Sunday, September 14, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SUPER WELTERWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT: Mosley prevails again

De La Hoya wavers on whether he will retire

By KEVIN IOLE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Shane Mosley celebrates after winning his WBC/WBA super welterweight bout with Oscar De La Hoya by a decision after 12 rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Shane Mosley, left, and Oscar De La Hoya trade punches in the eighth round atht the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Photo by Amy Beth Bennett. INTERNET EXTRA PHOTO: Oscar De La Hoya, left, takes a low blow from Shane Mosley, in the ninth round of their super welterweight bout on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo by Craig L. Moran. INTERNET EXTRA PHOTO: Shane Mosley, left, takes a left to the face from Oscar De La Hoya in the third round of their super welterweight bout on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Photo by K.M. Cannon. INTERNET EXTRA PHOTO: Shane Mosley, left, and Oscar De La Hoya hug following their super welterweight bout on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mosley won by decision after 12 rounds. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

Shane Mosley did what he said he would do, repeating his victory over Oscar De La Hoya Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, winning a unanimous decision to lift the WBA and WBC super welterweight titles from De La Hoya before a star-studded sellout crowd of 16,274.

The question that wasn't answered on Saturday was whether De La Hoya will follow through on his pre-fight pledge to retire with a loss. De La Hoya wavered on that issue and said he needed time to think, though he said, "boxing is not my life."

Judges Stanley Christodoulou, Duane Ford and Anek Hongtongkam each scored the bout 115-113 for Mosley. The Review-Journal scored the bout 116-112 for De La Hoya.

Mosley had convincingly beaten De La Hoya in their first meeting in Los Angeles on June 17, 2000. But there was much more disagreement about Saturday's decision and De La Hoya had a hard time not thinking of his 1999 fight with Felix Trinidad Jr. He suffered the first defeat of his career that night in a bout most believe he deserved to win.

De La Hoya said he will decide whether to protest the verdict after reviewing a tape of the fight.

"It happened to me in the Trinidad fight and it happened to me here," said De La Hoya, who fell to 36-3.

Mosley's father and trainer, Jack, was urging him to pick up the pace and told his son between rounds he was losing rounds. Mosley said he felt he won, but said he was concerned that De La Hoya's popularity might influence the judges to give the fight to him.

He seemed shocked when the decision was announced, but said it was only because he felt De La Hoya would get more credit than he deserved.

"I was a little surprised," said Mosley, who earned $4.5 million as well as a $500,000 bonus out of De La Hoya's purse for winning. "Like you said, we're in Vegas."

The roles were reversed from the first fight between the men, when De La Hoya was stalking Mosley looking for a knockout and Mosley was using his superior speed and quickness.

On Saturday, Mosley looked like the one aiming for the knockout and he landed the hardest shots in the fight. According to the CompuBox punch statistics, however, De La Hoya landed 94 more punches (221 to 127) and connected at a higher percentage.

None of that mattered, though, as Mosley turned around a once-glittering career that had been faltering after consecutive losses to Vernon Forrest and no decision against Raul Marquez.

"With my punching power and my physical, I felt overwhelmingly stronger than him," Mosley said.

Mosley ripped De La Hoya with a right to the head early in the ninth round that seemed to hurt him. De La Hoya wobbled and then spent the next minute trying to stay away from Mosley so he could clear his head. Mosley also got in a hard left hook that knocked De La Hoya backward.

De La Hoya's strategy was to use his jab and, particularly early, it was working. He was ahead on all three judges' cards after seven rounds and Mosley seemed to be searching for answers.

But De La Hoya's jab output decreased significantly in the second half of the fight and Mosley's edge in strength seemed to be the difference as Mosley came back to win. He won the last five rounds on the scorecards of Ford and Hongtongkam and the last four on Christodoulou's card.

"I said I would keep him at bay with my jab and a right hand and it was working," De La Hoya said. "I didn't let him get in. When he did get in, he was very effective. But when he was outside ... That was the game plan."

But Mosley, who is now 39-2, ruined that plan by landing the harder shots that had a more telling effect. He was thrilled to get the win because he noted that De La Hoya, who earned a guarantee of $17 million, had won at the negotiating table.

"It's a great feeling, because to lose twice, I would have been heartbroken," Mosley said, laughing. "We're 1-1."