Gearing Up For HBO's Mayweather/Mosley 24/7

We are a little over a week away from HBO's Mayweather/Mosley 24/7. I'm a huge fan of the show, and it deserves all of its accolades and Emmy awards. I was thinking of ways to make the series better, whether it be changing the narrator or altering the length. But I couldn't come up with any necessary changes based on those factors. The lengths of the episodes and series duration are all fine. Narrator, Liev Schreiber, is smooth, and really, just perfect. I haven't seen Schreiber in a film since the totally unnecessary Manchurian Candidate remake, so I don't know how his acting career is going, but he's doing great work with HBO. The show is excellent, but I'm not as stoked as I should be for this next installment. It's Mayweather. I need a new angle on him.



This is Floyd's fourth go around, and I feel like we've covered just about all of the areas. We know about his wealth and love for money. The relationship between he, his father, and his uncle have been beaten to death. Although, if they want to add something new to this topic area, subtitles for Floyd Sr. and Roger would help viewers immensely.

They've shown Floyd's children. Oh yes, the children. Um, where did these children come from? Who did he sire them with? This is the one angle in Mayweather's life that's completely lacking. Who is he banging?

I'm sorry, I know many of you may think I need to Wikipedia him, or look up old issues of US or People, but why should I, when HBO's 24/7 should be touching on this for me. I remember seeing the "significant others" for De La Hoya, Hatton, Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and Cotto, but never Mayweather. Sex and intimacy are a part of a person's life, and I would like to get a look at who the fighter is sharing his time with. Why is this aspect so absent from Floyd's life?

It would be awesome if he was gay.



I'm not making an allegation, so I hope Floyd doesn't find out about this column, and I wind up getting shot at next time I go skating in Vegas. Nor am I making an insult. Those who know me, understand that I'm the most pro-gay/lesbian person you'll find. I'm in favor of homosexual marriage, adoption, right to serve openly in the military–the whole nine. Also, I think it's juvenile and insulting when others try to slur Floyd with terms like "Gayweather" and the such.

I actually think that an openly gay Floyd Mayweather Jr. could do enormous good for the gay cause-more than Ricky Martin for instance. Imagine one of the greatest boxers of the past 20 years, and a first ballot Hall-of-Fame legend, as an openly gay fighter. It would be huge. I know the great Emile Griffith was rumored and understood by many to be gay in the 60's and 70's, but that's not the same at out and proud.

It would be one of the most talked about moments in television history, if one of the 24/7 episodes ended with Mayweather Jr jumping into the arms of some muscle-head for a full on hardcore make-session. People would be dropping their drinks in slow motion, with their mouths agape, all across the world.

Don't start berating me with the "evidence" that Mayweather's children are proof of his heterosexuality. We've all heard of "down-low". Plus, plenty of gay men have had intercourse with women, and have sired children-it means nothing. Again, I have no idea if Pretty Boy Floyd is gay, but if he is, 24/7 would be a great opportunity to kick the closet doors open.

If Floyd is straight, can I at least see a segment or two showing who he's dating, or having "relations" with? Does Floyd date outside of his race? Is he into skinny super models, or full-figured "more to love" types? Does he spend his time with ghetto "chickenheads", or do preppie sophisticated types appeal to Floyd?

Look, every part of Mayweather's life has been turned inside out on 24/7, and it's getting a tad tired. I simply want this one last, unknown, angle placed on display. Any man or woman who shares a special intimate place in Floyd's life is a compelling figure. Floyd has a fascinating personality. Who puts up with him on an intimate basis? I want to know. And so do you.

Mosley on 24/7



I'm so glad that Shane Mosley is going to be featured on 24/7. His career has fascinated me. He's been an elite fighter for almost 15 years in three different weight classes. Mosley has been compared to Sugar Ray Robinson because of his flashy, fighting spirit and hand-speed. Mosley has good looks, and is extremely well spoken-long thought of as one of the nice guys in the sport.

Why hasn't this guy ever become a crossover star?

I've never understood it. I guess the easy answer is that Oscar De La Hoya took on that role during the same era. However, Foreman was a talk-show and commercial staple during the Holyfield era. Mayweather and Pacquiao are both big stars right now. Why didn't Mosley make it big; particularly after his first victory over Oscar?

I hope the 24/7 series delves into this. Sure, Mosley headlined some high grossing pay-per-views, but only with Oscar as the marquee draw. Mosley has never been a humongous draw on his own. I'd like to know his thoughts about this. Mosley's career has had a lot of professional and personal ups and downs, and I'm very anxious to see it all on display-including his partnership with Golden Boy Promotions.



Of course one issue that 24/7 will have to focus on is Mosley's performance-enhancing drug (PED) use. You got to figure that PEDs will be a major aspect of the show because of the unprecedented Olympic-style blood-test program both fighters will be on. Also, the PED issue killed the proposed Pacquio/Mayweather showdown. Mosley is the poster-boy for PED usage in boxing. He doped up prior to his last victory over De La Hoya in 2003.

Mosley–who closely worked with PED manufacturer, BALCO–claims that he didn't know he was taking any banned substances. His claims are dubious and refuted by BALCO representatives. This needs to be touched on, but shouldn't be the focus. To Mosley's credit, he's agreed to Olympic-style blood-testing this time around, to prove that he's not cheating anymore.

Another major issue from Shane's past that needs to be featured, is his relationship with his father. By all accounts they're still close, but Shane Mosley's father was fired from being his son's trainer on two separate occasions. Mosley is currently trained by Nazim Richardson, who not only led Mosley to one of the best performances of his career last January versus Antonio Margarito, but also helped bring about the revelation that Antonio was a cheating glove loader prior to that bout. Nazim Richardson, who is also Bernard Hopkins' trainer, needs to be introduced to the broader sports public on the HBO 24/7 showcase. He deserves the notoriety, and he's a damn good trainer to boot.

It should be quite an interesting series this go around. Mosley v. Mayweather has been a decade in the making. Both have called each other out at various points in the past 10 years, but for some reason or another, the two have never gotten a chance to "get it on". After Pacquiao/Mayweather, this is the "biggest" bout that can be made. HBO always does these episodes well, but I hope that they touch on a few of the issues I've focused on in this column.



In a couple of weeks, I'll breakdown who will win and why. Honestly, I haven't decided yet. Initially, I favored Mosley by knockout, and then due to Mosley's layoff, I tended to favor Mayweather by decision. Now after spending lots of time watching some of both fighters' previous bouts on Youtube, I'm favoring Mosley again. I'll be breaking it all down soon enough. Till next time, enjoy this weekend's fights.

Source: 411mania.com

Mayweather vs Mosley 2010 Fight, Predictions, Tickets and Pacquiao Lawsuit Update

Mayweather vs Mosley 2010 Fight, Predictions, Tickets and Pacquiao Lawsuit Update. Last December, we were all hoping for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. That didn’t transpire, and Pacquiao recently took on Joshua Clottey and Floyd Mayweather, Jr is set to take on Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.

The fight between the formerly retired fighter and Mosley is highly anticipated, and if Mayweather does defeat his opponent everyone will be crying that much harder for a fight against Mayweather and Pacquiao.

The Filipino fighter isn’t backing down from his lawsuit threats. There are some rumors floating around saying that if Mayweather drops his blood testing requirements, the Pac Man will drop his lawsuit and fight him. These rumors have been denied by representatives of the fighter, who claim that he has lost millions of dollars in potential endorsements and that his reputation has been irreparably tarnished.

Pro Boxing Fan predicts that Mayweather will win the fight, although Mosley will put on a strong offensive. They predict that the fight will end via unanimous decision instead of a knockout.

Mayweather has a lot on the line – a lot more than Mosley. If Mayweather defeats Mosley, he’s just adding himself to a laundry list of top-knotch fighters that have fallen to Floyd’s tactics. Mayweather has scored wins against some of the biggest names in boxing, such as Oscar de la Hoya.

If Mayweather loses, then a fight with Pacquiao loses its luster. Despite their strong rivalry, the Pac Man wants to be the one to de-throne Mayweather from his undefeated status.

What do you think the odds are that Mosley will beat Mayweather or vice versa? Do you think we will still get to see a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight?

Source: cnmnewsnetwork.com

Preliminary Perspective

Back in 2006, I wrote that Sugar Shane Mosley's savage KO of Fernando Vargas II was evidence that like a perfect storm, everything was coming together......just the right things in the mix and with just the right timing for him to fight Floyd Mayweather. Team Mosley was running on all cylinders and it seemed unlikely for anyone to slow it down. But that was then and this is now.

Since then, Floyd (now 40-0) has vanquished Carlos Manuel Baldomir, decisioned Oscar De La Hoya, waxed Ricky Hatton, and dominated Juan Manuel Marquez. Mosley has beaten Luis Collazo in a fight where Collazo suffered a fractured left thumb during the second round. He then lost to Miguel Cotto, but came back to beat clownish Ricardo Mayorga in a fight that was extremely close on the score cards until Mosley's spectacular left hook knock out at the very end which sent Mayorga to Matador Dreamland.

Sure, against Collazo, Sugar Shane (46-5) showed a display of effective jabs and great hand speed, once again using feints, quickness, and crafty head and body movement that served him so well in his wins against Oscar De La Hoya and especially Fernando Vargas. But Collazo is not Mayweather, and Vargas had taken brutal beatings at the hands of De La Hoya and Trinidad by the time he met Mosley.

Curiously, Mosley lost two to the "Viper" getting beat up in one, while Mayorga beat Forrest twice. But then Mayorga, an "old" 34, got starched convincingly by De La Hoya who Mosley "beat" twice. Of course, that was then and this is now and a lot has changed.

Shane's demolition of Antonio Margarito in January 2009 raised everyone's eyebrows. However, one theory that has not been given much traction (and one to which I partially subscribe) is that Tony may have been so discombobulated by pre-fight events, that he simply was there for the taking. Whatever the case, Mosley made the most of it and destroyed the disgraced "Tijuana Tornado." Interestingly. Mosley likely did not even get hit flush in that fight, but then, neither did Mayweather against Marquez.

The Age Factor

However, Sugar Shane is getting a bit long in the tooth and his considerable skills are in jeopardy of eroding. Age has a way of impacting speed, quickness, hand-eye coordination, movement, and putting punches together. Moreover, the fact he has fought tougher opponents than Mayweather (Vargas twice, Winky Wright twice, De La Hoya twice, Vernon Forrest twice, Jesse James Leija, John John Molina, Philip Holiday, Collazo, Mayorga, Margarito, among others), is not necessarily an advantage at this point. The reputation for never having ducked an opponent can back fire and render a boxer's body old overnight. That said and notwithstanding the Margorito beat down, I no longer believe Mosley is at the top of his game and I'm betting the ingredients for the perfect storm that once existed have now dissipated to the point where the momentum is clearly in favor of the man with the heavyweight ego.

Fighters like "Pretty Boy," don't come around very often. He uses old school stuff, but he does it so subtly, he is seldom given proper credit for it. As I have said before, he just might be too good for his own good. His use of shoulder rolls, feints, parrying, upward jabbing, giving angles, counter punching, crossover defense, strategic lateral movement, and deflecting punches is all part of the old school mix. So is his mastery of the basics...the three levels of defense, slipping punches, and fighting off the jab. If a purist is one who appreciates the technical aspects of the Sweet Science, Floyd Mayweather Junior is a purist's delight. His fights with Phillip N'dou and Juan Manuel Marquez showcased these attributes to a tee.

However, if one definition of "Old School" is that it combines the aforementioned with a violent dimension (one that reflects a boxer's propensity to engage in a pier six street brawl), then Floyd may be somewhat lacking. Aside from his give and take with Emanuel Augustus, we have not yet seen Floyd be required to demonstrate this dimension. However, his blow-outs of the late Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti suggest he may be capable of the same kind of mayhem Mosley showed against Margorito, but I doubt he can do that to Mosley.

While I intend to break down this fight far more definitively as we get closer to May 1, my tentative feeling at this point is that a well-rested Floyd Mayweather Junior will dominate Sugar Shane Mosley over 12 rounds and cop a unanimous decision.

Source: badlefthook.com

Mayweather vs Mosley Face Off with Max Kellerman

Running around in circles: can we just get on with the fights?

One man WADA Floyd Mayweather and his opponent Shane Mosley will begin the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) anti-doping program on Monday, ahead of Mayweather vs Mosley on May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Great fight, but such a lot of kerfuffle.

Fine. It is the first time in history that athletes from any U.S. professional sport have reached out and demanded World Anti-Doing Code compliant drug testing, setting a new precedent.

The program will involve no-advance-notice sample collection of the athletes’ blood and urine prior to and after the fight so that all banned substances, some of which do not show up in urine alone, are tested for thoroughly, and with both athletes subjected to the testing program leading up to as well as after the fight.

But it is unlikely to herald a complete change in the sport.

Yet Mayweather thinks so. “I am excited that Shane Mosley and I are willing to take these tests to ensure a fair fight on May 1. I just want to show the world that boxing is a clean sport and it is my hope that all fighters will take a similar stance and responsibility which reflects sportsmanship at the highest level and sets a new standard for safety in boxing.”

Mosley, of course, agrees. “I think the testing program is a great idea and I did not hesitate for a minute about agreeing to it. Let’s hope that the rest of the boxing world follows Floyd’s and my example.” I doubt it.

Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions said, “Floyd is leading the way for changing the sport and I commend him for that. Some people have asked why he has not asked for it in the past but it is never too late to take a stand on an issue that is prevalent in all sports today and ask for something that can only have positive results on the future of boxing.”

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said, “Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport. I commend both of these fighters for setting a new precedent in the sport and giving others an opportunity to reflect on its current state and how, as a collective group, we can continue to make the sport better, safer and fairer for anyone who steps in to the ring.”

We continue in circles. Paulie Malignaggi says Amir Khan is a stronger opponent than Hatton. Khan says Malignaggi is ‘stupid’. Malignaggi continues to assert that there are drugs cheats in boxing…the pair clash in New York on May 15. Khan is likely to slice through the Brooklynite with a flair for hairstyles.

Source: telegraph.co.uk

Drug testing detailed for Mayweather-Mosley fight

Representatives of boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shane Mosley and Golden Boy Promotions on Thursday revealed their anti-doping procedures for their May 1 welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.

The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, said Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to random urine and/or blood tests from now "until and after the fight." In addition to urine tests for steroids, blood tests will be implemented to search for such performance-enhancers as human growth hormone, synthetic hemoglobin and blood transfusions, Tygart said.

A positive test, Tygart said, would leave the boxer suspended from the sport for two years, a condition he said both fighters have agreed to.

Mayweather's desire for a more stringent testing program than what Nevada offers — random urine testing before and immediately after the bout — contributed to the failed negotiations to stage a fight against Manny Pacquiao earlier this year.

-- Lance Pugmire

Source: latimes.com

Mayweather, Mosley OK tests

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and welterweight champion Shane Mosley will undergo Olympic-style drug testing for their May 1 fight in Las Vegas.
Representatives of the two fighters joined Travis Tygart of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on a conference call yesterday to discuss the program, which is more extensive than the testing that now falls under the jurisdiction of state athletic commissions.

Mayweather and Mosley will be subjected to an unlimited number of unannounced blood and urine tests before and after the fight, and the results will be stored so the USADA can test them in the future.

Most state athletic commissions test only urine samples, which Tygart said cannot detect several performance-enhancing substances, including HGH.

Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style testing is the main reason negotiations fell through in January for a fight against pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Mosley has acknowledged using steroids before a victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003, claiming he did so inadvertently.

Source: philly.com