Floyd Mayweather Jr. and welterweight champion Shane Mosley will
undergo Olympic-style drug testing for their May 1 fight in Las
Vegas, which they hope will set a new standard for boxing.
Representatives of the two fighters joined Travis Tygart of
the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on a conference call Thursday to
discuss the program, which is more extensive than the testing that
currently falls under the jurisdiction of state athletic
commissions.
"This is one of the biggest events I've seen in the sport of
boxing, and if this introduces Olympic-style testing to boxing, we
not only have delivered a great fight but also leveled the field
for athletes," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions.
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 USADA can test them in the
future. The samples are screened for all drugs currently banned by
the World Anti-Doping Agency, including human growth hormone and
designer steroids like THG.
Most state athletic commissions test only urine samples,
which Tygart said cannot detect at least four performance-enhancing
substances, including HGH.
"For the first time, you have professional athletes in the
sport of boxing approaching us to implement an anti-doping
program," Tygart said. "These athletes are courageous in their
position and their desire to be held to the most stringent
anti-doping standard."
Mayweather's insistence on Olympic-style testing is the
primary reason negotiations fell through in January for a fight
against pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather wanted
blood tests up to 14 days before the fight, while Pacquiao claims
he feels weak after drawing blood and would not agree to testing
within 24 days.
When those negotiations fell apart, Mayweather turned his
attention to Mosley.
"With Floyd being the face of boxing, this is something that
he has wanted to put forth," said Mayweather's adviser, Leonard
Ellerbe. "Every fight from this point on that anybody steps into
the ring with him will be subjected to this."
That begins with Mosley, who has acknowledged using steroids
before a victory over Oscar De La Hoya in 2003. The four-time world
champion claims he did so inadvertently through a strength and
conditioning coach with connections to BALCO, the center of the
scandal that enmeshed Barry Bonds and several other high-profile
athletes.
Mosley filed a defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte after
the BALCO founder said the boxer knowingly took
performance-enhancing drugs.
"I want to be clear that Shane would not be doing this if
there were any doubt in his mind that he's a clean athlete," said
Mosley's lawyer, Judd Burstein. "Shane has never denied, right from
the start, he made a mistake with respect to trusting Victor Conte.
"Shane is doing this, and Floyd is to be congratulated for
being on the forefront here, but Shane didn't hesitate because he
knows he's a clean athlete."
Tygart said USADA, which has been involved in the BALCO
investigation, discussed the Mosley case before agreeing to
implement its drug-testing program.
"You have to remember that professional boxing entities that
had jurisdiction over him at the time did not bring any discipline
over those allegations or any others," Tygart said. "If those
allegations were ever proven to be true and he was sanctioned, he
would have served his time by this point and would be eligible to
compete."
While the two fighters have agreed to the more rigorous
testing for their bout at the MGM Grand, it will ultimately come
down to whether sanctioning bodies and state athletic commissions
choose to recognize punishments that USADA might impose.
That would include a two-year ban from the sport for a
failed test.
"We're looking forward to working closely with them, because
our interests are the same," Tygart said, "to have drug-free, safe
boxing, which people can believe in."
Ellerbe said the New York State Athletic Commission is
considering whether to have Olympic-style drug testing, and often
other commissions will follow each other's lead.
"This is something they're considering, and my
interpretation from this is eventually all the commissions from
across the United States will adopt this," he said.
