By Robert Morales
Anyone got a pencil sharpener?
According to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, that was the figurative question posed him by "Sugar" Shane Mosley on Tuesday when the two were discussing a potential fight with welterweight world champion Antonio Margarito of Mexico.
Schaefer said he met with the Mosleys - Shane and his wife, Jin - for several hours to try and put the finishing touches on this fight, which would likely take place in January.
"He said, 'Let's see if maybe we can sharpen the pencil,' "Schaefer said, meaning Mosley is hopeful the current offer on the table can still be sweetened. "I told him, 'We have already sharpened it quite a bit.' "
Bob Arum, Margarito's promoter, on Monday said that there is definitely reason to be optimistic.
"I think we are going to make a Margarito fight (with Mosley)," Arum said.
Arum said that Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank Inc. as well as Arum's stepson, was in New York on Monday to discuss money matters with HBO executive Kery Davis.
"And Schaefer is meeting with Mosley and I think we are going to be able to make that fight now," Arum said.
Schaefer said he told Mosley that a move has to be made one way or another. And soon.
"We will talk to HBO and the various parties involved," Schaefer said. "Shane said he wants to think about it as well. But I told him we need to make a decision this week. And Bob wants to make a decision this week as well."
Vazquez-Marquez Part 4 on The Way?
The way Gary Shaw sees it, making a fourth fight between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vazquez is nothing short of a no-brainer. They have already fought what is considered one of the greatest trilogies in history - Vazquez has won two of the three brutal and thrilling fights - and doing it a fourth time would be incredible. Rare, too, because a fourth fight tacked on to a terrific trilogy is at best uncommon. Especially in recent times.
"It is, absolutely," said Shaw, "especially for fighters of this caliber and promotions of this magnitude. I don't know of any that went four fights."
Shaw, who promotes Marquez, said Tuesday that he is all for it. Without getting into specifics, he said Showtime has offered the kind of cash seldom seen by 122-pound fighters.
"There is enough money on the table for both fighters to take this fight and it is a fight that will again go down in history and a fight that every fan and every writer is looking forward to," Shaw said.
Shaw said he was concerned that Showtime had given the parties a deadline to make the fight, and that it was not met. Frank Espinoza, who manages Vazquez, admitted Tuesday that he had missed a recent meeting with some of those involved, but that he was hopeful of getting together with Shaw and Showtime executive Ken Hirschman on Saturday at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
There, Vic Darchinyan and Cristian Mijares will square off in a super flyweight title unification fight. Shaw promotes Darchinyan. And Espnioza, of East Los Angeles, will be on hand as a fan.
"It would give me more hope," said Shaw, when asked if meeting with Espinoza could help seal the deal.
The trio of fights began in March 2007 at Home Depot Center. Marquez won that one when Vazquez retired after the seventh round because of a severely damaged nose. Five months later, in August 2007, Vazquez redeemed himself with a sixth-round technical knockout of Marquez in Hidalgo, Texas. Then last March, Vazquez made it two out of three with a split-decision victory.
Espinoza said in the ensuing months that Vazquez would not fight again this year, and he has not. Espinoza also said that when Vazquez did return, he would rather him take an easier fight than go right back into the fire with Marquez. That fourth fight, Espinoza said, would have to come later.
Espinoza said Tuesday that in some ways he would still prefer to go that route, but that he is ready and willing to make that fight for early next year if the money is indeed right. Marquez and Vazquez have put each other through quite a bit, so the pay would definitely have to be on a grand scale.
"Right now, at this particular time, I feel the same way," Espinoza said about a tuneup fight before another fight with Marquez.
"But, definitely, it is something to consider. You have to look at what is out there for Vazquez. There are a lot of opportunities, but this is business and obviously the Vasquez- Marquez fight would be the one that would pay the most.
"I haven't closed the door on this; I never have. I just have said, yes, I would like to get a fight before Marquez. But if the money is right and it makes sense, then I'm always open to negotiations."
There are those in the boxing world who believe that a fourth fight between the two Mexican warriors would almost constitute cruel and unusual punishment because of the vicious nature of the first three. But, as Espinoza pointed out, there is risk in any bout.
"There is always concern about physical health about any fight you could fight," Espinoza said. "It could be an easy fight and you could get hurt."
It will be interesting to see if anything other than a good fight between Darchinyan and Mijares comes out of Home Depot Center.
"I want to go to the fight on Saturday and talk to Shaw or Ken Hirschman," Espinoza said.
De La Hoya-Ortiz Rumor Mill
Got a phone call from Rolando Arellano this week. The manager of Victor Ortiz wanted to put to rest once and for all the scuttlebutt regarding Ortiz allegedly beating up on De La Hoya during sparring sessions in Big Bear Lake, Calif., where De La Hoya is preparing for is Dec. 6 fight with Manny Pacquiao.
"I think the rumors are a little outrageous considering that Victor is such a young man and Oscar has all these years of experience. That's number one," Arellano said. "And number two, I talked to Victor and he said, 'No, that never happened.' He also said, 'As a matter of fact, I'm very grateful to be up in camp and I'm learning a lot from Oscar. He talks to me, he runs with me and he shows me things and I would never disrespect him that way.' "
Arellano intimated he was disappointed that this kind of gossip could get started in the first place.
"We're not sure where the rumors are coming from because he hadn't talked to any press," Arellano said. "But let's say hypothetically that did happen. We would never release that information. We have enough experience in this game that as part of the team with Golden Boy Promotions, we are opposing another team and we would never give that other team an advantage."
Ortiz, a highly regarded junior welterweight prospect, is promoted by Golden Boy and is being used as one of De La Hoya's sparring partners. The innuendo of him roughing up De La Hoya hit the grapevine last week and it was immediately debunked by Golden Boy's Schaefer.
Ortiz, a 21-year-old southpaw, is 22-1-1 with 17 knockouts. He will take on Jeffrey Resto (22-2, 13 KOs) on the De La Hoya-Pacquiao undercard.
Arum Scoffs at HBO Crew
Arum on Monday was asked what he thought about the comments doled out by HBO commentators Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant during the Oct. 18 telecast of the Kelly Pavlik-Bernard Hopkins fight in Atlantic City won by Hopkins via lopsided decision.
Merchant said that Team Pavlik, which includes Arum's Top Rank Inc., got "greedy" by having a 26-year-old take a fight that was worth more money instead of fighting a contender for less. Lampley agreed wholeheartedly.
Pavlik, the middleweight world champion, moved up and fought Hopkins at a catch-weight of 170 pounds.
"We turned the fight down the first time because of the weight differential and when HBO put us into a corner by not accepting any other opponent, we had to go back and revisit the fight," Arum said. "So if anyone is at fault, it's HBO for putting us in that position. We all thought it wasn't a good fight to take and we had turned it down."
Taking a specific shot at Merchant and Lampley, Arum said, "I never listen to their telecast. Who gives a s**t what they have to say?"
On another note, Arum said he did not learn that Pavlik had been battling bronchitis until the week of the fight.
"And he didn't handle the extra weight well," Arum said. "He came in too heavy and was completely sluggish and didn't fight Kelly Pavlik's fight."
Arum said the plan now for Pavlik is for him to move back down and defend his two middleweight belts against Marco Antonio Rubio, probably in late February or early March.
"We are going to keep him at middleweight for at least another year," Arum said.
Angulo vs. Chavez Jr.?
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. of Mexico will take on Matt Vanda on Saturday in a super welterweight fight at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. It is a rematch of their fight in July won by Chavez via split decision.
It will be interesting to see where Arum, who promotes Vanda, goes from here with Chavez. The 22-year-old son of the legend is 37-0-1 with 29 knockouts, but most of his competition has been soft.
Arum was told that Chavez's countryman, Alfredo Angulo, has called out Chavez. Angulo appears to be the real deal and although he has only 14 fights - all victories with 11 knockouts - his competition has been stiffer than Chavez's.
"I've never seen him fight," Arum said of Angulo. "It's up to (Top Rank matchmaker) Bruce Trampler. And we'll see after this fight whether he (Chavez) is up to facing a step up in competition."
Money, Money, Money
Mijares will make $225,000 for his title unification fight with Darchinyan on Saturday. Darchinyan will pull in $125,000.
Andre Dirrell will make $100,000 for his super middleweight fight with Victor Oganov in the semi-main event. Oganov, who is 28-1 with 28 knockouts, will be paid $25,000.
Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News, ESPN.com, Long Beach Press-Telegram, and BoxingScene.com