Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley will begin the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) gold standard anti-doping program on Monday, March 22 as they continue to prepare for Mayweather vs Mosley “Who R U Picking?” set to take place on Saturday, May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View ® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
It is the first time in history that athletes from any U.S. professional sport have reached out and demanded World Anti-Doing Code compliant drug testing, setting both a boxing and sport precedent.
Both Mayweather and Mosley have agreed to the gold-standard, anti-doping program, the most stringent in sport, as outlined and mandated by USADA. The program involves no-advance-notice sample collection of the athletes’ blood and urine prior to and after the fight so that all banned substances, some of which do not show up in urine alone, are tested for thoroughly, and with both athletes subjected to the testing program leading up to as well as after the fight.
“I am excited that Shane Mosley and I are willing to take these tests to ensure a fair fight on May 1,” said Mayweather. “I just want to show the world that boxing is a clean sport and it is my hope that all fighters will take a similar stance and responsibility which reflects sportsmanship at the highest level and sets a new standard for safety in boxing.”
“I think the testing program is a great idea and I did not hesitate for a minute about agreeing to it,” said Mosley. “Let’s hope that the rest of the boxing world follows Floyd’s and my example.”
Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions said, “Floyd is leading the way for changing the sport and I commend him for that. Some people have asked why he has not asked for it in the past but it is never too late to take a stand on an issue that is prevalent in all sports today and ask for something that can only have positive results on the future of boxing.
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said, “Shane Mosley is one of the greatest fighters of this era and I commend him for agreeing to participate in a testing process that can only help the integrity of the sport. I commend both of these fighters for setting a new precedent in the sport and giving others an opportunity to reflect on its current state and how, as a collective group, we can continue to make the sport better, safer and fairer for anyone who steps in to the ring.”
”I believe today is another watershed moment in the advancement of anti-doping,” said USADA CEO, Travis T. Tygart. “For the first time, we’re seeing professional athletes in the sport of boxing approach us to implement our program, and take ownership for the integrity of their sport. This is courageous action and we are proud to be a part of this effort to help further advance the rights of clean athletes to participate in a safe, level and drug-free arena.”
About Mayweather vs. Mosley: Who R U Picking?
Boxing superstar and six-time World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and welterweight mega- star, five-time World Champion and current WBA Welterweight World Champion Sugar Shane Mosley, are set to meet on Saturday, May 1 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas in a spectacular bout which will be produced and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
The bout, promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate, AT&T, Dewalt Tools and StubHub, promises to be a spectacular display of talent and skill with Mayweather and Mosley will meet in a 12-round welterweight battle that is already being compared to other great and historic welterweight match-ups like Sugar Ray Leonard against Tommy Hearns and Oscar de la Hoya against Felix Trinidad.
Tickets priced are $1,250, $1,000, $600, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now and limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person with a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745- 3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
The Mayweather vs. Mosley pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Mosley fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
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