Mosley facing fights in the ring and court

The gods of symbolism had their moment Tuesday when boxers Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley were introduced on a small stage as champion and challenger respectively for their Jan. 24 welterweight fight at Staples Center.

Margarito, the so-called “Tijuana Tornado” who hammered previously unbeaten Miguel Cotto in a knockout summer victory, bathed in bright sunlight that made his sunglasses a necessity. Three days after Oscar De La Hoya’s lopsided TKO loss to Manny Pacquiao, many expect Margarito to emerge as the most popular active fighter among Latino fans.

Mosley, meanwhile, sat in shadows.

Mosley is only a few days removed from the release of grand jury transcripts about Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in which he admitted to knowingly using the banned energy-boosting substance EPO, provided by BALCO, in advance of his close 2003 decision victory over De La Hoya.

On Tuesday Mosley sidestepped any questions about his grand jury testimony. “Talk to my attorney,” he said.

Mosley, who lost a unanimous decision to Cotto last year before beating Ricardo Mayorga, is being sued by former conditioning coach Derryl Hudson for defamation after saying Hudson convinced him to take BALCO products. The boxer is also suing BALCO founder Victor Conte for defamation, alleging Conte’s claims that Mosley knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs were motivated to boost sales of a book about the scandal that included all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and former Olympic champion sprinter Marion Jones.

Bonds faces a federal trial in March for lying to a grand jury about using performance-enhancing drugs as part of a probe into BALCO. Bonds has claimed he was using flaxseed oil provided by Conte.

The grand jury transcripts revealed Mosley was told by Conte that he could identify some BALCO products as flaxseed oil. Mosley told a U.S. Attorney, “I believe it was probably . . . I guess it was something else, yeah.”

Mosley’s attorney Judd Burstein said Tuesday that his client understood that all of BALCO’s products were legal. The situation might leave Mosley as a witness in Bonds’ upcoming perjury trial, although Burstein says, “I don’t think he’ll be called.”

Burstein added: “Conte was a good salesman, he had a powerful client in Bonds. . . . Shane is so good-natured and unsuspecting, so trusting.”

Conte has filed a motion for Mosley to pay off his legal fees for being sued, and Conte says his legal team is crafting a motion to dismiss Mosley’s lawsuit based on the grand jury transcripts.

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lance.pugmire@latimes.com