By Tim Smith, New York Daily News
Floyd Mayweather Jr. loves to talk trash before a fight. Getting under the skin of his opponent before they get in the ring is one of his major weapons. He's very good at it.
Before he fought the late Diego Corrales, Mayweather tweaked Corrales about assault charges that were pending against the boxer, stemming from his having punched his pregnant wife in the stomach. Mayweather said he was dedicating the fight to all abused women and even offered to have Corrales' estranged wife seat ringside as his guest to watch him beat up Corrales.
Corrales said it didn't have any effect on him. But Mayweather did drop him five times before stopping Corrales on a TKO.
Shane Mosley is more than aware of all the chatter coming from Mayweather in advance of their welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 1. As much as Mosley would like to avoid it, he can't. They spent a significant amount of time together on the promotional tour before heading to their respective training camps last month. And the two boxers and their camps are the subject of the HBO boxing reality series "24/7" and Mosley said he had seen the first episode. Mayweather spends most of his time tweaking Mosley, who said he has ignored the trash talking.
There is one thing that Mosley can't ignore and that is the subject of his past involvement with steroids, which is a major part of Mayweather's verbal harassment fodder.
And for that, Mosley has only himself to blame. As great a boxer as Mosley is and whatever his legacy becomes, he will forever be haunted by his decision to get involved with BALCO and its founder, Victor Conte, before he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2003.
That point was driven home when Conte released a video tape on YouTube of a 2009 deposition in the defamation lawsuit Mosley filed against Conte of Mosley admitting that he used EPO provided by Conte. Mosley had already admitted in federal grand jury testimony that he used the designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" from BALCO. Mosley maintains that he was an unwitting dupe of Conte and his former strength and conditioning coach Daryl Hudson.
Maybe Mosley was naïve. Maybe he was duped. Whatever the case, Mosley must realize that he caused all this by agreeing to use something that he knew nothing about. Now he has to live with the consequences for the Mayweather fight and beyond.
Perhaps that is why he bristles at any questions involving his past association with Conte and BALCO and steroids. During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Mosley snapped at a reporter who asked whether he felt any different than when he trained and fought on steroids in 2003. He said it was a stupid question because he has always been a clean boxer, because he has never tested positive for steroids.
Does he not realize that was the purpose of Conte concocting designer steroids and masking agents for the various athletes who beat a path to his door?
This is not to make Mosley a villain. This is merely a suggestion that he take ownership of his role in all this and stop trying to make us think that he's some kind of innocent. He made a mistake. If that mistake was trusting those around him, then so be it. If it was a mistake of trying to gain an illegal advantage, then so be it.
As much as Mosley would like to move away from what happened in 2003, he won't be able to do it. Ever.
People are always going to question his behavior. Some opponents, like Mayweather, will always seize upon it as a way to get under Mosley's skin before a fight. Until Mosley realizes that and takes ownership of what he has done, then it will continue to be a source of consternation for him.
PUNCHLINES ...
I've never been a big fan of the Super Six tournament. I thought it was a contrived tournament that took too long (three years) to determine the best 168-pound fighter in the world. And originally it didn't include Allan Green.
But it is growing on me and Green has been added, replacing Jermain Taylor, who suffered a devastating and career-threatening KO by Arthur Abraham in the opening round of the tournament. I'm still not a fan of the length of the tournament, but some of the fights have been compelling.
Carl Froch of Nothingham, England will defend his WBC 168-pound title against Mikkel Kessler in Herning, Denmark in a Group Stage 2 match on Showtime on Saturday night. The undefeated Froch may be familiar to U.S. boxing fans for knocking out Taylor in a match outside of the tournament. May favorites to win the thing are Andre Ward and Andre Dirrell, teammates on the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing team. Ward won gold and Dirrell brought home bronze. The other major boxing match this weekend involves a couple of heavyweights that have designs on being champions. Cris Arreola will take on Tomasz Adamek in a 12-round match in Ontario, Calif., on Saturday night on HBO's "Boxing After Dark." Arreola came up very small in his first heavyweight championship fight against Vitali Klitschko. Arreola never laid a glove on Klitschko and his corner stopped the fight after 10 rounds. Adamek is trying to make his mark at heavyweight after winning world titles at light heavyweight and cruiserweight. When Arreola is in shape he can be an action fighter. Adamek is an all-action fighter no matter the occasion. Adamek has fought twice at heavyweight, stopping former contender and fellow Polish boxer Andrew Golata by knockout and taking a 12-round decision over Jason Estrada. Early on I thought Arreola had the temperament to be a serious contender for the heavyweight title. After the loss to Klitschko, I'm not to sure. Adamek certainly has what it takes to contend. The question is whether he can handle the power at the higher weight.
Source: nydailynews.com
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