Golden Boy Promotions sent out a press release today making it official: Floyd Mayweather Jr. has signed on the dotted line to face WBA welterweight titlist Shane Mosley on May 1 in Las Vegas.
The news comes just a day after Golden Boy's Richard Schaefer said he was frustrated by waiting for Mayweather to sign the contract, hoping to take the fighters to the Super Bowl and get press there. The same was done in 2007 for Mayweather's fight with Oscar de la Hoya, and hopefully Golden Boy can still make that happen -- if it was ever a real issue to begin with.
Mayweather (40-0, 25 KO) last fought in September when he routed Juan Manuel Marquez in a physical mismatch that left just about everyone besides Floyd's biggest fans wanting more, or questioning his guts. Taking on Mosley (46-5, 39 KO) is maybe the biggest risk of his career, and certainly the biggest he's taken since he became a major star. Mosley, 38, still looked fantastic last year against Antonio Margarito, though he's been out of the ring since that January fight.
We've all said many times how much we love this fight, how long we've wanted to see it, how great it is that Floyd is taking the sort of challenge everyone -- from the "haters" to the "fanboys" -- wants to see him take.
Mosley said, "I have always wanted to fight Floyd and now it is finally coming true. I am already in great shape and ready to show everyone on May 1 that I am stronger, faster and better than he is. I will have no problem beating him."
Mayweather had no quotes at this time, but rest assured he'll have plenty in the coming weeks and months.
The fight will have the blood testing that Mayweather wanted to fight Manny Pacquiao, so if there's still anyone out there holding onto the strange belief that Mayweather wasn't asking Mosley to do the same thing he asked Pacquiao to do, this will hopefully end that discussion. They're doing it.
If a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight doesn't happen in 2010 (and it's iffier than a lot of people believe, I think), there's a really good chance that Mosley-Mayweather will be the biggest fight of 2010.
I also don't really want to bring race into it, and I know some people get really sensitive about this stuff, but this is the first "megafight" between two black American fighters in some time. That's pretty amazing given how massive a footprint African-American fighters have made on this sport. It's the biggest all-American fight since Oscar-Floyd, too. I think there's a chance that this fight does a really huge PPV buyrate, by which I mean the biggest since Oscar-Floyd.
All that's left to do now is promote, talk trash, and then get it on. Center of the ring, May 1 at the MGM Grand, Floyd Mayweather and Shane Mosley will go eye-to-eye. I can't wait.