I Love Mosley: But No Way He Beats De La Hoya This Time

By Frank Lotierzo

12.09 - I must admit up front that I am a big Shane Mosley fan. From about his 10th pro fight, I've followed his career very closely. Over the years, he is the fighter who I thought was the most complete. Complete is the term I use for pound-for-pound. To me, pound-for-pound is the fighter who is the best overall. He is the fighter with the least weakness and vulnerabilities. At 135, Mosley was virtually unbeatable!

Most fans and writers have viewed Roy Jones and Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the top two fighters in boxing. However, I liked Mosley better. What I liked about Mosley was that he could fight going to his opponent or he could fight just as effectively moving away. What else I like about him is that he threw blinding combinations and committed to all of his punches.

Some have questioned his defense as compared to Jones and Mayweather. The difference I see is that Jones, like Ali, never really learned fundamental defense. His legs usually carried him past and away from danger. Mayweather uses good head and shoulder feints, but his body is usually open. When a fighter plants and commits to his punches like Mosley, he's always going to get hit more than fighters who look to get out of punches faster like Jones and Mayweather.

Considering how much as Mosley usually commits to his punches, he really didn't get nailed all that much. Mosley, by throwing multiple punch combinations usually kept most of his opponents on the defensive, which is also why he hadn't really taken much punishment, until Forrest. Based off his two showings with Vernon Forrest, I would have a hard time justifying Mosley as being on equal footing as either Jones or Mayweather now.

On September 13, Mosley will fight Oscar DeLaHoya. This will be a rematch of their first fight fought back on June 17 of 2000. I thought their first fight was a clear Mosley win. I had it scored 3-3 in rounds after six. However, I thought from rounds seven through 12 it was Mosley's fight. I don't know how it was scored a split decision; I thought it definitely should have been unanimous.

Before Mosley fought DeLaHoya back in 2000, I thought DeLaHoya was going to win. I figured that he would be too big and strong for Shane. I also felt DeLaHoya would be even more determined since he was coming off losing to Trinidad. I was completely wrong. Mosley clearly out sped and out boxed DeLaHoya, and made him pay for possibly thinking he could walk through him. DeLaHoya fought the completely wrong fight the first time. He abandoned trying to box and using his jab, instead he approached Mosley as a fighter he thought he could dominate and control. Not only did it cost him his title, but it also caused some to question him as a fighter.

I don't see DeLaHoya making the same mistake in the rematch. Looking back now, maybe Mosley was the worst fighter DeLaHoya could have faced so close to coming off losing to Trinidad. After losing to Trinidad, the media and many fans pulverized DeLaHoya. He was called a coward and a chicken for what basically amounted to fighting a smart fight in which I have no doubt he won 7-5 in rounds or 115-113 on points.

Because DeLaHoya moved away from Trinidad in the last few rounds and boxed, he was accused of being afraid to engage with him, which is completely stupid. Why fight it out with a puncher and give him his only chance to win when you are totally out boxing him? Those critics are probably the same fans and media who got on Lennox Lewis for out boxing Tua the entire fight and not going for a spectacular knockout. Why should Lewis have done that and possibly given Tua his only chance to pull the fight out with a knockout? I think the same applies to DeLaHoya versus Trinidad.

There can be no doubt that the accusations affected DeLaHoya and played on his mind when he fought Mosley. In the first fight with Mosley, DeLaHoya wanted to prove his toughness. I believe this was a major contributor in him fighting a seek-and-destroy style fight and getting away from what he does best. He no doubt looked at Mosley as a blown up lightweight who he could maul.

Using the ring and boxing is exactly how I see DeLaHoya fighting Mosley in the rematch. This time I see DeLaHoya utilizing his best weapons. DeLaHoya is the smarter fighter and will lure Mosley into following him around the ring. In this fight, DeLaHoya will not abandon his jab. When he was using the jab in the first fight, he was fighting Mosley on even terms at the worst. Once DeLaHoya started looking for the knockout exclusively, he started losing and Mosley's hand speed tilted the fight. He was constantly beating Oscar to the punch while Oscar was looking for the big shot, instead of setting it up!

Since their last fight, DeLaHoya has improved his right hand. No, it's not in the class of Hearns' right, but Mayweather Sr. has definitely helped develop it into more of a weapon. If DeLaHoya's right just impedes Mosley's aggression slightly, it will be huge. By making Mosley respect him, DeLaHoya will actually be slowing down the pace of the fight. This favors him in a big way. As the rounds move on Mosley will take more chances and this will open things up for DeLaHoya to do his best countering and scoring.

Lastly, I see DeLaHoya on a high and having gained momentum and confidence since beating Vargas, as opposed to Mosley, who has to have some doubt coming off three straight fights without getting a win. Another problem I think Mosley will encounter is the move up to junior middleweight. DeLaHoya is the bigger man and has handled 154 lbs very good. I can't say that about Mosley because the jury is still out on him at 154. DeLaHoya showed more than adequate power versus Vargas. In addition, Mosley didn't look as fast against Marquez as he did against Forrest. I also think DeLaHoya will handle Mosley's power without much trouble this time. Mosley hasn't carried his punch into the higher weight divisions, as most fighters usually don't. If Mosley can't hurt or shake DeLaHoya, I can see DeLaHoya feeding off this and his confidence soaring as the fight progresses.

Many believe that DeLaHoya doesn't match up with Mosley. I disagree. I think it's more a case of him fighting the wrong fight the last time for whatever reasons. Was anyone saying that Roberto Duran was a bad match up for Sugar Ray Leonard after he won their first fight? NO! What happened to Leonard was that all of Duran's insults got inside his head. During every interview and press conference, Duran called Leonard a chicken and a sissy and insulted his wife. By the time of the fight, Leonard wanted to kill Duran. This made it easy for Duran to lure him into a toe-to-toe fight. Leonard was so bent on showing Duran how tough he was, he fought Duran's fight. This cost him the fight along with his title.

When they fought the rematch, Leonard stuck to what he did best using the ring and boxing. In the rematch, Leonard frustrated Duran by boxing and moving. After eight rounds, Duran was totally out of it and said "No Mas." I see the same parallel with DeLaHoya and Mosley heading into the rematch.

Like Leonard, DeLaHoya let what was said about him after the Trinidad fight get to him. When he fought Mosley, he wanted to prove the critics wrong showing how tough he was and it cost him the fight. I know that DeLaHoya is no Sugar Ray Leonard, but Mosley isn't Roberto Duran either! I believe Oscar will stay on his game in this fight and Mosley will feel the pressure of what's riding on it. This will force Mosley to take more chances leading to more openings for DeLaHoya.

I think Mosley is catching DeLaHoya at the wrong time. Everything is in DeLaHoya's favor, such as them fighting at junior middleweight. DeLaHoya's coming off his best win and wants to pay Mosley back. Mosley hasn't had his hand raised in his last three fights. It seems whatever way I look at it points to DeLaHoya. By the way, does anyone believe Mosley can get the decision if it's remotely close? I don't! DeLaHoya definitely wins.