Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley were once teammates and fellow gold-medal prospects on the U.S. Olympic boxing team.
Their paths diverged in 1992 when Mosley lost to Vernon Forrest in the national boxoffs and didn’t make it to the Barcelona Games. De La Hoya won the U.S. boxoffs en route to winning an Olympic gold medal. That gave “Golden Boy” Oscar a head start on “Sugar” Shane when they turned pro three months apart, with Mosley following De La Hoya in February 1993.
Saturday night, Mosley can close the gap face-to-face in what he envisions as his “moment of greatness.” Or De La Hoya can keep his vow to re-establish himself as a knockout puncher, a reputation that has slipped a bit in the past three years. Either way, their paths will converge again as opponents in a welterweight title fight scheduled for 12 rounds.
The ex-teammates who boxed as youngsters and sparred dozens of rounds as Olympic hopefuls square off in the Staples Center, Los Angeles’ shiny new sports venue.
Unbeaten Mosley, who has moved up two weight classes from lightweight in the past 14 months, will step into the ring with a remarkable 32 knockouts in 34 victories.
Once-beaten De La Hoya has 26 knockouts in 32 victories, but his pace has slowed in his last 11 fights: Five of those bouts, including his loss to Felix Trinidad last September, ended in decisions after going the scheduled 12 rounds.
“I’m not going to box this one, I’m going to fight like I’ve never fought before,” De La Hoya, 27, vowed Wednesday at the duo’s final prefight press conference.
He has said he will fight four times and get four knockouts this year. Mosley is No. 2; De La Hoya knocked out Derrell Coley on Feb. 26.
“I’ve been fighting now for 20 years and this will be the big fight,” the 28-year-old Mosley said. “If Oscar is going to press me as he says he will, then you people will get what you deserve.”
Asked later to expand on that comment, Mosley said, “What fans deserve is a great fight, and that’s what you’re going to get because I’m going to fight him hard. I believe in my heart that I can knock him out.”
These were not trash-talking competitors, although each acknowledged a boasting privilege that goes to the winner. Each was born and lives in the metropolitan area, so this fight is for L.A. bragging rights.
De La Hoya’s celebrity and resultant earning power are reflected in the fight’s purse. He is guaranteed $8 million and could double that with his share of pay-per-view revenue. Mosley is guaranteed $4.5 million. De La Hoya is the favorite by odds ranging from 2-1 to 5-2.
Both fighters, with justifiable reputations for hand speed, cited one of De La Hoya’s tougher bouts–a narrow victory over Pernell Whitaker in 1997–as a prelude to Saturday.
Asked about the quickness Mosley has shown, De La Hoya said Whitaker was the fastest and most elusive and unpredictable opponent he has faced.
“Shane is more predictable,” De La Hoya said. “He tries to load up. You can see it coming.”
Mosley said Whitaker “had a great fight plan against Oscar. His movement was excellent, but he just didn’t have the power punch.”
De La Hoya said his big-fight experience gives him an edge. He downplayed any advantage to Mosley from Mosley having bested him when they fought as kids (“He was 11, I was 10. He won? Great for him.”) or from knowing how to fight him because they sparred nine years ago.
“He may have seen my moves, but he hasn’t felt my power,” De La Hoya said.
For his part, Mosley minimized the notion that the magnitude of this fight might freeze him up. A reporter cited inexperienced heavyweight Michael Grant’s collapse in his recent title fight against Lennox Lewis.
“Michael Grant hasn’t fought for 20 years like I have,” Mosley said, flashing the confident smile he has shown throughout the countdown to Saturday.
“I’m calm because this is the moment of greatness I’ve been looking for. I can’t be afraid of something I want.”
