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Page last updated at 08:18 GMT, Thursday, 4 February 2010

Floyd Mayweather Jr to fight Shane Mosley in Las Vegas

Floyd Mayweather Jr (left) and Ricky Hatton
Mayweather knocked out Hatton in 2007 before retiring from the ring

Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr will fight WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley in Las Vegas on 1 May.

Both fighters have agreed to Olympic-style drug testing before the Las Vegas contest - an issue that scuppered Mayweather's fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather, a world champion in five divisions, said: "This is for the fans as I wasn't going to waste anyone's time with a meaningless tune-up bout.

"Shane is one of the best but he won't be great enough to beat me."

The 32-year-old, who retired after beating Britain's Ricky Hatton in 2007, returned from almost two years out of the ring with a unanimous points victory over Juan Manuel Marquez last September.

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That win looked set to pave the way to a mega-fight with Filipino legend Pacquiao.

However, the bout collapsed when Pacquiao, who has also won world titles at five weights, refused to agree to random blood and urine sampling in the build-up to the fight.

Mayweather, who has won 25 of his 40 contests by knockout, added: "I have said ever since I came back to the sport that I only wanted to fight the best."

Mosley, 38, himself a three-weight world champion, had been set to fight WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto on 30 January but Berto, who fought for Haiti at the 2004 Olympics, pulled out following the earthquake in his parents' homeland.

Pacquiao still believes his fight with Mayweather will go ahead later this year, but in the meantime will defend his WBO welterweight belt against Ghana's Joshua Clottey in Dallas on 13 March.



see also
Pacquiao-Mayweather 'will happen'
21 Jan 10 |  Boxing
Mayweather 'disgusted' by claims
08 Jan 10 |  Boxing
Mayweather Jr-Pacquiao talks fail
07 Jan 10 |  Boxing
Furious Pacquiao sues Mayweather
31 Dec 09 |  Boxing
Mayweather-Pacquiao bout 'is off'
23 Dec 09 |  Boxing
Berto withdraws from title fight
19 Jan 10 |  Boxing
Hatton ponders Mayweather rematch
21 Oct 09 |  Boxing
Classy Mayweather pummels Marquez
20 Sep 09 |  Boxing
Dominant Mayweather stops Hatton
09 Dec 07 |  Boxing


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