Listen Now:
Shane Mosley’s Raging Tweets May Reveal War with Himself
By Ivan G. Goldman
Shane Mosley, recently waging a twitter war against unnamed people and forces, claims he was “set up” back when he was using performance-enhancing drugs.
Precisely what he means by these words it’s difficult to determine. Is he recanting previous testimony? He admitted under oath in 2003 and elsewhere that years ago he took PEDs but also said at the time he was unaware they were illegal. As part of his testimony, he said he injected EPO with a syringe on both sides of his navel. EPO is an infamous banned substance that enhances endurance.
Victor Conte, who eventually did time for operating BALCO, a steroid stand in the San Francisco Bay area, estimated that Mosley endured about 20 of these double injections. Mosley also has said that Conte warned him of possible harmful effects. Mosley’s testimony, used in criminal procedures involving BALCO, wasn’t made public until 2008.
During the recent twitter rampage Mosley, 49-9-1, 41 KOs, who once sat atop the sport as the Number One fighter pound-for pound, also says he was offered bribes more than once to throw fights. Some of the characters who made the offers were clearly dangerous, perhaps even murderers, he says. You can follow his series of tweets at @ShaneMosley_ on twitter.
Mosley, who turns 45 in September, has retired at least once, but he’s scheduled to fight May 28 in Glendale, Arizona for David Avanesyan’s interim world WBA welterweight title. The winner could eventually face champion Keith Thurman or Shawn Porter if he bests Thurman in their June 25 match on Showtime.
Mosley’s promotional company financed his PPV fight against Ricardo Mayorga last August. Mosley scored a kayo, but the Los Angeles event may have lost money.
It appears Mosley got his clock cleaned in 2011 divorce proceedings. His wife Jin was also his manager and intimately acquainted with the whereabouts of assets. Famously, she even took his championship belts, though it was a temporary arrangement until the children reached adulthood.
Before their marriage struck the rocks, the Mosleys had shared a mansion about fifty miles east of Los Angeles. Mosley traveled hundreds of miles north to obtain the substances from BALCO, which was later involved in a multitude of scandals in several sports.
Mosley’s tweets about shady, sinister characters seeking to fix fights is nothing less than fascinating. You have to wonder whether some prosecutor somewhere will look into the allegations. On the other hand, in one tweet Mosley says, “Disclaimer* the stories on my timeline are for entertainment only and should not be construed as facts…. my attorneys said.” Once someone declares something like that it doesn’t enhance the person’s credibility.
So what does it all mean? I’m not sure Mosley knows himself. I imagine he looks back at a career he once hoped would be stainless and magnificent and has regrets. After his BALCO testimony became public some folks thought his decision victory over Oscar De La Hoya in their second fight should be stricken from the record. Mosley admitted taking the substances before the bout.
But prizefighting is a forgiving sport. It’s a safe bet Mosley will be voted into the Hall of Fame after he retires for good. And he’ll no doubt continue hashing it all over in his mind — what he did right and what he did wrong. Don’t we all?
Ivan G. Goldman’s 5th novel The Debtor Class is a ‘gripping …triumphant read,’ says Publishers Weekly. A future cult classic with ‘howlingly funny dialogue,’ says Booklist. Available from Permanent Press wherever fine books are sold. Goldman is a New York Times best-selling author.
