"Sugar" Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. shoved each other and wrestled a bit at Tuesday's news conference in New York City promoting their May 1 welterweight showdown at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
There was none of that at Thursday's news conference at Nokia Plaza at L.A. Live. The two did some jaw-jacking when they squared off on a stage in front of hundreds of fans, most of whom cheered Mosley and booed Mayweather.
Other than that, the highest drama came when a Tecate girl fainted in front of the dais as promoter Oscar De La Hoya was speaking.
De La Hoya shouted for a doctor, but the woman was helped to her feet and appeared to be OK. Paramedics were summoned.
Later, after all the proceedings, Mosley said he doesn't have anything against Mayweather, who has gone so far as to give Mosley the business about his recent divorce.
"People like to say `dislike,"' Mosley said. "OK, we dislike each other before May 1. Actually, I'm not even sure I dislike him now. But after May 1, we won't dislike each other."
But De La Hoya said beforehand there is genuine animosity between the fighters. Especially from Mosley's standpoint.
"I know there is, for a fact," said De La Hoya, Mosley's promoter.
"Mosley has been wanting to get Mayweather inside the ring for the longest time and there's been some personal stuff, words exchanged, especially Mayweather to Mosley. And Mosley, he's fed up with it.
"I had to tell him, `Hey, don't let him get you off your game.' That's what he wants. He wants you to be angry so you can go at him and try to knock him out and that's where he's very dangerous. He'll make you miss and make you pay."
Mayweather - a major-league trash-talker - was respectful Thursday.
"I've been here before," he said, "so I know what it takes. I want to test my skills against the best out there. I want Shane to believe in himself and his skills because I believe in myself and my skills.
"Shane is a future Hall of Famer and I'm a future Hall of Famer, and it's going to be a great fight."
Mayweather also reminded everyone both fighters will undergo random Olympic-style drug testing, something Manny Pacquiao refused to do. That's why Pacquiao - who's never tested positive for steroids - is fighting Joshua Clottey a week from Saturday in Arlington, Texas, instead of Mayweather.
Mosley never has tested positive either, but he did admit to a grand jury he unknowingly ingested the steroids "the cream" and "the clear" before his second victory over De La Hoya in 2003.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) is considered the best defensive fighter in recent times. But Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) believes he has the recipe for success.
"With Mayweather, guys have been chasing him all his life," Mosley said. "So I have to be able to box, punch, move side to side. I have to give him angles. I gotta give all of myself. I have to be `Sugar' Shane to the fullest."
The fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view for $54.95.
Source: presstelegram.com
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