Saturday, December 21, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN: Royce Feour

Marquez going for broke vs. Mosley

Raul Marquez knows he will be a big underdog against Shane Mosley on Feb. 8 at Mandalay Bay. But he says he won't be bothered by the odds against him and is treating the fight as a golden opportunity.

"I'm not stupid," Marquez said. "Of course (Mosley) is going to be the favorite, but I really don't care about that. That doesn't bother me at all. It motivates me, although I don't need it to motivate me."

Marquez, 31, views the scheduled 12-rounder at 154 pounds as one last chance to grab the proverbial brass ring.

"This is my last hurrah," he said.

When the Mosley-Marquez fight was announced, I thought it was a bad match and too one-sided because Marquez is past his prime. I figured Mosley would be about a 10-1 favorite, which was too high as it turns out.

Mandalay Bay sports book director Tom Kapics won't post odds until next month, but is thinking about opening Mosley as a 6 1/2-1 favorite.

"That would be a good starting point," Kapics said. "(Mosley) is using this fight as a tuneup with a southpaw."

The fight is designed to get Mosley ready for a lucrative rematch against WBC super welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya on Sept. 13.

Moreover, Mosley said the fight against the left-handed Marquez will be good preparation for a fight down the line against lefty Winky Wright, the IBF junior middleweight champion.

"This is more for Winky," Mosley said. "I'm already ready for Oscar."

Mosley, of course, took a 12-round split decision over De La Hoya 2 1/2 years ago in Los Angeles.

My feeling is that Marquez is the quintessential "opponent" in this fight. He was selected by the Mosley camp and approved by HBO because he has a name as a former junior middleweight champion, but is a fighter Mosley should beat.

But Marquez's agent, Robert Mittleman, warns against summarily dismissing his fighter.

"This fight is everything for him," Mittleman said. "He is not going to get another chance if he doesn't win. It's all or nothing for him."

Marquez (34-2) figures size will be among his advantages over Mosley (38-2), and he realized it even more this week when the two stood side by side at a news conference.

"I knew I was bigger and taller," Marquez said. "But when I got close to him, I saw I'm a lot bigger than him. That's even better. I feel I can push him around.

"I know he has the speed. I'm going to be hiring sparring partners with a lot of speed. I'm very focused and I'm going to have the best training camp of my life."

While Marquez clearly isn't at his best anymore, Marquez and Mittleman think Mosley might be slipping, too. He lost his WBC 147-pound title to Vernon Forrest last year and lost the rematch in another 12-round decision. Before that, Mosley had been considered among the two best fighters in the world, with Roy Jones Jr.

"Shane is coming off two terrible losses," Mittleman said. "I feel it's a good time to catch Mosley. If Raul should hurt him early, he will flash back to the Forrest fights."

Marquez said, "(Mosley) is moving up in weight and has lost to Forrest twice. It's the best time to fight him."

Marquez and Mittleman had better hope those factors come into play and the fight is competitive for at least a few rounds. Marquez is tough, but beating Mosley would amount to the upset of the year.

Royce Feour's boxing column is published Saturday. He can be reached by phone at 383-0354, fax at 383-4676 or e-mail at rfeour@reviewjournal.com.