Mayweather-Mosley–Official!

LAS VEGAS (February 3, 2010) – 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.

Source: boxing24.com

Shane Mosley signs contract to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 1

Shane Mosley's attorney confirmed to The Times today that the Pomona world welterweight champion has signed a contract to fight unbeatenFloyd Mayweather Jr. on May 1, most likely at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Mosley's purse for the 147-pound fight will be his "biggest ever," attorney Judd Burstein said, declining to reveal terms. Mayweather has yet to sign his own deal agreement, but Burstein said he has been assured by the boxer's lead advisor,Leonard Ellerbe, that the signature would come sometime "in the next two days."

It is unclear whether the fight will be for Mosley's World Boxing Assn. welterweight belt, Burstein said.

Mosley, said Burstein, drove himself Friday to the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, where a Burstein-represented fighter had a bout, and signed his deal in a hotel room.

"It's a fight people have wanted to see for a long time, but never happened for whatever reasons," Burstein said. "Now that it's going to happen, Shane is looking forward to doing what he and many of his fans have long thought he would do."

The fighters, who each spent the last decade ranked somewhere among the top in the lists of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, have won world titles in eight different weight classes.

The deal was struck with Mosley agreeing to all of Mayweather's stipulations for a stringent drug-testing protocol that will subject him to random blood and urine tests for performance-enhancing drugs all the way to fight night. Burstein said Mosley agreed to the arrangement "as long as Floyd takes the same test at the same time."

Mosley's 2003 decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya was tainted by his acknowledged use of designer steroids "the cream" and "the clear" and energy boosting EPO in the days before the bout. Mosley later explained that he took the substances unknowingly, believing they were legal supplements. He met with BALCO founder Victor Conte before using the substances.

Mayweather's push for drug testing resulted in the scrapped plans for him to fight Manny Pacquiaoon March 13 in Las Vegas. Pacquiao will now fight Joshua Clottey in a welterweight bout on March 13 at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

The 38-year-old Mosley was originally supposed to end a one-year layoff tonight after beatingAntonio Margarito by ninth-round TKO last January at Staples Center, but his opponent Andre Berto had to withdraw because of the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti, where has family members.

Mosley prodded Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight him last year to no avail, as Mayweather (40-0) accepted a comeback fight that he won handily against the lighter and smaller Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather, earlier this decade, suggested Mosley was dodging him, and after Mayweather's fame was boosted by a 2007 victory over De La Hoya, Mosley has claimed Mayweather was ducking him.

Now, with a Mayweather autograph, the long-awaited bout will happen.

Author: Lance Pugmire

Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com