By Glenn Wilson

On February 25th, Fernando Vargas and Shane Mosley do battle at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. Unfortunately the bout is scheduled to take place in 2006 and not 2002.

Vargas, 28, of Oxnard, California, has fought only four times in the last three and a half years. He won all four, two by KO, but has not been the spectacular "El Feroz" that made him one of the most entertaining fighters of recent years.

Vargas' decline in activity began in September of 2002 after he tested positive for a banned substance following his loss to Oscar De La Hoya. Many believed that the time away from boxing could have actually been a blessing, Fernando had wanted to get Oscar in the ring for so long that many experts wondered how Vargas would react if he lost. Not only was Vargas beaten, he was stopped in 11.

Ten months later Vargas returned to the ring with a very workmanlike KO win over Fitz Vanderpool. He followed that win with another, when he stopped Tony Marshall in 7.

Suddenly Vargas was off the radar screen again. This time the culprit was a bad back. This injury kept him sidelined for the next fifteen months.

Fernando began his comeback in March of last year, but he has been anything but spectacular in those two fights. He decisioned Raymond Joval and Javier Castillejo with a new fighting style. Gone was the go for broke offense that had earned him the Ferocious label. In it's place he adopted a more defensive oriented, counter punching technique. This was done to limit the amount of punishment he was taking and in return prolong his career.

While his new style has won him two fights, his fans seem a little less thrilled with it. Vargas believes given time he will be more at ease in the ring and the results will be more impressive. The fans are still hoping for "El Feroz" to reappear in a future fight.

Sugar Shane Mosley, 34, of Pomona, California, earned his nickname as most Sugars had done before, he tore through the lightweight division with a blend of speed and power that few fighters are gifted with. He defended his belt eight times, knocking out all eight challengers.

His biggest win came when he beat Oscar De La Hoya in June of 2000. He defended his welterweight belt three times before running into Vernon Forrest. Forrest used his reach to hurt and befuddle Mosley all night. The rematch six months later had the same result.

Mosley believed he had outgrown the division and moved up to 154 pounds. His journey north was not as sweet as he had hoped. Shane had one win, two losses and one no contest, the one win appeared to be a bad decision gift in his rematch with De La Hoya.

Mosley, deciding his best weight was back at welter, moved back down in 2005. He decisioned David Estrada and Jose Luis Cruz in fights that did little to remind people of the Sugar of old.

Now Mosley is jumping back to 154 to challenge Vargas. Mosley seems to have more to lose. His best outing in years was his second fight with Winky Wright, while his fans say they saw the Mosley of 2002, most believe Wright had still won comfortably. Vargas, while changing styles, is still doing what good fighters do--winning.

The boxing world is hoping that both men can reach back to the year 2002 one more time. Here's to Sugar Shane Mosley finding the speed that produced so many rapid fire combinations and to Ferocious Fernando Vargas throwing caution to the wind one more time in an attempt to overwhelm one more opponent.

We, the boxing public, hope that two of the best action fighters of the last decade can turn back the clock on February 25.