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Mosley testifies to EPO use before fighting De La Hoya

NEW YORK -- "Sugar" Shane Mosley told a grand jury in 2003 that he injected himself with the doping agent EPO as he prepared for a fight against Oscar De La Hoya, according to court transcripts and doping calendars reviewed by the New York Daily News.

The transcript of the boxer's testimony was part of a BALCO file that was under a protective order before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston decided last Wednesday to allow prosecutors to share thousands of documents with Barry Bonds' lawyers.

Mosley has acknowledged using performance-enhancing drugs but has denied knowing the drugs were banned or illegal. His attorney, Judd Burstein, told the newspaper the testimony is consistent with what his client has said publicly.

"I am very relieved that this grand jury testimony has been released because it confirms that Shane has consistently recounted his dealings with [Victor] Conte from 2003 to today," Burstein said in a story posted on the paper's Web site Tuesday night.

Conte, the convicted steroids dealer who founded the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, has said he saw Mosley take EPO during a meeting in which Mosley was told the benefits and risks of performance-enhancing drugs and how to use them.

Mosley, who beat De La Hoya in the 2003 junior middleweight title bout, is expected to fight Antonio Margarito on Jan. 24 for the WBA welterweight championship.

Bonds' trial is scheduled to begin March 2. Baseball's career home run leader faces charges of making false statements and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to a grand jury about whether he took performance-enhancing drugs. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.