LAS VEGAS -- During Saturday night's post-fight press conference following his unanimous decision over Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand, unbeaten Floyd Mayweather discussed, among other things, his lavish ring entrance, and, the possible effects of the issue of random drug testing on negotiations for a potential bout with Manny Pacquiao.
Below are more of the responses from Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) to some of the subjects raised following his victory over Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs), which earned the winner a career-high guaranteed purse of $22.5 million compared to Mosley's $7 million.
On standing toe-to-toe with Shane Mosley.
People keep talking about how Shane Mosley was supposed to be stronger and how he was supposed to have more power. But like I said before, this is not a weight-lifting contest. It's not about who hits the hardest, because I rocked him too. I rocked him more than he rocked me. But like I said before, that comes with the territory. On the effectiveness of his left hooks and his right hands against Mosley.
I was pressing the attack, but every time that I pressed the attack, I would see that he was holding. Of course, with him being a professional with 18 years of experience, he's got experience being in grueling fights. But I think that fighting me was totally different from anything he had done.
I'm a sharper, smarter fighter than he was used to. Like I said before, I'm not in the fight game to take no punishment. Ain't nothing cool about what happened in the second round. I'll go back home and talk with my father, talk with my uncle, Roger.
I'll evaluate some things, because, of course, we don't want to get caught like that when we do fight again. But it went like it went.
On how close he was to knocking out Shane Mosley.
How close was I to knocking out Shane Mosley? I really don't know, but we were breaking him down. At one point I said, 'He's going to cough it up.' But he kept holding, so, you know, things happen.
On the potential for a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight.
I've been dominating fighters since the 1990s. Like I always said, I'm closer to 40 than I am to 21, so I mean, if the fight happens, it happens, but I'm not out chasing no fighters. I'm happy with what my team has done, I'm happy with what HBO has done.
And, of course, I'm happy with my career. I want to give the fans a pleasing fight. I want to give the fans what they want. If the fans want to see me and Pacquiao fight, I want to give them that. But we must be on an even playing field in the sport of boxing.
Too many fighters are dying, and too many families are getting hurt in the sport of boxing. Just like Mosley, of course, he got in trouble in the past for being on performance enhancing drugs. So, I said, 'We can make the fight happen, Mosley, but both me and you have to take random blood and urine tests.'
Right now, USADA is back there. And that's what took me so long to come out here [for the press conference.] I had to give them a certain amount of urine. And then, in about 55 minutes from now, I've got to to let them draw blood just to show the world that I'm a clean athlete
I'm doing it the old fashioned way. I'm showing that I'm the best, and that I don't have to take no enhancement drugs, and I don't have to take nothing.
On why he was so comfortable against the intensity of the second round.
I just told myself that 'This comes with the sport of boxing. I said, 'This is no problem.' I already knew that I won the first round and he won the second. But then after that, everything was down hill. I went to work.
On his father's watching and reviewing tapes for him and advising him on strategy.
I come from a family of boxers. When you mention boxing, you have to mention us. Just as far as side to side movement, and the pull-counter. A pull-counter, which is the shot that -- when a guy is shooting the jab -- you rock back and come over it and you meet him at the same time.
Before his jab gets there, you're already connecting with the right hand. That's what a pull-counter is. Feinting him out of his position, breaking him with the left hook and other things. We don't approach every fight the same way.
When we fought Juan Manuel Marquez, we wanted to use the jab and be smart. With Mosley, it was that we wanted to break with the left hook and just be smart and watch him because we know that he's going to load up.
On whether or not he was more cautious against Shane Mosley.
Of course, you've got to be cautious in boxing, period. I mean, you don't want to go out there and just be a loose cannon. I do this for my family. That's who I do it for.
On the second round, yet again.
I knew that I was the stronger guy before we even got in there. Everybody was going by the fact that Mosley likes to lift weights a lot. But you know, it's different. And every fighter who faces me tells me that it's totally different.
And I don't fight every fighter the same. I approach every fight differently. So, my ultimate goal was that I was looking for the knockout. But he kept grabbing me, so, that's what we were bickering about. I kept telling him, 'You keep holding me.'
'You're talking about I'm fighting dirty, but I'm not fighting dirty, you keep holding me.' So, that's what we were arguing about in the eighth, ninth, I don't know what round it was.
On his ring entrance that included The O'Jays, money-dispensing Elvis, showgirl on stilts, gun-shot sound effects, and his red leather, black mink robe and trunks.
You know whose idea that was. I wanted to bring the people a show. I'm going to be honest. I had that trick up my sleeve. I had a game plan. I feel that he's a lot older. He's 38 years old, so I said, 'I'm going to keep him waiting.' I played my video, put my show on, let the pyrotechnics go off and let him get cold.
It was mind games. That's what we were doing. It was my idea to put on a show. I'm always trying to bring something different to the sport of boxing. And I thank all of the sponsors. I thank everybody, and, of course, HBO. Everybody did a tremendous job. The media, everybody.
Everybody that came from all over the world. The people who flew here from other countries to see the fight, I appreciate it.
Source: boxing.fanhouse.com
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