Curly Howard
09-18-2003, 10:57 PM
Unofficial Ringside View of De La Hoya-Mosley 2
September 16, 2003
On Saturday night, before approximately 17,200 fans at the sold out Grand Garden Arena inside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sugar Shane Mosley, 154 pounds of Pomona, California, won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association Super welterweight championship (154 pound limit-sometimes called Junior Middleweight) by unanimous decision over the former champion, Oscar DeLaHoya, 154 pounds of East Los Angeles, California. DeLaHoya was defending his WBC title for the third time, having previously defeated Yory Boy Campas and Fernando Vargas. He was making the second defense of his WBA title, which he won from Vargas. It was the second time the two have fought and the second time Mosley has won by twelve round decision. Mosley took DeLaHoya's World Boxing Council Welterweight (147 pound limit) title on a split decision on June 17, 2000 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before a crowd so large that it set a new California state record for gate receipts, nearly nine times larger than the old record set in 1990, and was the second biggest pay-per-view event of all time for a non-heavyweight fight.
I guess it was the charisma of DeLaHoya that made this fight so big going in. Oscar's good looks and pleasing personality seemed to have won over most of the fans, many of whom were not even boxing fans. He attracts huge crowds wherever he appears. A crowd of about 5,000 screaming DeLaHoya fans attended Friday afternoon's weigh-in just to watch Oscar jump on and off the scale. He is probably the most popular fighter in all of boxing, and it is certainly more than his record of 36 wins, 2 loses with 29 knockouts before the fight, that has made him such a huge star. Mosley, for his part, was the former International Boxing Federation lightweight (135 pound limit) champion and WBC welterweight champion. Mosley defended his IBF lightweight title eight times before moving up to welterweight since he could no longer make the 135-pound limit. Even though he left the lightweight division as an undefeated champion, his lack of quality opponents will always hold him back from being recognized as one of the greatest lightweight champions who ever lived, and he will never challenge the likes of Joe Gans, Benny Leonard or Roberto Duran for that honor. Mosley entered the ring, one week after his 32nd birthday, with a ring record consisting of 38 wins, 2 loses (both to the taller Vernon Forrest), and one no decision with 35 of his wins coming by knockout.
Did Shane Mosley win enough of the early rounds to win this fight? That is the burning question in everyone's mind, as we prepare to watch the replay this Saturday night on HBO.
Lets take a quick look at how the fight was scored. Round one saw Oscar doubling and tripling his left jabs, throwing two and three punches to Mosley's head before he pulled his arm back. When Oscar would land, Mosley would back up. Shane landed one good left hook that knocked Oscar off balance. Compubox punch stat numbers had Mosley landing a total of six punches the entire round. Six punches. It's not a mistake. Judge Duane Ford and I scored it 10-9 for Oscar, Judge Stanley Christodoulou of South Africa and Judge Anek Hongtongkam of Thailand scored it 10-9 for Mosley.
In round two, as Oscar came out of his corner, Referee Joe "Firm but fair" Cortez shoved Oscars cup down so it would be at the same level as his belly button, which was a big concern before the fight since DeLaHoya has been known to wear a cup that is higher than regulation size to give him added protection from body shots. The top of the cup is supposed to line up with the navel. Even though the entire right side of Oscars face reddened badly in this round, it was an easy round for DeLaHoya who just kept landing his jab and moving. Oscar kept getting off first and landing more. Mosley was bending at the waist to the right. Mosley carried his left hand low so Oscar popped him with double jabs. Easy round for DeLaHoya, the defending champion. Duane Ford gave this round to Mosley, 10-9. Christodoulou, Hongtongkam and I all had it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round three, Mosley was warned for a low blow by Referee Cortez with 2 minutes and twenty seconds to go in the round. Mosley picked up the pace and landed hard shots to Oscar's body in the last minute of the round. Oscar continued to keep boxing. Hongtongkam and I both went with the harder puncher, Mosley, by a 10-9 score. Ford and Christodoulou both favored Oscar by the same score, 10-9. Larry Merchant scored this round even.
In round four Oscar got butted early in the round. Shane's head caused a cut to open over DeLaHoya's right eye. Referee Cortez called time and ruled that an accidental head butt caused the cut, and he called in Dr Margaret Goodman of the Nevada Commission to examine the cut. She ruled the fight could continue, and Oscar continued to use his double and triple jabs. Mosley at times came in so low that he wound up grabbing Oscar around his trunks. All four of us scored it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round five, Oscar started bleeding from the cut alongside his right eyebrow. Oscar started to throw fewer jabs and more power punches. They went toe to toe, and Oscar showed he could take Shane's best shots. Oscar out punched Shane in this round and a furious last minute of fighting had the crowd going wild. Ford, Hongtongkam and I all scored it 10-9 for Oscar, while Christodoulou had it 10-9 for Mosley.
Round six was another one where Shane wasn't throwing any punches. Oscar was still bleeding from the cut. Mosley was still staying low. Oscar landed two good hooks with 40 seconds left in the round. With thirty two seconds left, Referee Cortez called time and took DeLaHoya to the corner to have some tape added to his glove since the tape was coming off. Ford and Chistodoulou gave it to Shane by a 10-9 score, while Hongtongkam and I both had it for DeLaHoya ten to nine. Looking back at this round, I can only wonder whether the blood on DeLaHoya had any influence on the scoring. You score the punches, not the blood. At the end of the round, the HBO pay-per-view microphones picked up Jack Mosley telling his son Shane, "You've got to be busy" during the one minute rest period.
Round seven again saw Oscar still out punching Mosley. They once again accidentally butted heads with 1:30 to go in the round, but this time no cuts appeared on either fighter as a result of the butt. Oscar landed a hard right to the head of Mosley with one minute to go in the round. With thirty seconds left, they traded hard combinations. All four of us scored it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round eight, the fight finally started to turn around. Oscar was still landing with good shots, but Mosley was walking in and landing harder punches and doing more damage. Mosley was warned for bulling Oscar into the ropes and using rough tactics by referee Cortez with two minutes to go. Oscar landed a hard right with 1:30 to go in the round. Oscar was bobbing and weaving to avoid Shane's punches. Ford, Hongtongkam and I all scored this round ten to nine for Mosley, while Christodoulou dissented and scored it ten to nine for DeLaHoya.
At the start of round nine, with 2:42 to go, they butted heads accidentally again. Oscar was bleeding badly in this round, although I did not see a new cut. Mosley landed a good left and a good right in the first minute. Mosley hurt Oscar with a hard right that landed around DeLaHoya's left ear with 1:40 to go. Shane was warned for holding and hitting. Oscar landed a big left hook to the body. Shane landed big right hands to Oscar's body in the last minute of the round. All four of us scored this round 10-9 for Mosley. Oscar remarked to a reporter at the post fight press conference that he was not badly hurt in round nine.
In round ten, Shane stalked him but was not landing. Cortez called for more action with 38 seconds to go in the round. It was a big finish for Oscar in the last thirty seconds of the round. Shane landed a few strong shots but not enough. I scored it 10-9 Oscar. The three judges scored it 10-9 for Mosley.
In round eleven, Mosley landed a hard right with 2:30 to go. Oscar was dropping his left hand. Cortez warned Shane for holding DeLaHoya's head down. Shane landed a big left hook with 1:11 to go. Oscar knocked out Shane's mouthpiece with a left uppercut, but Cortez never saw it and did not call time to replace the mouthpiece, so Shane finished the round without it. All four of us had this round 10-9 Mosley.
The final stanza looked like Mosley knew he was behind and was looking for the kayo. Mosley landed a great right to Oscars jaw with 2:20 left in the round. Oscar was warned for holding with 1:47 left. Oscar landed a great right-left combination with 1:13 left. They traded right hands with thirty seconds to go. Oscar was still punching as the final bell sounded. All four of us had it 10-9 Mosley.
Well, when the ring announcer, Michael Buffer announced that all three judges scored the fight 115-113, I thought they saw the same fight as me. But I got fooled. We all had the same score, but Mosley won a unanimous decision and I had it for DeLaHoya by 115-113. I still think that Oscar won six of the first seven rounds, and Mosley lost the tenth round when he didn't throw enough punches. I believe Oscar will be back, and maybe finally challenge Winky Wright. As for Mosley, I think he will fight Vargas. Two great fights, if they happen. We will see.
This Saturday night, it's back to the beautiful Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut where Fres Oquendo of Puerto Rico challenges IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd for his portion of the title. Byrd, a tricky southpaw who nobody wants to fight, will dazzle the crowd with his fancy footwork and fast hands. Oquendo has fast hands and a good punch. It should be a great night of boxing, as the two "small" heavyweights will throw a ton of punches on this Don King promoted show. Don't miss this one. It will be another barnburner.
September 16, 2003
On Saturday night, before approximately 17,200 fans at the sold out Grand Garden Arena inside the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sugar Shane Mosley, 154 pounds of Pomona, California, won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association Super welterweight championship (154 pound limit-sometimes called Junior Middleweight) by unanimous decision over the former champion, Oscar DeLaHoya, 154 pounds of East Los Angeles, California. DeLaHoya was defending his WBC title for the third time, having previously defeated Yory Boy Campas and Fernando Vargas. He was making the second defense of his WBA title, which he won from Vargas. It was the second time the two have fought and the second time Mosley has won by twelve round decision. Mosley took DeLaHoya's World Boxing Council Welterweight (147 pound limit) title on a split decision on June 17, 2000 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before a crowd so large that it set a new California state record for gate receipts, nearly nine times larger than the old record set in 1990, and was the second biggest pay-per-view event of all time for a non-heavyweight fight.
I guess it was the charisma of DeLaHoya that made this fight so big going in. Oscar's good looks and pleasing personality seemed to have won over most of the fans, many of whom were not even boxing fans. He attracts huge crowds wherever he appears. A crowd of about 5,000 screaming DeLaHoya fans attended Friday afternoon's weigh-in just to watch Oscar jump on and off the scale. He is probably the most popular fighter in all of boxing, and it is certainly more than his record of 36 wins, 2 loses with 29 knockouts before the fight, that has made him such a huge star. Mosley, for his part, was the former International Boxing Federation lightweight (135 pound limit) champion and WBC welterweight champion. Mosley defended his IBF lightweight title eight times before moving up to welterweight since he could no longer make the 135-pound limit. Even though he left the lightweight division as an undefeated champion, his lack of quality opponents will always hold him back from being recognized as one of the greatest lightweight champions who ever lived, and he will never challenge the likes of Joe Gans, Benny Leonard or Roberto Duran for that honor. Mosley entered the ring, one week after his 32nd birthday, with a ring record consisting of 38 wins, 2 loses (both to the taller Vernon Forrest), and one no decision with 35 of his wins coming by knockout.
Did Shane Mosley win enough of the early rounds to win this fight? That is the burning question in everyone's mind, as we prepare to watch the replay this Saturday night on HBO.
Lets take a quick look at how the fight was scored. Round one saw Oscar doubling and tripling his left jabs, throwing two and three punches to Mosley's head before he pulled his arm back. When Oscar would land, Mosley would back up. Shane landed one good left hook that knocked Oscar off balance. Compubox punch stat numbers had Mosley landing a total of six punches the entire round. Six punches. It's not a mistake. Judge Duane Ford and I scored it 10-9 for Oscar, Judge Stanley Christodoulou of South Africa and Judge Anek Hongtongkam of Thailand scored it 10-9 for Mosley.
In round two, as Oscar came out of his corner, Referee Joe "Firm but fair" Cortez shoved Oscars cup down so it would be at the same level as his belly button, which was a big concern before the fight since DeLaHoya has been known to wear a cup that is higher than regulation size to give him added protection from body shots. The top of the cup is supposed to line up with the navel. Even though the entire right side of Oscars face reddened badly in this round, it was an easy round for DeLaHoya who just kept landing his jab and moving. Oscar kept getting off first and landing more. Mosley was bending at the waist to the right. Mosley carried his left hand low so Oscar popped him with double jabs. Easy round for DeLaHoya, the defending champion. Duane Ford gave this round to Mosley, 10-9. Christodoulou, Hongtongkam and I all had it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round three, Mosley was warned for a low blow by Referee Cortez with 2 minutes and twenty seconds to go in the round. Mosley picked up the pace and landed hard shots to Oscar's body in the last minute of the round. Oscar continued to keep boxing. Hongtongkam and I both went with the harder puncher, Mosley, by a 10-9 score. Ford and Christodoulou both favored Oscar by the same score, 10-9. Larry Merchant scored this round even.
In round four Oscar got butted early in the round. Shane's head caused a cut to open over DeLaHoya's right eye. Referee Cortez called time and ruled that an accidental head butt caused the cut, and he called in Dr Margaret Goodman of the Nevada Commission to examine the cut. She ruled the fight could continue, and Oscar continued to use his double and triple jabs. Mosley at times came in so low that he wound up grabbing Oscar around his trunks. All four of us scored it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round five, Oscar started bleeding from the cut alongside his right eyebrow. Oscar started to throw fewer jabs and more power punches. They went toe to toe, and Oscar showed he could take Shane's best shots. Oscar out punched Shane in this round and a furious last minute of fighting had the crowd going wild. Ford, Hongtongkam and I all scored it 10-9 for Oscar, while Christodoulou had it 10-9 for Mosley.
Round six was another one where Shane wasn't throwing any punches. Oscar was still bleeding from the cut. Mosley was still staying low. Oscar landed two good hooks with 40 seconds left in the round. With thirty two seconds left, Referee Cortez called time and took DeLaHoya to the corner to have some tape added to his glove since the tape was coming off. Ford and Chistodoulou gave it to Shane by a 10-9 score, while Hongtongkam and I both had it for DeLaHoya ten to nine. Looking back at this round, I can only wonder whether the blood on DeLaHoya had any influence on the scoring. You score the punches, not the blood. At the end of the round, the HBO pay-per-view microphones picked up Jack Mosley telling his son Shane, "You've got to be busy" during the one minute rest period.
Round seven again saw Oscar still out punching Mosley. They once again accidentally butted heads with 1:30 to go in the round, but this time no cuts appeared on either fighter as a result of the butt. Oscar landed a hard right to the head of Mosley with one minute to go in the round. With thirty seconds left, they traded hard combinations. All four of us scored it 10-9 for DeLaHoya.
In round eight, the fight finally started to turn around. Oscar was still landing with good shots, but Mosley was walking in and landing harder punches and doing more damage. Mosley was warned for bulling Oscar into the ropes and using rough tactics by referee Cortez with two minutes to go. Oscar landed a hard right with 1:30 to go in the round. Oscar was bobbing and weaving to avoid Shane's punches. Ford, Hongtongkam and I all scored this round ten to nine for Mosley, while Christodoulou dissented and scored it ten to nine for DeLaHoya.
At the start of round nine, with 2:42 to go, they butted heads accidentally again. Oscar was bleeding badly in this round, although I did not see a new cut. Mosley landed a good left and a good right in the first minute. Mosley hurt Oscar with a hard right that landed around DeLaHoya's left ear with 1:40 to go. Shane was warned for holding and hitting. Oscar landed a big left hook to the body. Shane landed big right hands to Oscar's body in the last minute of the round. All four of us scored this round 10-9 for Mosley. Oscar remarked to a reporter at the post fight press conference that he was not badly hurt in round nine.
In round ten, Shane stalked him but was not landing. Cortez called for more action with 38 seconds to go in the round. It was a big finish for Oscar in the last thirty seconds of the round. Shane landed a few strong shots but not enough. I scored it 10-9 Oscar. The three judges scored it 10-9 for Mosley.
In round eleven, Mosley landed a hard right with 2:30 to go. Oscar was dropping his left hand. Cortez warned Shane for holding DeLaHoya's head down. Shane landed a big left hook with 1:11 to go. Oscar knocked out Shane's mouthpiece with a left uppercut, but Cortez never saw it and did not call time to replace the mouthpiece, so Shane finished the round without it. All four of us had this round 10-9 Mosley.
The final stanza looked like Mosley knew he was behind and was looking for the kayo. Mosley landed a great right to Oscars jaw with 2:20 left in the round. Oscar was warned for holding with 1:47 left. Oscar landed a great right-left combination with 1:13 left. They traded right hands with thirty seconds to go. Oscar was still punching as the final bell sounded. All four of us had it 10-9 Mosley.
Well, when the ring announcer, Michael Buffer announced that all three judges scored the fight 115-113, I thought they saw the same fight as me. But I got fooled. We all had the same score, but Mosley won a unanimous decision and I had it for DeLaHoya by 115-113. I still think that Oscar won six of the first seven rounds, and Mosley lost the tenth round when he didn't throw enough punches. I believe Oscar will be back, and maybe finally challenge Winky Wright. As for Mosley, I think he will fight Vargas. Two great fights, if they happen. We will see.
This Saturday night, it's back to the beautiful Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut where Fres Oquendo of Puerto Rico challenges IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd for his portion of the title. Byrd, a tricky southpaw who nobody wants to fight, will dazzle the crowd with his fancy footwork and fast hands. Oquendo has fast hands and a good punch. It should be a great night of boxing, as the two "small" heavyweights will throw a ton of punches on this Don King promoted show. Don't miss this one. It will be another barnburner.