Judah seeks Mosley drug test

Boxer Zab Judah’s camp said Monday it wants upcoming opponent Shane Mosley to submit to a private blood test to help ensure the former world champion from Pomona is no longer engaging in performance-enhancing drug use.

“This is an honest concern,” Judah’s promoter, Michael Shinefield, said at a Los Angeles news conference promoting the Mosley-Judah welterweight fight May 31 in Las Vegas. “He’s admittedly said he took it.”

In a March 13 e-mail obtained by The Times, Shinefield formally requested to Mosley’s Golden Boy Promotions that Mosley submit a blood test through a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory.

“We would be willing to absorb all cost associated with this test for both fighters,” Shinefield wrote in the e-mail. “Please understand that this ends any and all speculation of doping by either fighter. With the fight being touted as ‘High Stakes,’ it’s only just that every step is taken to ensure a fair fight. We hope Shane agrees!”

In September, former three-division world champion Mosley (44-5, 37 knockouts) acknowledged he “unknowingly” used then-undetectable steroids produced by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and the blood-boosting drug EPO given to him by his former strength and conditioning coach, Derryl Hudson, in preparation for his 2003 victory over Oscar De La Hoya.

“I didn’t understand it to be blood doping, I was told it would keep my [red] blood cells high,” Mosley told The Times then. “I didn’t know the extent of this. To be honest, I didn’t care to have it, but [Hudson] kept saying this stuff was great, and described it as ‘icing on the cake,’ because when you work as hard as I do, you need something to help you recover. Like vitamins, I thought.”

Hudson, however, sued Mosley for defamation last month, claiming in court records that Mosley made “false allegations” by explaining that he was “totally unaware that he was taking performance-enhancing substances and felt the banned substances were pushed on him by [Hudson].”

“Plaintiff never gave, pushed, recommended, or in any way, made the defendant take the banned substances,” said Hudson’s lawsuit, which has moved from Los Angeles County civil court to federal court, with the next hearing scheduled May 29 -- two days before the Mosley-Judah fight.

Shinefield on Monday said he hadn’t heard a response about his private lab request from Mosley, or Golden Boy. Shinefield, however, said he’s concerned Mosley could use human growth hormone, which cannot be detected by the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s routine urine test.

Judah said at the news conference he’d beat Mosley “with no chemicals, no strength enhancement.” He later boasted he could beat Mosley “even with his drugs. [He] can’t beat me if he looks all juiced up like [pro wrestler] Batista.”

Mosley dismissed the talk as gamesmanship.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Mosley said. “It was totally innocent what I did. It’s a ploy by Zab to get under my skin.”

Golden Boy Promotions executive Richard Schaefer said he didn’t see the need to involve private lab tests beyond what Nevada does, noting he didn’t feel compelled to ask Nevada officials for extra security because of Judah’s outbursts in fights in 2001 and 2006.

“They’re the most advanced boxing commission in the U.S., and we’re not going to get caught up in this . . .,” Schaefer said.

Keith Kizer, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, said his group can use private lab results as evidence in a complaint. “They can either reach a private agreement to go the route of a private blood test, or Mr. Judah can decide not to take the fight,” Kizer said. “I have faith both fighters will come to Nevada clean, and that they’ll fight clean.”

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lance.pugmire@latimes.com