Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

De La Hoya-Mosley rematch finally set

Terms worked out for Sept. 13 fight; site undetermined

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Shane Mosley Held out for more money Oscar De La Hoya Lost 2000 split decision

After months of haggling, Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley have agreed to a Sept. 13 rematch for De La Hoya's super welterweight title.

Mosley attorney Judd Burstein said his client will sign for the bout this week, possibly Thursday, and that all issues have been resolved. But the site has not been finalized; the fight will be at the MGM Grand or the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

"All we have to do is get the site down and get to work promoting this thing," Top Rank president Bob Arum said. "Oscar is excited, and we're all set to go. There are no more glitches."

Mosley, who won a split decision over De La Hoya on June 17, 2000, appears to have earned a victory over De La Hoya and Arum at the negotiating table. Mosley held out for a better financial package and got it: a $4.5 million guarantee, with a more advantageous pay-per-view share.

After his fight against Raul Marquez on Feb. 8 at Mandalay Bay, Mosley rejected a $4.25 million offer to fight De La Hoya, a take-it-or-leave-it offer Arum had negotiated with Mosley promoter Barry Frank. Mosley insisted on $4.5 million, the same as he got for fighting De La Hoya in 2000.

After the Mosley-Marquez fight was ruled a no-contest in the third round after Marquez couldn't continue because of severe cuts, an exasperated Arum said he planned to bypass Mosley in favor of a De La Hoya rematch against Fernando Vargas.

"I had to wonder why I would want to pay a guy $4.25 million when he hasn't won a fight in a year and a half and he fought like that," Arum said then. "(Frank) and I had agreed, and it was there for Shane to accept. He didn't, so there is no deal."

But the negotiations reheated last month when De La Hoya offered Mosley an extra $500,000 out of his purse if Mosley wins the bout.

Again, Mosley held out for a $4.5 million base offer. Also, his percentage of the pay-per-view profits will kick in after 600,000 buys.

In his first fight against De La Hoya, Mosley's percentage began at 700,000 buys, but the bout generated only 580,000. De La Hoya's fight with Vargas in September did just under 1 million.

Though Mosley had no alternative fights nearly as lucrative as taking on De La Hoya, Burstein said Mosley was serious about getting the purse he wanted.

"This thing hasn't been dragging on. It was dead when I got involved," said Burstein, whom Mosley hired shortly after the Marquez fight. "Shane was prepared to walk away if he felt he was not being paid appropriately."

Arum met Tuesday with MGM-Mirage officials about having the fight at the MGM Grand, but he said the Staples Center, which had the first fight, is aggressively seeking the rematch.

Mandalay Bay reported its best casino drop in its four-year history Sept. 14, the night De La Hoya beat Vargas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. De La Hoya brings out big customers, which probably explains MGM's interest.