Mosley Says Hes Not Distracted By Latest PED Stuff

Shane Mosley sounded ready to rock 11 days out from his fight with Floyd Mayweather. Floyd has to hope that Mosley doesnt transfer some of the aggravation he showed on a Tuesday conference call for media asking about the latest layer in his PED saga.

On Thursday, convicted PED chemist/dealer Victor Conte leaked portions of a recent Mosley deposition, from October 2009. Mosley accused Conte and has brought a defamation suit against the rogue chemist, for tricking him into using banned steroids the cream and masking agent the clear and endurance-booster EPO; Conte counterclaims that the boxer knew quite well he was taking, the PED EPO, leading in to his 2003 bout with Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley contended that he in fact didnt know the true identity of the substance he used.

In the deposition, a questioner asks Mosley if he was aware what he was ingesting, EPO, as he was taking it. He answers in the affirmative, which appears to negate the basis for the case being worked by his attorney Judd Burstein, which is that Conte didnt divulge the illegal nature of the substance he sold Mosley. In a NY Daily News article, Burstein said that his client had always admitted to knowingly using EPO, which confounded followers of the sordid saga. The attorney said hed release the entire deposition to prove that Contes edits were shady.

On the call, Mosley tried as best he could to bring the discussion into the present.

I never was on it really like that, he said. I choose to not even talk about it. 2003 when that stuff happened, so….Ive always been a clean fighter. I dont feel I should be condemned for something I never tested positive for…the truth was revealed to me there (at the deposition)…The media wants to make me the poster boy for steroids…You guys want to get that out there, so be it, you guys know the truth.

The attorney, Burstein, was also present on the call. He too tried to focus on the present. Theres no point in talking about it, he said. Conte edited it, took it out of context. Theres nothing more to say about it.

Sadly, drug testing and PEDs has become the story, or at least too significant a subplot, for those who merely want to focus on the action in the ring. Will the focus on the Conte case detract from Mosleys preparation? Impossible for us to know. The fighter said on the call that he tried to steer clear of media, and focus on getting ready for the tussle, but he came off as on edge on the topic. This isnt an optimum state of mind as he tries to ready himself to be the first man to take down Mayweather, to be screamingly obvious.

SPEEDBAG Mosleys WBA welterweight title belt will not be on the line on May 1. If Shane wins, the belt is still his. If Floyd wins, the title will be vacant.

—Promoter Richard Schaefer said the fight is virtually sold out, with only some $600 and $1250 seats left. Closed circuit seating, some 25,000, will open up tomorrow, he said.