Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com
Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrives at the MGM Grand on April 27, 2010.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 | 8:40 p.m.
Mayweather vs Mosley: Prefight Presser
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
Both the Mayweather and Mosley camps get in a few last jabs and jokes before Saturday's fight.
Reader poll
Sun Archives
Floyd Mayweather Jr. already believes he should go down as the greatest boxer of all time.
He'd also like to be remembered as one of the key contributors in wiping performance-enhancing drugs from the sport.
Mayweather has told his fans, the media and those that represent him at Golden Boy Promotions that he will not agree to face any fighter who will not submit himself to random blood testing. The current drug policy of the Nevada State Athletic Commission requires fighters to undergo urine tests.
The reason for this demand, Mayweather says, is that performance-enhancing drugs are too prevalent in the sport and put fighters' health at risk.
"You start seeing so many different fighters, over and over again, go into comas," Mayweather said. "Fighters are dying. From what I hear, enhancement drugs are making fighters punch harder, faster and stronger. All it's doing is hurting the sport."
At Mayweather's request, both he and Shane Mosley agreed to voluntarily undergo Olympic-style blood testing leading up to their welterweight bout Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Because of the magnitude of the event and the athletes themselves, Mayweather's team believes it could be a major step forward in persuading athletic commissions to adopt blood testing as their own policy.
"It's a big statement that takes it to the forefront," said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schafer. "It is those kinds of events that can act as a trigger for change. And I hope it will be a trigger. Who knows? Maybe five years from now we'll look back and say the trigger to all this was the Mayweather-Mosley fight."
According to NSAC executive director Keith Kizer, a change to the commission's drug policy will likely occur well within the next five years.
The NSAC has been at the head of many rule changes to discourage drug use said Kizer, including switching wins to "no contests" when a fighter tests positive for banned substances.
According to Kizer, the last significant meeting it held on drug-testing policies was in September 2008, when it was determined that urine testing was the most effective, accurate method.
However, the process of blood testing has been improved since then — including the first positive test for HGH by a British professional rugby player in February this year.
Those advancements have fell under the NSAC's consideration, and Kizer said the commission likely would revisit its drug-testing policy as early as next month.
"It's never not been under our consideration, it's an ongoing thing," Kizer said. "Urine testing is better for testing everything except HGH. Blood testing, until recently, hasn't been perfected.
"We held a public meeting in 2008 where we looked over a lot of material. Now, it's 18 months later and we need to revisit it. It could be expanding our urine testing or adding blood testing. Something could happen, hopefully, next month."
Members from Mayweather's camp believe the greatest contribution the fighter can make to the process is continuing to demand random blood tests of all his opponents.
According to HBO officials, Mayweather fights generate an average of $48.6 million in pay-per-view revenue — the most of any fighter in boxing history.
Any potential opponent looking to cash in on that type of financial opportunity will have to be willing to go above and beyond the drug-testing requirements of athletic commissions.
"He leads by example," said Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's advisor. "He's standing up and saying, 'Look, this is what I'm doing and if anybody wants to fight me, this is what they are subjected to.'"
Fans and media alike have questioned the timing of Mayweather's decision to take such a stand, as it was the reason negotiations fell through for a super-fight with Filipino welterweight Manny Pacquiao.
Some have suggested that Mayweather made the demands only because Pacquiao has the reputation of being fearful of needles.
However Ellerbe maintains that cleaning the sport of drugs has been a discussion of Mayweather's camp long before negotiations with Pacquiao.
"Who says it wasn't important before?" said Ellerbe. "Things we talk about internally we don't always talk about in public. The time was right. Why not now? If something is important for the health and safety of fighters, then why no question it."
To Mayweather himself, the issue is even simpler than "the right timing" or the policies of athletic commissions.
He considers himself the greatest in the sport and says he didn't use any performance-enhancing drugs to become the greatest.
He's proud of that — and believes any other clean fighter would be, too.
"I don't understand. Just take the test," Mayweather said. "If none of these fighters are doing nothing, then just take the test. If you're a clean fighter, then take the test."
Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or brett.okamoto@lasvegassun.com.
I wonder what part of the commission's policies and medical experts' view that the GBP and Mayweather team is missing here? I have lots of buddies who are MDs and medical technologists that corroborate with the athletic commissions' method and preference to urine test being most suitable for detecting MOST of the PEDs, in this case, HGH. Blood testing, as Kizer had mentioned, isn't perfected yet; and that other medicine experts say that blood requires more procedure than urine does. Even people on a 3rd world country does not bite to GBP/Mayweather's pronouncements. Maybe he chose blood so Floyd may indeed MASK something during the tests. Hmmm...
I did not know that Mayweather is bigger than the Boxing Commission.
Mayweather is full of crap and excuses. he is using the blood test as an excuse so he doesn't have to fight Manny Pacman. he will never be the best until he fight he best. Mayweather is a freakin LOSER.
I'm not sure, but if it's not in the rules, he shouldn't have to.
Next thing you'll know, Mr. Mayweather will demand that any opponent he face must adhere to drinking 8 glasses of water per day and sleeping 8 hours every night for a full 3 months before the fight because he wants to be the one to promote health in boxing.
Oh and maybe along with that, he'll also demand that inspections be done to verify his sleep state at any time, unannounced, by an independent testing body including the possibility of someone peeking at the opponent's bedroom the night before the fight. Man I crack myself up!
Why does anyone need a blood test before a waltz? The training regimen for time in a ring with Gayweather is dance lessons.
What a piece of s--t, Heres another loud mouth black guy who's scared to fight real opponents so he makes up this drug test policy. SMOKE SCREEN
"Mayweather is full of crap and excuses. he is using the blood test as an excuse so he doesn't have to fight Manny Pacman. he will never be the best until he fight he best. Mayweather is a freakin LOSER."
So the "Undefeated guy" isn't the best until he fights the "Guy with losses on his record" who is suppose to be the best? Manny is a great draw and is an exciting fighter... But to deny the truth that Floyd would dominate him as he did Marquez is ridiculous!
I'll step aside so all of the Manny fans and Floyd haters can flame away!!!!
Its too bad no one stick together and just not got to this flunkies' fights. He is by far the most embarrassing thing to happen to boxing since Tyson. He only fights opponents he knows he can beat, he wont fight the pacman because he knows he will lose by KO. This guy is a disgrace to boxing, just because of his mouth.
Mayweather is a great boxer and should be on the short list of the greatest of all time. His one knock is that he didn't fight the greatest in his weight class at their prime. For instance, Mosley is 38. 38! He's not the same fighter that he was at 30. Granted Money has aged as well, but he is only 32. Floyd fought Winky Wright, Judah, Hatton, Marquez, and others. He isn't "hiding" as much as Mosley's camp wants people to believe.
I think if Floyd wins this fight, he will set himself up for a super fight with Pac-man, then might retire...
Mayweather should have an IQ test before he's allowed to speak. Does he even have his GED?
Has Manny fought Shane? He must be scared....LOL