04.02.06 – By Jim Amato: I’ll be very honest with you. When this fight that will take place February 25th was made , I was pretty excited about it. Yes I know it is a fight that should have been made years ago but it wasn’t so I’ll take it now. With that said, I hope these two ancient warriors don’t go into slow motion mode and bore the hell out of the paying viewers. For some reason, I don’t think that is going to happen. Call it pride or whatever, I believe both boxers feel a part of their legacy is on line. I’m hoping that pride will kick in and the boxers will give all they have left. If that is the case, then it should be a very exciting affair. This is a real good style match up here.
There is also another motivating factor for Mosley and Vargas. The winner may get to meet Oscar De La Hoya later this year. That is provided that the “Big Oscar” wins the title in May against Ricardo Mayorga. Even if Mayorga upsets Oscar, the winner of Mosley-Vargas could get a piece of Mayorga. That’s a nice chunk of change for Shane or Fernando.
The fight itself? Well, in my my mind, I can only see one ending. The referee holding Shane’s hand aloft as the winner. Why? To me, to beat Shane Mosley, you have to keep him at the end of a long jab. It takes him out of his rhythm. Shane does something, resets and does something else. The more he is jabbed out of position , the more he is forced to reset. It takes him completely out of his game plan. You could actually see the frustration on his face. That is what Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright did to Shane. Oscar has a good jab but not a jab that Shane could not deal with. Shane could match jabs with Oscar and then go about his business. That is why he was successful against Oscar and why he will be victorious over Vargas.
Fernando Vargas is a good, tough and talented boxer who has his best days behind him. This is not a good tactical match up for him. Everything he can do, Shane can do a little better. Mosley is stronger. He has the faster hands. He is a better boxer. They both have decent power and solid chins. I just see an uphill battle from the opening bell for Fernando.
The only way I see for Fernando to win this fight is to just out will Mosley. He has to want that second shot at De La Hoya so bad that he will endure and overcome and defeat the more talented Mosley. This is truly a “crossroads” fight for both of these champions. I’m going to have to go with Mosley by a late round stoppage. I just hope the fans get their money’s worth.