Shane Mosley Responds To Sports Illustrated Story

LOS ANGELES, September 28 – Boxing superstar Sugar Shane Mosley wasn’t expecting to read about his one-time relationship with BALCO labs in a Sports Illustrated story Friday morning, four years after he appeared before the Grand Jury and truthfully admitted to unknowingly taking performance enhancing supplements in 2003. But the three-division world champion took the news in stride, again stressing that he is clean, and willing to prove it to anyone who doubts that fact..

“It was kind of shocking and it caught me by surprise,” said Mosley of the story published on SI.com. “I’m disappointed that this is coming out again, four years after I’ve been to the Grand Jury and gave my truthful testimony. I even took a lie detector test back then to let everyone know that I wasn’t trying to be an unfair fighter.

Sports Illustrated reported that Mosley began taking performance enhancers before his September 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley has admitted in the past and admits again today that before the fight he was brought to BALCO founder Victor Conte by his strength and conditioning coach Daryl Hudson to obtain legal supplements.

“We went out there and I left him (Conte) a check for $1,500 with my name on it, and from then on I never saw him again,” said Mosley. “But from the beginning I had them contact the Nevada State Athletic Commission to make sure there were no problems. They got the banned substance list and I was told that nothing I was being given was on that list.”

In the rematch Mosley decisioned De La Hoya and passed the post-fight drug test administered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It was Mosley’s second win over De La Hoya, and the verdict was controversial.

“The first fight with Oscar I basically blew by him,” said Mosley. “The second fight I really struggled, and a lot of people thought that I lost the fight. So if anything, it (taking the supplements) did me more harm than good.”

Later that year, Mosley was subpoenaed to appear before the Grand Jury in the BALCO case, where he truthfully recounted his experience with the lab.

“I was upset because I didn’t even need to go there,” said Mosley, known throughout the sport for his Spartan work ethic and tendency to spend most of his free time in the gym working on his game. “I already felt that I was the better man and the better fighter. I wondered why I had to get in the middle of this type of scandal. It was kind of crazy and I felt used.”

Since the rematch with De La Hoya, Mosley has gone on to compile an impressive 5-2 record that includes two victories over Fernando Vargas and a welterweight title winning effort over Luis Collazo, showing that at 36, he is better than ever. On November 10th, Mosley will headline Madison Square Garden for his fight with Miguel Cotto.

“I know in my heart that I’m a clean guy and a good guy, and I think all the fighters, promoters and even the boxing writers know what type of person I am, what type of fighter I am, and I don’t need that type of edge,” said Mosley. “My record speaks for itself in this matter, I’ve always been a clean fighter, and I have nothing to hide. That one little hiccup should never have happened, and it won’t happen again.”

Like a world-class fighter though, Mosley – who was not given a respectable amount of time to contact the authors of the Sports Illustrated piece to respond before publication – wants to get the last shot in.

“Any of the media or the guys from Sports Illustrated can come up here anytime they want to and take any blood or urine tests and I’ll prove that I’m the cleanest fighter out there today,” Mosley concluded.