Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Sugar Shane Mosely set for May 1st

Press conference erupts into shoving match between the top welterweights

This Tuesday the eyes of the boxing world were set on the Nokia Theater in Times Square where the press conference was staged to hail the upcoming fight between the undefeated Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather and future hall of famer Sugar Shane Mosley for Mosley's WBA welterweight championship on May 1st at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The promotion is billed as "Who R U Picking" and it is appropriate because the odds makers have the fight too close to call as it involves two of the most skilled boxers in the world who seem evenly matched in almost every aspect of the game except age as Mosley is six years older than Mayweather. The Nokia Theater held court to the various media outlets on hand to cover the event as well as the fans who came in support of both fighters, although there was a larger contingent of Mayweather fans who sought to drown out the Mosley supporters. As both men stood at each side of a large screen that featured video vignettes showcasing highlights from their storied careers, they could be seen jawing at each other. The trash talking intensified as they were in each other's face and quickly devolved into a shoving match between the two in which their handlers had to get involved in an attempt to restore order to the proceedings.

The press conference was attended by the president and face of Golden Boy promotions, Oscar De La Hoya, a man who had fought and lost to both fighters and he weighed in with his opinion with the quote of the day, "Do you want to know what I think? I know there is going to be a knock out and it ain't going to be pretty!", a clear reference to Pretty Boy Floyd.
There was a clear animosity between the two fighters as Mayweather continued to hound Mosley about past accusations of performance enhancement drug use by saying, "I want to show the world that my sport is clean. I can't say how many fights Shane has won in the past because we know in the past Shane has was using enhancement drugs. That's something we do know." Mosley countered "its going to be clear [reference to the PED called the Clear] that[expletive]whipping that I'm going to bring to him. May 1st will be May's first loss!"

Both were complimentary of what the other brings to the fight game but both predicted victory. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is meeting probably the biggest challenge of his career since he faced the likes of lightweight champs Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo, while Mosley is coming off of a long lay off following his big upset win knockout of formerly indestructible Antonio Margarito which revived his career after some fights in which he showed signs of slowing down. Mayweather vs Mosely will be a contest of skill against skill and speed against speed with the edge in power going to Mosley while the slight nod in speed and boxing skills to Mayweather. The winner of this fight is seen to be the next logical opponent for the winner of this month;s showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey and if Pacquiao is victorious then that fight would be for pound for pound supremacy of the sport of boxing.

Observations

• I figured out that the catering for a press conference is a good measuring stick to gauge the importance of the event that is being promoted. For example ham and turkey sandwiches were served for the Jones vs Hopkins press event while at this even I enjoyed a delicious salmon sandwich amongst a wider selection of sandwiches. What followed after the salmon sandwich was the arrival of Golden Boy promotions president Oscar De La Hoya who was absent at the Jones vs Hopkins event which was also promoted by Golden Boy promotions. The man is retired but still commands star power as there was a significant female presence that was absent at the last event and on top of that there were Spanish TV crews that came specifically to interview Oscar and I don't think they asked many questions about the fight.


• I loved Shane Mosley's trainer Nazim Richardson, his thoughts on the fight, the events surrounding it and the breakdown of fight negotiations between Pacquiao and Mayweather were priceless. Among his gems about the Pacman vs Mayweather cancellation "In my neighborhood it doesn't take $4 million to make a fight, folks will fight for $4." On Mosley's eagerness to get a fight, "I believe we can get Mosely to fight Klitschko." On his participation on HBO's upcoming 24/7 series chronicling the build up to the fight, "all that one upmanship between trainers is not necessary, I will not be taking part in all that buffoonery."


• 
  I ran into former middleweight champion the Bronx's own Iran 'the Blade' Barkley at the press conference and asked him who did he think would win. He was non committal to that question but he did not hold back when asked what he would do if he faced either man. It was evident that the Blade still has that same fighting spirit that he used to wage war against the likes of Tommy Hearns, James Toney, Roberto Duran, and Michael Nunn. The former champ explained how he would cut off the ring against Mayweather and I quote "I know he wouldn't have been a strong person for me so I would have cut off the ring and go straight to him. His hand speed but is phenomenal but my power would outmatch his speed. Mosley I would have worn him down too with body shots, I don't think he would have taken my power." It was good to see De La Hoya approach him and give him the proper respect that a former retired champ would pay a fellow former champ.


• 
  Found a clip of Iran Barkley and Tommy 'the Hitman' Hearns on the Arsenio Hall show. This was a great time for boxing as the Arsenio Hall Show was as big as any major show you can think of nowadays and boxing was held in the same esteem as any of the major sports today (golf was an afterthought).
  
  


• 
  The chance run in with Iran Barkley led me to reminisce about one of my favorite boxing memories involving Barkley against my childhood hero Roberto 'Hands of Stone' Duran. I was jumping up and down at certain points of this fight.