Mayweather, Mosley get physical in kickoff

NEW YORK – Music blared over the loudspeakers, smoke billowed across the stage, and the curtain dropped to reveal Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley dressed to the nines as a crowd of several thousand inside the Nokia Theater let out a roar.

They won’t meet in the ring until May 1 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the first stop on a whirlwind, three-city publicity tour Tuesday included plenty of pomp and pizazz.

Fireworks, too.

After lengthy introductions that would have made silver-tongued Michael Buffer blush, the unbeaten Mayweather and the welterweight champion Mosley sauntered to the middle of the stage and stood face to face. Jawing turned to pointing, pointing turned to shoving, and before long, promoters from both camps were rushing forward to separate them.

Perhaps the altercation was staged, but it’s hard to fake the animosity between them.

“The thing is this: He may be the champ, but we all know belts don’t do nothing but collect dust,” Mayweather said, smiling. “I’m in the check-cashing business, baby.”

Both should be able to cash hefty checks after this fight, arguably the biggest in the sport not involving Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather and Mosley have been circling each other for years, and the possibility they would finally meet really gained traction when Mosley crashed a post-fight interview after Mayweather defeated Juan Manuel Marquez last September.

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions brazenly predicted the fight will do 3 million pay-per-views, which would shatter the record set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya in 2007.

“We have the two best American fighters of our generation,” Schaefer said. “Mayweather has become a household name, let’s face it. Love him or hate him, he’s a household name.           (AP)