LAS VEGAS -- Shane Mosley, trainer Naazim Richardson, attorney Judd Burstein and their camp members were on the dais for about 10 minutes before Floyd Mayweather entered the Hollywood Theatre nearly half an hour after Wednesday's press conference had been scheduled to begin.
The man who is nicknamed, "Money," wore dark shades, a sharp suit and tie, and a white shirt whose collar bore his last name, "Mayweather," on both sides.
Trailing behind him were his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, and CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe.
Once they had all taken their places behind a long, black table, it was clear that the show was ready to begin.
"You know that this has to be a big fight, for all of you people [media] to be sitting in here and eating for free," laughed Roger Mayweather, during his turn behind the podium.
Not to be outdone was Floyd Mayweather Sr., who said of his son, "I know that he's smarter, he's clever, he's slicker," and then, directing his next comment toward Mosley, adding, "And he don't have no defense."
Laughter ensued throughout the venue. And then, the man of the hour spoke.
"It's about taking this sport to another level, and being an icon in the sport of boxing. I'm always looking to go out there and do tremendous numbers. Who don't want to do tremendous numbers," said Mayweather. "There's no limit to what I can make. Something like $115 million in two fights, that's unreal. That's some of the things that my team does. And to be in this sport and to keep 100 percent of his purse.
The 33-year-old Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts) will meet the 38-year-old Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) in an HBO-televised pay per view fight on Saturday night at the MGM Grand, whose initials stand for, "Mosley's Greatest Moments," according to some of the WBA welterweight (147 pounds) champion's camp members.
"Floyd does a very good job of promoting his fights," said Mosley, who is coming off of a January 2009 ninth-round knockout of Antonio Margarito, whom he dethroned as WBA king at the MGM. "I think Floyd brings a lot of mouth. People dislike him so much they buy the fight just to see him lose."
At any rate, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is predicting huge numbers for the HBO pay-per-view bout, whose buys he believes could surpass the record 2.4 million that watched Mayweather's victory over Oscar de la Hoya in 2007.
Schaefer told the media predicted the record for Mayweather-de la Hoya, and, on Wednesday, he prophesized of Mayweather-Mosley that "$4 million views" are possible.
Mayweather's pay per view average revenue -- a total of $48 million for six fights -- ranks as the highest all-time. So big is his attraction, said Ellerbe, that he doesn't need a belt to define him as the best boxer in the sport.
So Mayweather has refused to pay the WBA's sanctioning fee, and, thus, is not fighting for Mosley's title.
"For some of the younger fighters, the belt makes a difference. But Floyd's already won six world titles, and the model that he has put in place is the model that fighters from this generation and the next generation should look at and admire," said Ellerbe.
"And I'll hypothetically throw out a number," said Ellerbe. "If there was a half a million dollar sanctioning fee, that half a million dollars, Floyd has four kids that he could throw a half a million dollars into an additional fund for them."
A source close to the negotiations said that the sanctioning fee was "never really discussed" by the Mayweather camp because "it was made clear during the early discussions when the fight was made that Floyd doesn't want to fight for the belt."
On the other hand, Mosley always has wanted to fight for the WBA belt.
"Shane has always wanted to fight for and defend the WBA title, because he's the champion, and, so, he's obviously going to defend his belt," Schaefer said. "So, now, we're going to be sitting down with the WBA this week, and we're going to see what can be worked out."
"Obviously, I can appreciate a three percent sanctioning fee, but I think that once you get into this level of fights, I think that a three percent sanctioning fee is actually excessive," said Schaefer.
"You look at, for example, the WBO, and they have a cap on their fees, which is actually $150,000 -- irrespective of the purse amount, which I think is actually reasonable," said Schaefer. "So it's a matter of sitting down with the WBA and seeing if an agreement can be reached for Shane."
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