By Sammy Rozenberg


There were fireworks in the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, as former champions "Sugar" Shane Mosley (42-4, 36KO) and "Ferocious" Fernando Vargas (27-3, 23KO) went back to their competitive roots and put on a show. Shane Mosley was smaller, but he was quicker and the better man.


The bout started off with both men trying to impose their strengths. A right hand landed right on the left eye of Vargas and it began to swell profusely as the fight went on. The fight was very close as both men seemed to fight at an even pace and the scorecards would shift as the rounds piled up. By the ninth round, the eye of Vargas was swollen like a balloon. The referee Joe Cortez, Marc Ratner of the Las Vegas Athletic Commission and the ring doctor met prior to the tenth round to decide if they would let Vargas continue. They gave Vargas another round to prove the fight should continue.


As the tenth round began, Mosley knew the fight was on the verge of being stopped and began to target the left eye. A final blow to the eye prompted referee Joe Cortez to stop the fight and Mosley picked up a big TKO victory. At the time of the stoppage, the judges were split on the winner. The scores were 86-85 for Mosley, 86-85 for Vargas and 86-85 for Mosley.


The weird thing about the bout was the fact that it was being held at the junior middleweight limit and neither fighter was going to stick around at the junior middleweight limit. Vargas said that it was too hard for him to keep making the weight and he is heading 6 pounds north to the middleweight division. Mosley, feeling physical weakness at 154, is moving back down to 147 pounds where he stands to be more dominant.


Mosley, winning his first major bout in years, is now back in a familiar position to demand top dollar against other big names in the sport. A familiar position, but a totally unfamiliar scenario. Some of the big name players have changed, some gone and some no longer at the top.


The bout against Vargas was a payday bout at 154, and Mosley’s intentions are to drop back down to 147 pounds and dominate the welterweight division. The next big fight depends on what happens in the next couple of months. In April, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Zab Judah will battle for the IBF welterweight title. In July, Carlos Baldomir and Arturo Gatti battle for the WBC welterweight title. The only major welterweight fighter without a bout scheduled at the moment is Antonio Margarito, and he will likely hold out for a possible July date against the winner of Mayweather and Judah. Mosley will likely take a bout prior to September in order to stay active.


At the moment, all Shane can do is stay busy by facing the best possible opponents in the division until one of the bigger names is available. The most intriguing bout would be against Mayweather, who is now sitting at the top of the pound for pound rankings, a spot occupied by Mosley a few years ago. Both fighters are fast, Mayweather is quicker, but Mosley is stronger. Mosley showed shades of what made him a superstar when he put his combinations together against Vargas.


“The fight I want is against Floyd Mayweather. He is the best out there,” said Mosley.


Now that Mosley is back in the mix with the big names of the sport, the offers from big names will begin piling up. If a proposed bout with De La Hoya and Mayweather does not take place in September, Mosley would be the likely candidate to fight Mayweather in a high stakes showdown. A lot of things would need to happen in order to make this a reality. De La Hoya would have to lose his bout with Ricardo Mayorga in May, and Mayweather would have to win his bout with Judah in April.


Lucky for Fernando Vargas, he is young enough to come back from this loss. The money is still out there for him, as he heads upstairs to 160 pounds. He lost to Mosley in a very close fight and is still marketable enough to land a few more big money paydays. The biggest middleweight bout of the hour is taking place in June, between unified champion Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright. A fight against either Taylor or Wright would be very lucrative. Vargas facing off with Wright would likely generate more money due to the genuine bad blood over the years, which stems from a close points decision earned by Vargas over Wright in 1999. It was the last time Wright lost a professional prizefight.


There are several other options, including Ike Quartey, Felix Sturm and Vernon Forrest. There is a distinct possibility that Vargas sticks around at the junior middleweight limit, but only if he can lure Oscar De La Hoya into a bout, or if a big money bout with Ricardo Mayorga could be put together. Now that Vargas has lost, the bout with De La Hoya is very unlikely, but Mayorga is still a possibility.


On the undercard:


WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (31-4, 27 KOs) scored an eighth round knockout over three-time champion Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson (44-5, 28 KOs). Johnson was dropped in the fourth round, he got back up and the two fighters went toe to toe for the remainder of the round. As the round went on, Johnson was visibly tiring and Johnson was getting stronger. In the eighth round, Johnson was dropped by a Gonzalez power punch, and decided it was best to stay down and take the full count from the referee.


Calvin Brock (28-0, 22KOs) demolished Zuri Lawrence (20-11-4, 0KOs) by way of a devastating six round knockout. A single left hook knocked Lawrence out cold, and left him unconscious for several minutes. The referee Jay Nady waved off the contest once Lawrence hit the canvas.


Undefeated welterweight Joel Julio (27-0, 24KOs) stopped Wilmer "El Lecherito" Mejia (15-6-2, 11KOs) in two rounds. Julio showed his power as Mejia hit the deck in the first, hit the deck in the second and during the rest period after the second round he claimed he could no longer continue due to a hand injury.


Daniel Cervantes (9-0-1, OKOs) won a six round unanimous decision over Derrick Moon (11-11-1, 2KOs).


Tomas Padron (2-2-2, 1KO) defeated DeShaun Cohen (0-1, 0KOs) by way of a second round TKO.