History compels Mosley

Shane Mosley still thinks he has something to prove.

Not to himself. He wants to prove his critics wrong.

Mosley wants to gain a measure of respect -- by beating Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden -- that he thinks he has yet to receive.

"It's important to be viewed a certain way," Mosley said Thursday. "It's all about the history of the sport and how you're looked at.

"I know what I know. I don't have to prove anything to myself. I just want to prove to you guys (in the media) that I'm not through."

At age 38, Mosley should be pleased with his accomplishments: 46-5 record with 39 knockouts, five world titles in three weight classes, tens of millions of dollars in career earnings.

But the competitor in him won't let Mosley feel content.

Enhancing his legacy by becoming the first professional fighter to defeat the 33-year-old Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) is more significant to Mosley than the $7 million he will get to fight him.

"That's my motivation," said Mosley, whose WBA title won't be at stake in Saturday's 12-round welterweight fight. "I don't think he's fought anyone with my speed, my power or my knowledge of boxing. To beat him would be very good for my legacy."

Mosley acknowledges that his approach has changed. He can't train the way he did when he was younger.

"When I was 22, 23 years old, I could work out all day and come back the next day and do it the same way," he said. "But when you get to be my age, you can't train all day and be able to come back the next day. So I've learned to be smarter in how I approach my fights.

"But my motivation remains very high. That's what's kept me in the game all these years -- I love to fight. That hasn't changed."

Mosley trained with Naazim Richardson for the second straight fight -- following a January 2009 knockout of Antonio Margarito -- and Mosley said their familiarity with each other has made preparing for Mayweather easier.

"Everybody in my camp was good," Mosley said. "We worked diligently every day, and I feel better than I did for Margarito.

"It's a totally different kind of fight. It's not a strength fight where he's going to be throwing a thousand punches trying to chop me down. It's a fight where I'm going to get a chance to use my skills."

Mosley said he never has been better prepared mentally to enter the ring. He dismissed two issues that could be huge potential distractions: his divorce from wife Jin and an ongoing legal battle with BALCO's Victor Conte, who supplied Mosley with steroids in 2003

"That stuff was already long gone," Mosley said. "I've already been through all that, so it wasn't hard to focus."

Mosley's attorney and friend, Judd Burstein, said the fighter's focus is solely on Mayweather.

"I've seen him this calm once before -- when he fought Margarito," Burstein said. "He was completely the master of his own destiny then. There was no usurping of the crown. His marriage had completely broken up before Margarito, and watching him get ready for this fight, he's completely at peace. All that Victor Conte stuff that's being put out there, he doesn't give a crap."

What Mosley does care about apparently is his place in boxing history.

"It would mean a lot to beat (Mayweather)," Mosley said. "I've trained well. I feel like I'm faster than I was five years ago. I'm still strong. I think we have a good game plan.

"This is the fight I wanted. Now it's time for me to perform."

■ NOTES -- Both fighters have undergone additional random drug testing in the past two weeks, and all tests have come back clean. Since the fight was announced in March, Mosley has been tested 11 times and Mayweather 10. ... According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, Mayweather's purse will be $22.5 million. ... Today's weigh-in at the Grand Garden will begin at 3 p.m. and is open to the public. Admission is free.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.