Shane Mosley says of Mayweather fight: “This is my era.”
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Shane Mosley will certainly have to engage in some trash-talk battles with Floyd Mayweather Jr. before their May 1 bout, which became official with Mayweather’s contract signing today.
Once the veteran fighters who have combined for eight weight-division titles step into the ring, however, Pomona’s Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) said he feels confident he can ‘do a lot of things better’ than Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs).
‘This is my era, and I want to show that to people now,’ Mosley told The Times in a telephone interview. ‘My style and skills are pretty good. I weave, box, punch, counter-punch. I’m not one-dimensional, I’m all of the above. I’ll be stronger than him, and I think I’ll be more fit.’
No one has been able to say that against Mayweather and come across as credible.
The defensive wizard Mayweather, 32, is a workout fanatic, known for 1 a.m. runs that boost his legendary speed and counter-punching abilities. Mosley, however, is a gym rat of epic proportions.
‘He has to deal with me being right there with him,’ said Mosley, 38. ‘I’m going to counter as well as him, so what is he going to do now?
‘It’s going to be a good fight, the people will get a chance to see a real fight.’
Said Mayweather in a prepared statement: ‘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. 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.’
Mosley addressed two substantial subjects related to the bout, claiming Mayweather’s push to institute Olympic-style drug testing, in which both fighters will be subject to random blood and urine tests up to fight night, is something he’s embracing.
‘I know I’m a clean fighter,’ Mosley said. ‘I don’t need anything. I’ve always been strong.’
Mosley has admitted he used designer steroids and energy boosting EPO before his 2003 victory over Oscar De La Hoya, claiming he unknowingly used the substances provided by BALCO founder Victor Conte and supervised by strength coach Derryl Hudson.
‘I was with a guy [Hudson] who was trying to be better than he was, and I got beat in the fights I was with him, against Vernon [Forrest] and Winky [Wright]. Now, I’m doing my own thing and knocking people out.’
Mosley did score a TKO of former welterweight champ Antonio Margarito in January 2009, but he hasn’t fought since as his attempts to land a bout against Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao failed last year, and then his Jan. 30 opponent, Andre Berto, withdrew from their bout due to the earthquake in Haiti.
‘I’ve been in training camp, sparring, staying in the gym working,’ Mosley said. ‘I’m ready. I’ll go back to training, and, believe me, people will see the good Sugar Shane. There’s no rust on me. I never stay away from the gym too long. I’m a fighter, I love boxing, it’s what I do.’
--Lance Pugmire
