The bottom line is the bottom line, i.e. all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather

The welterweight title match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley is going to test the conventions of modern boxing. There are some promoters who believe that a match between two African-American boxers can't generate record-breaking numbers on Pay-Per-View. And there are those who believe that having pro boxers submit to Olympic-style testing for performance-enhancing drugs before a fight is fraught with problems. Mayweather and Mosley were at the Nokia Theater in Times Square Tuesday to promote their mega match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 1. After some pushing, shoving and hand-fighting during a staged stand-up on a fog-shrouded stage, they seem ready to turn convention on its head. If this fight is as successful as the promoters and TV executives believe it will be, it will go a long way toward determining what the future holds for the sport in the U.S. And for a sport that continues to fall deeper into the niche realm, moving forward is very important. Nothing will move it out of that realm faster than a strong product in the ring. That means it must be a meaningful match between two highly skilled, equal competitors. And that is what Mayweather-Mosley is. This match is the residue from Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao going up in flames. Only in boxing can the biggest bout in 25 years disintegrate, leaving mainstream sports fans scratching their heads, and a resulting match being arguably more competitive than the one that blew up. But that is what has happened. Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) and Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) are in the top three pound-for-pound on almost everyone's list. They have been circling each other for 10 years, since they were both lightweights. And Mosley is probably the only boxer, Pacquiao included, who can give Mayweather all he can handle. Therein lies the intrigue and why the conventional thinking about a pair of African-Americans not doing well at the box office will get turned upside down. Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy Promotions, announced that within the first 15 minutes of a sale at the MGM Grand box office in Las Vegas Tuesday morning that 14,000 of the 17,000 tickets had been sold. He also thinks that it will set a record for Pay-Per-View sales. "This will be a case where one plus one equals three," Schaefer said. "Three million homes is what I anticipate. We will break records." Mark Taffet, head of HBO Pay-Per-View, also believes Mayweather-Mosley will top the record of 2.4 million buys that was set with Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. "This could be the biggest fight in Pay-Per-View history," Taffet said. "Floyd Mayweather is the driving force behind the resurgence of boxing in the urban community." Mayweather is a polarizing force in boxing. But in the African-American community he is popular because of his hip-hop swagger and ring dominance. He calls himself "Money." That braggadocio turns off many, but plays well among young urban fans. Mayweather's Pay-Per-View numbers have been the strongest in the sport since 2007. Taffet said Mayweather has been involved in fights that have done 5.5 million buys and generated $290 million in revenue. Mosley doesn't have nearly the profile of Mayweather, but he may be his closest equal in the ring - a fast, quick boxer with power in both hands and a good chin. While Pacquiao refused to acquiesce to Mayweather's demands for Olympic-style drug testing, which included random blood tests, Mosley has agreed to it. "I've never seen anybody who didn't want to take a $25 million blood test," Mayweather quipped about Pacquiao's refusal. Mosley has admitted before a federal grand jury that he took the designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" and used EPO. Mayweather and Mosley have both agreed to Olympic-style random testing for the fight. "I believe we have a chance to move the sport forward by agreeing to take drug tests," Mosley said. "It's important that everybody knows that both fighters are clean and the fight is being fought on a level playing field." If both Mayweather and Mosley test clean and the fight does an astronomical Pay-Per-View number, then the sport will definitely take a giant step forward. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/03/03/2010-03-03_fightin_chance_for_floydshane.html#ixzz0h88SmbgN