stuff he [Jack Mosley] talking about, "Oh, the speed. He can do this and that." Lil Floyd got too much mind for Shane. Trust me! You gonna see Shane is going to be a walking mummy.

He's too smart for Shane. Like I said, I'm gonna let everybody know [breaks into a preview of a poem]:

I want to let everybody know
Right here on HBO
That this fight won't go past 11
And you heard this first from Floyd on 24/7

Everything is going real good in the camp now and Floyd is looking real sharp. Like I said, what Lil Floyd is doing now is amazing right now.

It ain't nothing but a blueprint right there what Oscar did to him already. It'a blueprint. Oscar beat the hell out of him and we already know that it's a little bit different here. The blueprint's already laid out for him. He ain't got no better. How he gonna better? That's what I want to know.

Being real, I would say that Shane would be the tougher fight [as opposed to a fight with Pacquiao].

Shane would be a much tougher fighter if everything was equal. Shane would be much tougher than that whatever over there that fights like a machine. Shane would be much tougher. I'm just saying that, both equally, if everything is on the up and up, Shane would be definitely a much tougher fight.

I don't feel like Shane's the bigger punchers. Shane don't punch as hard as Oscar De La Hoya. Shane don't punch harder than De La Hoya...Shane is not a bigger puncher than De La Hoya. He might swing them a little wider. He might throw his punches a little wider, but as far as him hitting harder, I don't know about that.

You gotta remember one thing. Hittin' don't mean shit when you can't find nothing to hit!

I think that Shane is a tough, competitive fighter and I think that Shane takes a good shot, but I don't think he's as smart as my son. When things like this come down like this, with strength and power and all that stuff, that's when you use your mind. That's what Shane ain't got is a mind. He might have one, I'm just saying. He might have one, but I don't think his is turning like Lil' Floyd's is turning.

Source: fighthype.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. in motion: Timing and Inches!

By Ace Freeman (07-Apr-2010)

“I think Shane is basing everything on power and speed.” Floyd Mayweather Jr. said after signing on to fight Shane Mosley. “It doesn’t work like that. I believe everything in life is timing and inches. It’s not just about being a defensive fighter. It’s about being a smart fighter.”

FightFan.com was live on location at the Mayweather gym in late 2009 and caught this up close and personal view of Mayweather Jr. working his rhythm with head trainer and uncle Roger Mayweather. Get a good look at the pugilist specialist in this never before seen dated footage, only on FightFan.com!



Source: fightfan.com

Shane Mosley Vows to Retire Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather vs Mosley
On May 1, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, unbeaten Floyd "Money" Mayweather "is going to be the hardest fight that he has ever had in his life."

"Everybody else Floyd has been in with has been 135 pounds or at around 140. He's not fought any real 147 pounders, other than Oscar de la Hoya, who gave him a lot of trouble," said Shane Mosley, from his training camp in the mountains of Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Tuesday.

"Right now, my weight is great. I'm probably weighing around 152-ish when I leave the gym. I look at Floyd as a natural welterweight -- a real 147-pounder. In fact, Oscar de la Hoya is the biggest guy that he's fought that was a big welterweight, and Oscar did well against him," said Mosley, who will face Mayweather live on HBO pay per view.

"I'm pretty sure that Floyd will feel more power in this fight that he will have ever had to feel," said Mosley. "And if I can get that knockout, if I get that one shot, and if I can get him hurt, then I'm going to be all over him."

That's how confident the 38-year-old Mosley (46-5, 39 knockouts) was feeling about defending his WBA welterweight (147 pounds) title against the 33-year-old, unbeaten Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) after having showered up following a morning workout just priot to shaking out with trainer, Naazim Richardson.

"I was 38-0 with 35 knockouts when I stepped into the ring and lost for the very first time, wo when you say 40-0, that doesn't mean a thing to me," said Mosley, referring to a January, 2006, unanimous decision to the late Vernon Forrest.

"All that it means is that I'll be the one giving him his first loss," said Mosley. "No disrespect, but I really don't think he's been in there with a fighter like me. I believe that when I beat Floyd, I will send him into retirement. May 1 will be Mayweather's first loss."

Mosley has owned a home in Big Bear since 2000, and has trained there since 1996.

"I've been training in Big Bear, now, for the last 10 years, so this would be my spot. I've been sparring, I've been working with Brother Naazim on different things, strategies and stuff on how to approach the fight," said Mosley.

"I've been doing nine to 12 rounds. Usually, I can do 12 at the beginning of camp, because, basically, I'm always pretty much in shape. Today, I did a little bit of running, and I kind of shook out a little bit," said Mosley. "I had a pretty good session with Brother Naazim today for, like, hitting mits and stuff like that. I probably won't spar today. I don't spar everyday."

But when Mosley has sparred, lately, it has been with a versatile group such as 24-year-old, junior welterweight (140 pounds) Karl Dargan (7-0, three KOs), of Philadelphia.

Another goer has been 29-year-old Enrique Ornelas (29-6, 19 KOs), a durable fighter who has gone at middleweight (160 pounds), supermiddleweight (168 poounds), and, even at light heavyweight (175 pounds), and, whom Mosley calls, "a big body to punch on."

"We've got a couple of guys coming in there for speed. We're doing a couple of things, and we're getting him a few different looks. Dargan imitates Mayweather really well, but nobody actually fights like Mayweather. If they did, they'd be in their own camps getting ready to defend their belts," said Richardson, who also trains legendary middleweight and light heavyweight king, Bernard Hopkins.

"We're trying to get Shane in the best shape that we can, and if we get the best Shane Mosley, that should be enough to carry out our best plan," said Richardson. "Right now, I feel like Shane's really adopting what we're trying to get into, and he's so confident that I think we'll be in good shape."

Mosley believes that he is ready for anything that Mayweather has to offer.

"I expect him to expect him to fight in the center for a little while and to see what he can do with that, and I expect him to fight off of the ropes a little bit. I expect him to do whatever he can to try to disrupt and upset my rhythm," said Mosley.

"For a while, I think that we're both going to be playing the same game, but if I have an advantage of outboxing him, then I'll outbox him," said Mosley. "If I have an advantage of being stronger than him, then I'll use that. Whatever is at my advantage, I'll do."

Could Mosley's strategy involve being "a dictator" of the action, as he was against Margarito?

"Style-wise, Floyd just doesn't really like to engage in a fight until he's ready to engage. He has to be forced to engage in a real fight, which makes him different. Other fighters will try to engage and try to knock you out early and really fight you, where Floyd kind of boxes around, moves, touches, taps," said Mosley.

"Floyd is the type of fighter who, if he doesn't feel comfortable or confident, he's not going to fight you. So I have to be ready for that type of mentality that he has of touching and moving, touching and moving. I have to make it difficult for him to just touch and move," said Mosley. "So that's going to be one of the assignments is to make it harder for him to get his shots off so that he fights me a little bit. When he fights me, that will open him up for my speed and power."

A solid body attack could also be critical, said Mosley, adding, "But you just can't do one thing" against Mayweather.

"With Floyd, you have to focus on everything. You have to have a broad picture," said Mosley. "Maybe a couple of rounds, I'll focus on a body attack, and spend another round focusing just attacking. It will be a total package of things that I will want to do in there."

Not only will Mosley be fighting for only the third time in 30 months when he enters the ring against Mayweather, but he will also be ending a nearly 16 month ring absence since his last fight -- a January, 2009, ninth-round knockout victory which dethroned Antonio Margarito as WBA super world welterweight champion.

After losing his, November, 2007 bid for Miguel Cotto's WBA crown by 12-round, unanimous decision, Mosley rose to junior middleweight (154 pounds), where he stopped former world champion, Ricardo Mayorga, in the 12th round in September of 2008.

Still, Mosley contends that neither age, nor ring rust will be a factor against Mayweather, a man who, himself, will have fought once in 29 months -- September's lopsided, 12-round unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez that ended a 21-month span between his December, 2007 10th-round stoppage of Ricky Hatton.

"Fortunately, I'm a guy who loves the boxing game and who loves to fight," said Mosley. "If I wasn't, then maybe the layoffs would have affected me if I wasn't into boxing the way that I am. I just like to train, and I just like to go to the gym."

Having been scheduled to face WBC king, Andre Berto (25-0, 19 KOs), on Jan. 30 before the latter pulled out of the fight amid distress for his Hatian relatives who were killed in a mid-January earthquake that rocked that island nation, Mosley said he was never far from being in fighting condition.

"I prepared myself for the Berto fight. The only thing that I didn't get to do was to get into the ring and fight. But I did an entire training camp getting ready for Andre Berto, which was a tough fighter -- very fast and quick," said Mosley.

"It may be considered a layoff, maybe, because of the people outside didn't get a chance to see me fight, but I was in great shape," said Mosley. "I was in training camp shape. And before that, I fought Antonio Margarito, and that was a great training camp."

Source: boxing.fanhouse.com

If Mayweather drops drug test issue, fight is on – Arum

Mayweather vs Mosley
By NICK GIONGCO
April 7, 2010, 7:31pm

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum told the media gathered in Los Angeles Wednesday that the only thing that would pave the way for having the megabuck fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. is if the American drops his drug-testing demands.

“(If Mayweather) stops the nonsense,” said Arum, the much-awaited showdown between the current pound-for-pound king and the former holder of that mythical title, will take place.

Talking to fighthype, Arum said a clearer picture of what lies ahead for Pacquiao should be known after the May 10 elections. Pacquiao is running for a congress seat in Sarangani province.

Arum said that while a November date is being looked at, Pacquiao could fight as early as September although a win in the elections would push the fight back to November.

“October is out because of the World Series (of baseball),” said Arum.

Pacquiao-Mayweather was close to being done but a last-minute demand by Mayweather for Olympic-style drug testing to be done on them was the deal-breaker.

Pacquiao contested that there was no reason for him to undergo such tests since he has never even tested positive for a banned substance in all of his 18 fights on US soil.

Arum said Mayweather is on top of the list of priorities, while also being looked at are Antonio Margarito and Juan Manuel Marquez and possibly the winner of the June superwelterweight battle between Miguel Cotto and Yuri Foreman.

It is widely believed that Pacquiao is in the final phase of his storied career and that the Mayweather fight will be his last ring appearance.

Source: mb.com.ph

FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR.: "SHANE AIN'T NEVER BEAT A BLACK FIGHTER SINCE HE LOST"

Mayweather vs Mosley
FightHype.com recently caught up with world-class trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to get an update on how his son, Floyd Mayweather Jr., is looking as he continues to train for his upcoming showdown with WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley. "I like what I see in Lil' Floyd right now. The thing I like is he's really letting his hands go," he stated. Those comments coincide with what numerous sources have been saying about how Mayweather has been looking in training camp. According to some eyewitnesses, Mayweather has been having his way with his sparring partners. According to Mayweather Sr., however, the same cannot be said for Shane Mosley's training camp.

"I hear he is getting his ass whooped in camp. I don't know if it's true, but I hear he getting his ass whooped," he continued. While it's unclear as to who may have passed that information along to Mayweather Sr., it is concerning to know that with just 4 weeks left until the fight, Mosley's head trainer, Naazim Richardson, is just now joining Team Mosley in camp after spending the last 2 months preparing Steve Cunningham and Bernard Hopkins for their respective bouts.

Regardless, Mayweather Sr. believes that even with Naazim Richardson in his corner, there's one major mental hurdle that Mosley will never get over. "Shane ain't never beat a black fighter since he lost," he added. "He's only been fighting Mexican fighters since Forrest and Winky beat him and hell, Oscar beat him the second time."

MUCH MORE FROM FLOYD MAYWEATHER SR. COMING SOON...

Source: fighthype.com

Floyd Mayweather's testing campaign spreading?

Mayweather vs Mosley
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage

Floyd Mayweather's campaign to clean up the sport appears to have gained at least one new fan.

Ukrainian heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin is apparently asking that Wladimir Klitschko agrees to pass WADA (world anti doping agency) testing before their IBF title fight.

The situation is a little different than the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao debacle though, and Wladimir still has yet to publicly respond to the demand.

The major difference is that to demand these kinds of terms usually requires some kind of bargaining power. In the case of Mayweather and Pacquiao, both were bringing a lot of drawing power to the table and had more or less equal power in dictating what the terms would be. Also both were sufficiently well known and decorated enough to simply walk away and take other high profile fights if things didn't work out.

In Povetkin's case he is a fairly anonymous albeit talented challenger for one of Klitschko's three belts.

He essentially has no bargaining power at all in the terms because Wladimir would probably rather skip him altogether and fight David Haye anyway. He brings another notch on Wladimir's belts, Wladimir brings the belts themselves. Not to mention the fan base in Europe and the track record of making top ranked challengers look like amateurs.

Also aside from anything else, if the commissions aren't making Klitschko do something, then he will always have the final say as champion. If Povetkin argues then he will simply lose his title shot, which will present the IBF with an interesting problem. What to do when your interim champion won't fight the champion and there are very few decent contenders out there?

Both of the Klitschko brothers have said recently that they think Povetkin is scared of them, and that he would find some way out of his title shot against Wladimir. If they're right, then Povetkin might be biding his time until one or both of them are retired at which time title belts will presumably be easier to come by.

Speaking to the Russian media, Vitali Klitschko said of Povetkin:

"I have a feeling that Povetkin and his team do not want a fight with Wladimir, especially after what my brother did to [Eddie] Chambers. I think they understand this fight will be the end for Alexander. I support Povetkin and I watch his fights, but the promoters and managers can ruin a promising career by throwing him to the lions. I am sure Alexander will be a world champion one day, but he must wait until the Klitschkos are long gone."

There is however an additional piece of information which might be brought up by Povetkin should Wladimir refuse the testing. Back in 1996 when both of the Klitschko's were amateurs Vitali was caught using steroids. He has gone to a doctor with a knee injury from his kickboxing days and hadn't checked the doping lists for what he was given.

Obviously by the sounds of things Vitali wasn't trying to use any performance enhancing drugs in the traditional sense, and being an amateur probably didn't know any better in those days. Still Povetkin and his team might try to take advantage of this long forgotten error if the situation develops further.

Source: Examiner.com

Never-ending grind: Naazim Richardson back in camp with Shane Mosley in Big Bear

Mayweather vs Mosley
Las Vegas Boxing Examiner | Chris Robinson

Speaking from the downstairs lobby of the Mandalay Bay this past weekend, well respected trainer Naazim Richardson opened up on a myriad of topics. The North Philadelphia native was in Las Vegas with his fighter Bernard Hopkins as they geared up for their heated rematch with Roy Jones Jr. and took time to speak on his relationship with Bernard as well as his duties with other pugilists in Steve Cunningham and ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley.

Even before he had hooked up with Mosley for their January 2009 bout against favored Antonio Margarito, Richardson claims that he had always looked at Shane as a gifted athlete who he would have loved to work with. Speaking further Richardson described Mosley as a ‘great human being who simply knows how to fight his ass off’.

The results of the first Mosley-Richardson pairing were outstanding, as Shane blew through Margarito over nine-lopsided rounds at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was a career-reviving type of win and gave hope to Mosley’s backers that he still had enough left to not only compete but also defeat the very best fighters at 147 pounds.

One concern amongst many in the boxing world was that perhaps Richardson was spreading himself too thin. After Hopkins’ early December win over Enrique Ornelas, Richardson joined Shane in camp in Big Bear as they prepped for a showdown with young titlist Andre Berto in late January. Berto would end up pulling out of the bout less than two weeks before the contest and that opened up doors for a Mayweather-Mosley encounter. But Richardson soon found himself in Miami, Florida with Team Hopkins as they got ready for the Jones rematch and Mosley was left to tend matters on his own.

When asked for his stance on the situation Richardson claims that he checked up with Mosley daily to make sure that training was up to par and that their game plan was still in tact. Richardson pointed to Mosley’s professionalism and long duration in the sport as sure signs that he would still be able to flourish in camp until the two touched bases following the Hopkins-Jones II bout.

While in Nevada Richardson claimed that he was going to leave Las Vegas the Sunday following the Hopkins-Jones rematch to make the most of the precious weeks he had left with Shane. Speaking from Big Bear earlier today, Richardson insists that everything was right where he left it and that the camp is back in an intense but well-paced rhythm.

Look for an in depth, follow-up interview with Richardson later this week where he breaks down all angles to a Mayweather-Mosley confrontation…

Shane Mosley’s connection to Big Bear

Over the years Big Bear, California has played host to fighters from all walks of life looking to make the most of their abilities. During their younger years in the sport both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and former IBF Jr. Middleweight champion Fernando Vargas made the trek up the mountain to train but there has been no fighter with such a loyalty to the area as Mosley.

Shane has trained out of Big Bear since 1996 and has owned property of his own since 2000, including a private home which includes a personal boxing gym. With Mosley in camp this time around are former champion Cunningham, sparring partner Karl ‘Kid Dynamite’ Dargan, fitness trainer Gustavo Satragni, camp coordinator Hassan Abdulrahim Jr., Richardson, head of security Elliot Ness, and his own son and amateur welterweight Shane Mosley Jr.

Mosley’s days typically consist of getting up at 7 in the morning to go running, followed up by work with his fitness trainer and breakfast after that. Mosley later does media interviews and rests during the day while going back to the gym in the evening to train with Richardson and Hassan. The mood in camp is said to be relaxed and focused and the Pomona native seems to be fine-tuning himself for the fight of his life.

Source: Examiner.com

I give first round to Mayweather over Mosley: Floyd hires slick Forbes

Mayweather vs Mosley
Boxing Examiner | Michael Marley

An ideal sparring partner for Sugar Shane Mosley, now less than a month away from trying to end Floyd Mayweather's 40 bout undefeated streak, would have been Stevie "Two Pound" Forbes.

The personable Forbes, who put so many dents in Oscar de la Hoya's face when they fought that the vainglorious one was late for the postfight presser because he added makeup to cover up, was the first guy I thought of who should be in Mosley's camp up at Big Bear Lake, in the mountains of SoCal.

I reached out to Forbes on Facebook and asked who he thought could emulate Mayweather, shoulder rolls and all, to benefit Mosley's training.

Like an electricfied jab to the nose, Forbes responded in a prompt and timely manner.

"The only person that has trained with those guys and has had success fighting in that style is me. And Mayweather beat him to the punch on that one because

Now don't get me wrong. Mosley can find guys with good hand and foot speed. And his camp can dig up some counterpunchers.

But their Number 1 selection as a sparmate should have been the obvious choice, Forbes.

I give the "opening round" then to Mayweather.

By taking Forbes off the sparring table, he helped himself and put Mosley at a disadvantage at the same time.

I guess Mayweather and his crew have their thinking caps on already.

I am keen to discover who then His Sugarship will use for batting practice.

Forbes is also held in high regard in the Manny Pacquiao camp. He has sparred with the Pinoy Idol numerous times, lastly for the Joshua Clottey bout, and has a nice rapport with Coach Freddie Roach.

Source: Examiner.com

No news is good news with Mayweather/Mosley testing

Mayweather vs Mosley
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage

It has been speculated recently by several reporters that the results of the initial tests taken by Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley are being kept secret.

The USADA have apparently received samples of both blood and urine from both fighters at least once and will continue to do so leading up to the fight at random intervals.

The NSAC have yet to receive access to all of the results, but the fact that nothing has been made public isn't necessarily a sign of anything suspicious.

Its easy to tent to think along the lines of the Teddy Atlas 'secret source' incident in that the results might be kept secret regardless of the results. Or at least until after the fight anyway.

If either man had tested positive for anything, especially this far out though, the fight would probably have been called off already. In fact this would actually benefit Floyd Mayweather, although of course he would lose the big payday that Mosley would bring.

If Mosley had tested positive, Mayweather's behavior in initiating the extra testing would have suddenly been validated. Similarly he would have a lot more fuel to demand fully random testing from his Filipino nemesis, Manny Pacquiao.

Not only this but far from looking like he was playing negotiation head games or as if he was looking for an excuse to get out of fights he didn't want, his crusade would seem genuine.

So given that nothing has been made public or been heard, there is almost certainly nothing to report other than that both fighters have been found clean as a whistle.

The real controversy about the testing process isn't that nothing has been heard as of yet. Firstly the under card fighters don't seem to be under the same kind of rules as the headlining fighters. Surely if Golden Boy were really on side with Mayweather they would extend his testing campaign to the rest of the fight card as well.

Juan, Pittsburgh: "I bet they aren't even doing any testing, the whole thing was probably just some kind of gimmick to get FraudWeather out or the Pacquiao fight"

Henry, Harrisburg: "Neither is going to test positive for anything, neither looks like they use HGH and Mosley wouldn't dare use steroids anymore. He needs the money"

Stephan, Pittsburgh: "The results are being told to the people who need to know the results. Besides if they are giving the results to the NSAC then they are hardly going to keep them secret until after the fight. Otherwise what's the point of having them in the first place?"

Source: Examiner.com

Why have Golden Boy Promotions, Mayweather Jr, and Mosley kept the initial drug tests a secret?

Mayweather vs Mosley
Sacramento Fight Sports Examiner | Rick Rockwell

After all the hype and quarreling over Olympic style drug testing, why have Golden Boy Promotions, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Shane Mosley, and the USADA kept the details of the first round of drug tests and results a secret? With less than 4 weeks until the fight, why are there no details on the most publicized drug testing in the history of Boxing? Let’s examine further.

Keith Kizer, Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, reported that Mayweather and Mosley have already been tested by the USADA. However, there are no reported details of when the test was taken or what the results are.

This makes no sense to me. This fight has become the “Drug Match” of Boxing. All the parties involved participated in multiple press conferences discussing and hyping the details and significance of being the first boxers to participate in Olympic Style Drug Testing. Yet, there has been secrecy as to when the first test was taken and what the results are.

We were told that the details would be made public. Perhaps the USADA and GBP should have clarified how long it would take before the results were made public because as of right now, it remains unknown as to when or if we will get the drug test details.

If you remember, both fighters are to make there whereabouts known to the USADA at all times and drug samples would be kept by the USADA for future testing as well. Both fighters also face a 2 year ban from Boxing if they test positive. So with all of these strict obligations, why are we still in the dark about the initial drug tests?

The most frustrating thing about all of this is the that the USADA hyped up these fighters for being courageous in their efforts to clean up the sport. Yet, neither fighter has been courageous enough to tell the public about the details of their initial drug tests.

“These athletes are courageous in their position and their desire to be held to the most stringent anti-doping program to protect their right to compete clean. At this point, both athletes have agreed to USADA's testing protocols, including both blood and urine testing, which is unannounced, which is anywhere, anytime." Travis Tygart, USADA


Conclusion

Eric Davidson Sacramento, CA “I thought that this drug testing was supposed to be transparent and open to the public?”

That’s what we were led to believe. However, that’s not what’s happening. We have to hear second hand about the details.

Jennifer Johnstone Sacramento, CA “Why hasn’t GBP issued a press release about the first round of tests?”

I wonder the same thing. They issue press releases for everything else. You would think that Golden Boy Promotions would issue a press release about the initial tests especially considering how much they hyped up the entire implementation of drug testing.

Source: Examiner.com

If Mayweather wins does he take the number one spot away from Pacquiao?

Mayweather vs Mosley
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage

Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley will likely be the biggest selling fight of the year and pits the second and third ranked welterweights against each other.

What makes the fight intriguing is that Mayweather has yet to fight any of the current crop of top welterweights. With a win over Mosley some will rank Mayweather ahead of Pacquiao. Obviously fans of either will claim that their fighter is the better and should be ranked accordingly.

The question will be how you compare the recent wins of the pair, and especially those that happened at welterweight. Both have fought Hatton, both have fought De Le Hoya, so not much to choose from there.

The real comparison will be considering Mosley along side Cotto and Clottey.

On the Mayweather side of the argument there will be fans out there saying that beating Mosley is at least as impressive as beating Cotto, and that Clottey isn't even a factor. A decent top ten win, but not really relevant when discussing the very top of the rankings tree.

In most ranking systems, Pacquiao attained his win over the number two ranked welterweight at the time in Miguel Cotto. Going on rankings alone then he still has a more impressive win than Mosley.

There is also the argument to be made however that Cotto was past his best after the beating he took from Antonion Margarito. Then again Mosley at 38 probably isn't at the peak of his powers either.

A case can be argued for either, but the best way to work the rankings out after May would be for Pacquiao to fight the winner of Mayweather vs. Mosley. Given that it probably won't happen if Mayweather wins, then the only other way to guage their respective achievements will be to wait and see who both fight over the next year or so. There aren't that many big names at welterweight right now that they can both continue to fight top guys, so sooner or later one of them will be visibly fighting lesser competition than the other.

A wild card entering the discussions sooner or later will be Antonio Margarito, who looks set to craw his way back into contention license from the CSAC or otherwise. A win over him for either man would clearly place them at the top of the rankings pile. Also there is Andre Berto to consider, at the moment a fringe contender but still undefeated and perhaps after another fight or two a force in the division.
Paul, Pittsburgh: "Pacquiao is a cheat and Floyd is a coward so neither of them deserves to be the top ranked guy. Hopefully someone comes up through the ranks and beats both of them"

James, Pittsburgh: "Mayweather can never be ranked higher than Pacquiao without fighting him, he's too inactive, he doesn't finish fighters that Pacquiao would have and he's only fighting Mosley because he had to"

Source: Examiner.com

Floyd Mayweather will be chilling like villain in Shane Mosley ambush

Mayweather vs Mosley
Boxing Examiner | Michael Marley

Old time cowboy movies, sometimes referred to as horse operas, usually had nifty titles.

"Bad Day At Black Rock." "Gunfight at the OK Corral." "Boot Hill."

Before the flick unspooled, you knew you would see the good guys and the baddies mixing it up in wild shootouts, quite often inside of or right outside the Dry Gulch Saloon.

That's what gave the Western classics such rich historic flavor and substance.

There really was a Bucket Of Blood saloon in silver mining Mecca Virgin City, looming high above the Carson (Nevada) Valley and not far from Reno. It's still there.

We used to frolic there during my college years. There were those nights when the Rumpus Room in Reno had to be detoxified, you see.

On Saturday May 1, at the Manadalay Bay in Las Vegas, it's going to be a bad night for the guy wearing the white hat.

His name is Shane Donte Mosley and his fight against the villain Floyd Mayweather Jr. (he wears the black like hat Johnny Ringo or Pecos Bill used to) is not going to a bumpy ride.

As a public service to all you Mayweater haters, and I know you are legion, you're being setup like the Boomtown sheriff who walks into a trap and gets filled with lead.

this Congressional candidate from Sarangani can possibly derail the Mayweather Express Train (Pacland)

This won't be a fight, it's going to be an ambush.

Hide the women and children, I say.

Mosley, who turns 39 in September, is being used as Mayweather fodder and he has zero chance of winning this bout.

There I said it, zero. Maybe I should make it subzero.

It's not his fault but a quick look at Mosley's last eight opponents reveals why he will go into a panic and be continually frustrated when Mayweather starts with the shoulder rolls and the dipsy doodle defensive techniques he has perfected while mowing down 40 victims.

Mosley will be Victim No. 41.

Yes, Mosley stopped robotic Antonio Margarito in nine rounds. What relevance has that to fighting Mayweather?

None.

Mouth That Roared: Mayweather will be crowing after he squashes older man Mosley on May 1 (AP Photo)

Ricardo Mayroga, much more crude, unpolished and less disciplined that Margocheato, he got halted in 12.

Are you seeing a pattern of foes who bear no ring resemblance to Money May?

Miguel Cotto, who can box some and punches well, nipped Mosley by decision.

Mosley outpointed lefty slickster and often avoided Luis Collazao, another opponent with no relevance to L'il Floyd.

Shane Mosley may not be more competitive with Mayweather than tiny tot Juan Ma was, Michael Marley opines (AP Photo)



Mosley collected two TKOs over brawler Fernando Vargas.

He took 10 round decisions over Jose Luis Cruz and David Estrada, neither one any big deal.

You've got reach all the way back to 2004 to find a masterful boxing stylist on Mosley's resume.

Through 24 rounds and two bouts, Mosley was clearly outpointed by Winky Wright on scorecards (two points twice and one point in the second bout and by six points twice and four points in the first).

With his southpaw stance and turtle shell defense, there's no comparison between Wright and Mayweather.

The Mayweather bout, with its big payday, comes at a time when the divorce drained Mosley can use the financial injection.

Better losing to Mayweather for millions than to young Andre Berto for a mere bag of peanut shells.

But it comes when his boxing shelf life is winding down.

Go back six, seven, eight years ago...maybe it would've been a different story.

We'll never know.

What I do know and what you Mayweather lovers and haters need to acknowledge is this...on May 1, there's going to be only one man standing when the smoke clears.

Foot speed, hand speed, better jab, superior defense, all factors on the Mayweather side of the ledger.

Mayweather is also considerably younger and with less ring mileage on his odometer.

Cheer for the guy in the white hat all you want, pardner, it won't make a difference.

The villain will be chilling with a dominant victory, whether you hate him like poison or just hate him regular.

Forgive me for being factual.

I know an ambush when I see it.

(mlcmarley@aol.com)

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, April 6: Sugar Shane Mosley Camp Update — Media update with news and recent activities in the Shane Mosley training camp including quotes and pictures.

Wednesday, April 7: Media Conference Call—Fathers Know Best as Floyd Mayweather Sr. and Jack Mosley share their thoughts on the stellar match-up that puts their sons’ skills and boxing acumen on the line for welterweight bragging rights. (1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT)

Thursday, April 8: Floyd Mayweather Camp Update — Media update with news and recent activities in the Floyd Mayweather training camp including quotes and pictures.

Monday, April 12: Shane Mosley Open Media Day — Los Angeles, CA (Location TBA, 11:00 a.m. PT)

*Note: Watch for Sugar Shane Mosley along with Oscar de la Hoya on the George Lopez Show. Seen on TBS at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Tuesday, April 13: Trainers’ Media Conference Call — Roger Mayweather and Nazim Richardson

Wednesday, April 14: Floyd Mayweather Open Media Day — Las Vegas, NV (Mayweather Boxing Gym, 2:00 p.m. PT)

Tuesday, April 20: Shane Mosley Media Conference Call

Thursday, April 22: Floyd Mayweather Media Conference Call

Sunday, April 25: Olvera Street (Los Angeles, CA)—Coming to America Olvera Street Rally hosted by Oscar de la Hoya for Mexican sensation Saul “Canelo” (“Cinnamon”) Alvarez as he makes his Mexican Independence Day and PPV debut. (Time TBA)

Tuesday, April 27: Fighter Grand Arrivals

Wednesday, April 28: Mayweather vs. Mosley Final Press Conference

Thursday, April 29: Mayweather vs. Mosley Undercard Press Conference, Trainer Roundtables and Satellite Media Tour

Friday, April 30: Mayweather vs. Mosley Official Weigh-In

Saturday, May 1: Mayweather vs. Mosley “Who R U Picking?”

*Events/Schedule Subject to Change Without Notice

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.

The Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, which begins at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.

HBO’s Emmy® -Award-winning all-access series “24/7” premieres an all new edition when “24/7 Mayweather/Mosley” debuts Saturday, Apr. 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT. The four-part series will air for three consecutive Saturday nights before the finale airs on Friday, April 30, the night before the welterweight showdown in Las Vegas.

Source: Examiner.com

Sugar Shane Mosley Camp Notes

Mayweather vs Mosley
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 07 Apr 2010

Mosley Confident With Camp Underway

For Sugar Shane Mosley, his May 1 mega-fight against Floyd Mayweather cannot come soon enough. Having longed for this fight for many years, he is mentally and physically ready for battle, with training preparations well underway. Following a three-city media tour which wrapped up in Los Angeles on March 4, Mosley immediately returned to Big Bear, Calif., where he owns a home and has trained since 1996. In the serene mountain environment, Mosley is relaxed, but working extremely hard in preparation for what he knows will be one of the toughest battles of his career. The fact that Mayweather steps into the ring with a record of 40-0 is not intimidating to the former pound-for-pound champ who is ready to take back his throne.

"I was 38-0 with 35 knockouts when I stepped into the ring and lost for the very first time," said Mosley. "So when you say 40-0, that doesn't mean a thing to me. All it means is that I'll be the one giving him his first loss. No disrespect, but I really don't think he's been in there with a fighter like me, and I believe that when I beat Floyd, I will send him into retirement. May first will be May's first loss."

Small Tribe, Strong Tribe

The calm, quiet, and relaxed atmosphere that Mosley is enjoying at camp has been coupled with intense workouts. He and the rest of the Mosley Tribe (as Shane refers to them) stay on the property Mosley has owned since 2000, which includes his private home and a boxing gym. There is also plenty of room for housing sparring partners recruited to help with training. Running begins by 7:00 a.m. each morning and is followed by work with fitness trainer and massage therapist Gustavo Satragni, who is in camp with Mosley for the second time. Satragni, who has worked with the likes of Carlos Baldomir as well as some of the top soccer players from his native Argentina, concentrates his attention on improving Mosley's stamina, balance and flexibility. Then it is off to breakfast with his team and a small group of familiar faces including his trainer Naazim Richardson, his best friend from childhood and second assistant Hassan Abdulrahim Jr., Elliott Ness who handles personal security, sparring partner Karl "Dynamite" Dargan and most importantly, his son Shane Mosley Jr. eats healthy, though weight is not a problem. After doing media interviews and resting during the day, it's back to the gym in the evening, this time to concentrate on boxing training with Richardson and Hassan. In addition to hitting the heavy bags, mitts, and sparring, the team works on a full arsenal of strategies. After boxing, Mosley's day wraps up with some additional stretching and a massage.

It's The "Sugar Bowl" Every Tuesday Night

It not the competition you would expect the five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion to be up against, but every Tuesday night at 6 p.m., he is battling against local bowling enthusiasts...at the Bowling Barn in Big Bear, where Mosley joined a team of town merchants just over two years ago at the encouragement of a local restaurant owner, and competes in a weekly league. With a high score of 242, the bright lights of the league have him hooked, giving Mosley an opportunity to remain competitive out of the ring. Before taking up bowling, Mosley used to spend his spare time in camp snow boarding until Richardson put a halt to him doing so when he assumed the role of head trainer in late 2008.

"Bowling is something I just really enjoy," said Mosley. "It's a chance for me to relax with my tribe and people from this community, hone my skills and have a good time. Just like when I step in the ring, when it comes to bowling and basketball, another favorite sport of mine, I want to win."

Ready For 24/7 Debut

Mosley has been a fan of HBO's Emmy® award winning 24/7 since the series debuted in 2007. With the show's first episode set to air on April 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET / 7:00 p.m. PT, Mosley, along with Mayweather, who has appeared on the show three times before, has allowed cameras behind-the-scenes to capture moments the often reserved Mosley has never shared before. Mosley was asked if he was concerned about the expected on-screen battle with the entertaining Mayweather.

"People who watch 24/7 Mayweather/Mosley will get to see the real me. I'm not worried about being over the top and doing anything crazy like Floyd. He's playing a character and doing his thing. I'm just excited to let the fans in and give them a glimpse of my life and what it's like leading up to one of the biggest fights of my career."

How Much Longer? Not Long!

Mosley head trainer Naazim Richardson has been a busy man over the last six months. Working with both Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins, who just scored a unanimous decision victory over Roy Jones Jr. this past Saturday night in Las Vegas, Richardson has been away from home since December 15, a week after Hopkins fought Enrique Ornelas on December 2 in Philadelphia. At the time, he joined Mosley in Big Bear to begin training for his fight against Andre Berto which was originally scheduled to take place January 30 before Berto withdrew due to losing several members of his family in the earthquake in his home country of Haiti. With the Mayweather fight being signed for May 1 shortly after the cancellation, there was not much of a break in training for Team Mosley

"Other than a short break to visit my family and the time I was gone to train Bernard for the Jones fight, Shane and I have been with each other a lot. We had such a long camp for the Berto fight and we were working on speed and movement anyway. We got right back in rhythm and have moved forward with a very intense, but well paced training camp."

Richardson's background includes years of training amateurs, and he remembers both Mayweather and Mosley as talented young fighters who would one day be the professional World Champions they are today.

"I have a tape of Floyd from the amateurs and guess what? He was saying the same things back then that he says today. That's Floyd, but Shane's a different story. He always had that mild-mannered way about him and it's a great attribute of his character and his success. I told him this fight is to solidify his legacy and become the 3rd Sugar in boxing worthy of being recognized for greatness."

Source: PhilBoxing.com

The Perils of Excellence: Roy Jones, Pacquiao, and Mayweather

Mayweather vs Mosley
Posted By Avi "Shoefly" Korine 5:00 PM

One of the things that distinguished a great fighter from a special fighter is the ability to truly dominate good competition. As I've been thinking back over Roy Jones' career this has again struck me as both a blessing and a curse.

Roy has received enormous amounts of criticism for not facing a particularly high caliber of opposition over the course of his career. Much of this was his fault as he often chose soft fights, but some of it was simply fate; there weren't any truly great light heavyweights over the latter portion of his career.

But there were some very good fighters, men like Montell Griffin and Virgil Hill, and Roy disposed of this type of opponent with ease. In fact, he did it so easily that it served to discredit his own opponent; the thought was that if he could win so easily the opposition wasn't worth much to begin with.

Floyd Mayweather has had similar difficulties over the last few years as well. While he might not have taken every fight the fans wanted, his level of performance against name opponents has been excellent.

And most recently Manny Pacquiao has been victimized by the perils of excellence. He has performed so well that the only logical explanation for many is that he has been facing unimpressive foes.

David Diaz was a paper champ, but no one has ever managed to do what Manny did to him.

Oscar was certainly past his peak, but wasn't it more likely in hindsight that Manny was simply better than we initially thought? Does anyone actually now believe that the Oscar who defeated Steve Forbes only a few months earlier could have contended with Pacquiao?

Did Ricky really have a bad gameplan? Was he actually finally suffering from a lifetime of poor dieting? Or is it more likely that he was just as good as he had been when he dominated Paulie Malignaggi?

Was Miguel Cotto really permanently damaged from his loss to Margarito? Many fighters have never been the same after such a loss, but many have recovered quite well. Cotto looked sharp until Manny landed some big shots, perhaps it was Manny who made the difference.

Joshua Clottey had fought the best of the welterweight division but no one had ever dominated him like Pacquiao did. Perhaps Clottey was overwhelmed by the occasion and had a stomach problem, but isn't it likely that Pacquiao was able to, because of his talent, expose the flaws we knew Clottey had?

This isn't meant so much as a defense of Pacquiao, but as a defense for special fighters, and equally important, a defense of very good fighters.

It is only the very rare champion who can make an elite fighter look average. Special fighters like Roy Jones, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao come along very rarely. That doesn't mean we shouldn't ask them for more. We all wish Roy Jones had taken a few more risks with his career and we all hope that Manny and Floyd eventually face each other.

But it's important to enjoy them while they are around.

Source: sportingnews.com

MAYWEATHER, MOSLEY HAVE TAKEN ONE RANDOM DRUG TEST

Mayweather vs Mosley
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 06 Apr 2010

The executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission has disclosed that Floyd Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley have already been tested for any illegal substance by the US Anti Doping Agency.

Keith Kizer told insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that he was informed by Golden Boy Promotions who will stage the May showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada that “both boxers have taken at least one test already.”

However, there were no details on when and where the tests had been taken or what the results are, up to now.

Asked whether the USADA test results would be passed on to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Kizer said “I have been told they will be.”

At the same time the NSAC executive director disclosed that the Commission “tested Mr. Mayweather in late December and his test was negative for any prohibited substance.”

The Mayweather-Mosley fight was agreed upon after a big money fight between reigning pound-for-pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr fell through on the disagreement of the cutoff date for random drug tests.

Pacquiao agreed to a cut-off date for the random drug tests 24 days before their scheduled fight but Mayweather Jr and his handlers insisted on 14 days resulting in the scuttling of the fight which was expected to generate $40 million in revenues for each fighter.

Meantime, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has insisted that the lawsuit filed against Golden Boy Promotions and the father-and-son tandem of Floyd Mayweather Sr and Jr, who accused Pacquiao of taking performance enhancing drugs, will proceed and that there was no possible trade-off where the fight would take place after the lawsuit is dropped in exchange for the dropping of the demand for random drug tests.

Source: PhilBoxing.com

Can Mayweather vs. Mosley sales double Pacquiao vs. Clottey?

Mayweather vs Mosley
Pittsburgh Fight Sports Examiner | Scott Heritage

After the less than thrilling rematch between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, and the significantly less visible but more exciting Haye vs. Ruiz bouts last weekend, a lot of attention seems to be shifting towards Mayweather vs. Mosley.

Whoever wins, a rematch clause has been added into Mayweather's side of the contract. If he either loses or the fight is a big money spinner, which it should be, then an immediate rematch isn't out of the question.

As for what numbers the pay per view will do, Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer optimistically predicted that this would be the biggest seller in boxing history. Obviously its Shaefers job to try to hype up his company's fights, but in terms of drawing power Mosley is certainly no De La Hoya.

Others with less of a vested interest are predicting around 1.5 million buys as a safe figure. The most likely case of affairs is that the card will be buoyed by the relative lack of other big fights thus far this year and should sell over this amount comfortably.

Other than the anticipated but underwhelming Pacquiao vs. Clottey fight in March and the tantalizing prospect of a possible Haye vs. Klitschko fight later on in the year, Mayweather and Mosley is the biggest bout so far confirmed.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are the biggest draws in the sport at the moment, and simply put, Mosley is the more interesting out there at the moment for either of them other than each other.

If Mayweather and Mosley sell a huge amount of pay per views, then we might well see Mayweather leaving Pacquiao in the cold while he rematches Mosley deliberately. Pacquiao would then probably take a fight against one of the his Top Rank stable mates in the mean time. Margarito seems to be the man for the job, and Bob Arum seems eager to push the issue even if the fans are less than thrilled.

Mayweather would then have a track record of outselling Pacquiao in their last two fights, with a man few would conventionally call a big seller. This would then give him the prefect platform to either dismiss ideas of a bout altogether, or demand the bigger share of the purse.

There have been calls from some Pacquao fans to boycott Mayweather and Mosley, although this won't be effective for a couple of reasons. Firstly most of them will still end up watching the fight anyway, and secondly because as much as some might dislike Floyd Mayweather, Shane Mosley is more or less universally liked by most fans.

Bob, Pittsburgh: "All the talk about Pacquiao and Maweather will probably make this one a really big seller. Josh Clottey was kind of a negative draw and anyone who knows anything about boxing knew he would fight like that"

Chris Finch, Pittsburgh PA: "It would be a real boost for GBP and Mayweather if they could double Pacquiao vs. Clottey. Mayweather would have a real case to demand a bigger share of the purse money then and could let all the drug testing s*** go"

Source: Examiner.com

Do the fans want Mosley vs. Pacquiao?

Mayweather vs Mosley
Mississippi Fight Sports Examiner | Brad Cooney

According to boxing trainer Freddie Roach, a fight between Pacquiao and Mosley is a much more exciting fight for the fans to watch. In my recent conversation with Roach, he made it clear that the fight that would be better for the fans to watch would be Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley. Roach is pretty disgusted with all of the antics and demands made by team Mayweather, and seems to be leaning away from a Mayweather fight, and more toward a Mosley fight.

Roach admits that Mayweather is a tricky fighter, but the exciting fight would be against Mosley, " Floyd is a tricky fighter, but I hope Mosley wins so we don't' have to deal with Mayweather and his demands. Floyd is just scared to fight Pacquiao, let's face it."

Pacquiao vs. Mosley would be a more exciting fight because in Mosley you have a guy that will fight anybody, anytime. Mosley is not afraid to engage, and he is an aggressive type of fighter. Mayweather on the other hand is a defensive minded fighter who likes to counter. Floyd would rely on his timing and on his defense, making it a more boring type of fight.

During my coverage of Mississippi's boxing shows, the majority of people that I have spoken with want Mayweather vs. Mosley. It's the classic "good guy vs. bad guy" fight, and would make for a great story. The problem? The fight!

The story line, and the HBO 24/7 show would be great leading up to the fight, but unfortunately, the fight itself would probably be boring. Roach is right, a Mosley vs. Pacquiao fight is much more fan friendly.

Roach feels as if Mayweather will win over Mosley via UD, but is not one hundred percent, " I think Mayweather should win a unanimous decision, but don't count Shane out of this one. He can win this thing." Roach went on to say, "Mayweather is slick and will give Floyd trouble, but he can beat."

The PPV buys in a Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight would exceed the PPV buys in a Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight. There is however an increasingly growing demand on the fans part to see Mosley get his shot at Pacquiao. Most of fans that I spoke with in Biloxi, MS agree that Mosley vs. Pacquiao would probably be more exciting, but admit that they would rather see Mayweather. There is something to be said about the 'good guy vs. bad guy" hype.

Pacquiao fans would enjoy a victory over Mayweather much more than a victory over Mosley. Filipino fans have grown to dislike Mayweather to a level that falls just shy of hate! Most Filipino fans are good humble folks, so hate is a strong word to use, but they are almost there.

We will see in the future who Pacquiao will end up facing. One this is for sure, whoever it is Pacquiao will be ready.

Read up on Ed Anderson's Pacquiao article here - http://http://www.examiner.com/x-27469-Boston-Boxing-Examiner~y2010m3d14-Pacquiao-now-a-household-name-in-USA

Check out video interviews with Manny Pacquiao here - http://www,.8countnews.com

Source: Examiner.com

'Who R U Picking?': Pacquiao picks Mosley, Roach goes for Mayweather; Fans weigh in

Mayweather vs Mosley
Filipino Sports Examiner | Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

"Who R U Picking?"

That's what promoters of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus 'Sugar' Shane Mosley bout on May 1 wants to ask you. Quite honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Golden Boy himself coined it. R U cereal? I mean, come on right? Since when did boxing tap middle school kids to come up with fight slogans?

Regardless, this fight will be met with much anticipation as two of the best fighters of this era finally get their date with destiny and make history inside the right against each other.

Money vs. Sugar. Perfection vs. Respect. Defense vs. Offense. Each man trying to define their legacy. Get ready to see what in some states is considered, black on black crime. Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Shane Mosley on May 1st at the MGM in Las Vegas is simply too intriguing of a match-up to not want to see. And no, I didn't get paid a single cent to hype it. I'm simply a boxing fan first and foremost and as a true follower of the sport, how can't tell me this fight doesn't interest you.

It seems that fans and people around boxing are torn on who the winner of this fight would be. Mayweather is the betting favorite, but Mosley has repeatedly defied his critics and his age with remarkable victories against younger top-flight opponents like Antonio Margarito.

Even Manny Pacquiao and his trainer Freddie Roach have conflicting views as to who will come out on top.

As published on ABS-CBNNews.com:

“Shane’s my friend and I hope he wins but he has trouble with speed and movement and likes guys to come to him so it’s going to be difficult,” Roach said in a guest column on London’s Boxing News as quoted in The Philippine Star article.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been saying that Mosley would prevail over Mayweather.

“I’m for Shane Mosley,” the pound-for-pound king said in an article by Abac Cordero of The Philippine Star.

“He must do the right preparation. If he does, then he has a very good chance against Mayweather,” he said of the World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight champion who has 46 wins (with 39 KOs), 5 losses and 1 no contest.

So I went out and asked fans and boxing experts what they thought about this match-up. Whether you think this is the eliminator fight to determine who will be facing Pacquiao next, or the real fight to determine the best fighter in boxing, you can't ignore the significance of Mayweather-Mosley.

Read what fans had to say:

Ryan Maurice Godley - Mayweather by UD for three reasons:

1. Effective Aggressiveness
There is a big difference in the aggression that people want to see vs what judges are looking for. Look for Mosley to hype the crowd up by throwing a lot of blows that will be slipped and/or blocked via the shoulder roll while you see Mayweather attacking with precision at times beneficial to him. Contrary to popular belief, Mayweather does engage hence why he wins fights. Ask me to prove it and I will gladly show you plenty of examples.

2. Clean punching.
While Mosley will be throwing alot more punches, it will be Floyd who lands the cleaner, more effective (not necessarily harder) punches. Again its not what the fans want to see, but its what the judges look for.

3. Ring Generalship
Due to the fact that Mayweather is smarter than the average brawler, he wont sit there and trade shots toe to toe with the stronger Mosley. Mayweather will make Mosley fight his fight. This is what it means to be the ring general. He will dictate the pace of the fight. Once again, there is a big difference between aggressiveness vs effective aggressiveness.

Expect my more in-depth Mayweather-Mosley prediction article on Enscriber.com.

Kenneth Villarante - "Mosley by UD or late stoppage..I'm putting my money on it!!....KFC was cornered to fight grandpa Mosley. Sugar Shane has all what it takes, speed, power, size and skills stylewise to beat this overhyped trickster clown."

Chris Marasigan - "Mayweather by UD. No doubt about it. Mosley lost to defensive fighters when he was young. Mayweather is the maestro of defense and sugar is already 38! As much as i hate Floyd, i dont think mosley can defeat him..."

Paul Magtibay - "Mosley, he'll get hit from time to time floyd has pin point counter punches but if mosley pushes the action early and stays on him and let loose, i think hel k.o mayweather.but if not mayweather UD"

Chito Katangkatang - "Hate to admit it but Floyd is more skilled than Old Sugar. Floyd by decision. Or another angle would be. MAYWEATHER by fixed game!"

Harvey Castellano - Mayweather will win but I'm boycotting this fight. Not giving my money to a guy who is ducking Manny. No Filipinos should pay for this fight.

Highcouncil Illament - You can't beat Mayweather on a decision. UD to May or TKO-KO by Shane. I will gladly pay for this fight as a Filipino because I love boxing and this is good for boxing. We'll see if this leads to a showdown with Manny.

Rene Bonsubre - Sugar Shane will kick Floyd's a$$. Mayweather is an excellent natural athlete but I don't think he has the heart of a fighter. In the face of adversity and against an opponent that can beat him, Floyd's character will unravel...and it's colored yellow.

Loubert Lawrence T Diaz - Mayweather via SD. As much as id like to see the guy lose, Mosley isn't in his prime anymore and just might not have much left in the tank. I figure this is gonna be a OLDH-Mayweather all over again.

Mosley will have his moments. Mayweather will just play chicken all night. Picking his spots, pot shotting carefully. But mosely aint no marquez. he can Bang.The key to victory in this fight is who can out think and make quick adjustments throughout the fight.

Sean Ong - I see Floyd winning by decision. I think Mosley's over aggressiveness will be his own undoing. It's easy to get frustrated when fighting a fighter whose style is always to disengage. Once Mosley feels Floyd always out of his reach, Mosley's game plan will go straight out the window.

But don't get me wrong. I want Mosley to win. I want to see an interesting three way tournament going on with them and Manny.

Charlie Remiendo - Mosley will win if they fight toe to toe!

Michael Marley - Charlie, If my aunt had testicles she would be my uncle...about as likely as Fraudweather going toe to toe

Francis Cuenco Ponce - Mosley will do the hopkins (vs jones, without the acting). He'll close the distance real quick, throw a combination, clinch..rinse and repeat. Mosley up the first half of the fight, which will force may to become more aggressive and that's not really his strenght. It's gonna cause him to open up more and Shande will capitalize on that. Shane 8 rounds to 4. But hey, what i do i know? picked Roy jones, jr to easily decision hopkins last night..and we already know what happened to that.

Source: Examiner.com