By Tom Donelson
The Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas fight mattered for boxing. It was not just a big payday for two aging fighters, but a fight with meaning for the welterweight, junior middleweight and even the middleweight division. Vargas should’ve been the defending WBC champion after defeating Javier Castillejo, except for deft political maneuvering that denied him his championship.
When Roman Karmazin defeated Kassim Ouma, the junior middleweight division went through a shock. Ouma was the designated successor to Winky Wright, but his defeat shook up the division and opened it up. There were enough challengers to the title, including some big marquee names including Vargas, Mosley, Mayorga and even De La Hoya. The junior middleweights produced a division with aging fighters, but fighters with star power.
This fight was intriguing since both fighters changed their styles from their early careers. Vargas was a go for broke knockout artist but since he came back from his back injuries, he became a boxer. In his match against Castillejo, the old aggressive Vargas showed up in spots but he spent most of the fight boxing and jabbing.
As for Mosley, he began his career as a boxer-puncher with fast hands and accurate combinations. In the 12th round in his first fight against De La Hoya, his accuracy was three times that of De La Hoya and he took a close but well deserved decision.
As for Vargas, he was killing machine mowing down opponents before meeting Felix Trinidad. Trinidad dominated Vargas down the stretch and Vargas never appeared the same afterwards. Against De La Hoya, Vargas fought a nip and tuck battle before De La Hoya stopped him in the eleventh. After the fight, Vargas tested positive for steroids and then injuries plagued him.
As for Mosley, Vernon Forrest happened. In two fights, Forrest dominated and beat Mosley. Mosley moved up to the junior middleweights and as a fighter, he appeared to have lost quickness and fluid combinations. He punched less frequently and the combinations flowed less easily.
Which brought us to this fight. Both fighters come into this fight with much on the line. With a victory, the winner became a legitimate challenger to the junior middleweight title and stayed in line for bigger fights down the road. This fight actually should have been for the WBC championship but boxing politics intervened, leaving Vargas with an impressive victory over Castillejo but no belt. The belt went to Ricardo Mayorga.
Mosley moved down to welterweight but came back up for the big money fight against Vargas. No one knew what to expect from this fight. Can either fighter recaptured some of their youth and produced one more magical moment? On the surface, Vargas had the advantage since he was the bigger puncher and spent his entire career as a junior middleweight whereas Mosley's best weight may have been lightweight, some nineteen pounds lighter.
When Mosley moved down to welterweight, he attempted to recapture his old style and like Vargas, he tried to add more boxing to his style. When he fought David Estrada, he looked uncomfortable and a fight that should have ended earlier - went the distance.
So while Vargas promised to be the old Vargas, there is no telling how much of the old Vargas is left or for that matter, how much of the old Mosley was left. During their battle, Mosley's hand speed found a target upon Vargas eyes and caused swelling. Going into the tenth round, the fight was close and up for grab. The deciding factor was the hematoma over Vargas eyes. Both fighters came out of the fight with renew respect from the boxing public.
What was decided? Vargas may have lost but he kept himself in contention for other big fights in the junior middleweights or middleweights. As for Mosley, he put himself in a position for future big money fights and the one that he wants is Floyd Mayweather, who is the biggest name left in either the junior middleweight or welterweight. As for Vargas, he is looking to move up to the middleweight and there are plenty of big fights in this division.
So what is the future for both fighters? Mosley showed the old hand speed that he has not shown in years and his defeat of Vargas was a significant statement that he is still one of the best in either the welterweight or even junior middleweight divisions. While Mosley wants Mayweather, one path is to challenge Baldomir - who is the true welterweight champion. Take a title and you force the hands of those below including Mayweather. And Baldomir wants big money fights before he slips into the sunset. While Gatti is one possible Baldomir opponent, why not Mosley? It provides a big money venue and like Gatti, a possible big PPV money event.
As for Vargas, his future is murkier. Moving up to middleweight may be provide some big money opportunities, Vargas will be stepping up against bigger fighters and in some cases quicker fighters. Winky Wright's boxing skills will trump Vargas, and Vargas will not be able match Taylor’s hand speed or power. Vargas' advantage is that he is one of boxing’s more popular fighters, but in his three biggest fight against Hall of Fame caliber fighters have resulted in defeat. There is no reason to suggest that a trip to the middleweight division will prove any more advantageous.