It was the summer time of 2000. Nonetheless drunk on the optimism of the New Millennium, the world appeared a happier, much less risky place. The social media giants dominating our lives now didn’t even exist. The tragedy of 9/11 and the “Conflict on Terror” had but to unfold, and a Donald Trump presidency was nonetheless only a joke in “The Simpsons.”
The boxing panorama was additionally very completely different simply 20 years in the past. Lennox Lewis reigned because the undisputed heavyweight king; an formidable younger champion who some known as “Fairly Boy” defended the primary of many world titles; and the spectacular Roy Jones Jr., extensively thought to be the best boxer on this planet, feasted on a roster of underwhelming challengers. In the meantime, Latino heartthrob Oscar De La Hoya, aka “The Golden Boy,” was actually the most important star within the sport, exterior of anybody named Mike Tyson.
Oscar’s spectacular run within the late nineties took him to the cusp of greatness, as he received belts from tremendous featherweight all the best way to welterweight, defeating the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, and Ike “Bazooka” Quartey alongside the best way. However in a September 1999 mega bout, Felix Trinidad stole a razor-thin determination from underneath Oscar’s nostril, and “The Golden Boy’s” march to immortality was stopped in its tracks. To make issues worse, De La Hoya was extensively ridiculed for “working” within the late rounds of that match, the cost questioning his manhood, his Mexican heritage, his complete identification as a fighter. A comeback knockout of Derrell Coley confirmed he nonetheless had a fireplace burning, however a extra significant opponent was wanted to erase the stigma of the Trinidad defeat. Enter Shane Mosley.
A childhood novice rival of Oscar, Mosley’s failure to make it to the 1992 Olympics had hampered his ascent by the professional ranks, however his distinctive expertise noticed him showered with the type of plaudits thought-about sacrilegious by boxing purists. Requested what impressed him a lot about Mosley, HBO’s Larry Service provider had replied: “Three phrases… Sugar. Ray. Robinson.” Roy Jones Jr. known as Mosley the perfect light-weight he’d seen “exterior of Roberto Duran,” whereas veteran coach and analyst Gil Clancy was so impressed, he described the expertise of watching Mosley as “like a fighter again within the 40s.”
The dazzling pace, brutal physique assault, and eager ending instincts of the fighter they known as “Sugar Shane” blended superbly into what his father, Jack, known as their “energy boxing” model, and it led to eight consecutive title wins, all by knockout. However being unable to safe a really huge battle motivated Shane to look leap over the tremendous lightweights and assault the welterweight division. Two extra knockouts adopted, and along with his credentials at 147 kilos established, the big-name showdown he craved lastly beckoned, that being De La Hoya vs Mosley on the Staples Middle in Los Angeles on HBO pay-per-view.
Shane was a slight underdog for the large showdown, with Oscar’s presumed benefits in measurement and energy a typical pre-fight theme. However a detailed take a look at their histories revealed Mosley had boxed at 139 kilos within the amateurs, whereas De La Hoya received his Olympic medal at 132, with each beginning off as professionals at light-weight. True, Oscar was two inches taller and had eight extra fights at welterweight, but it surely was truly Mosley who entered the ring heavier on the night time, coming in at 155 kilos to De La Hoya’s 152.
“The ring is my residence. I can do no matter I would like,” Shane instructed Boxing Month-to-month within the lead-up to this legit, ‘greatest vs greatest,’ pay-per-view showdown. And positive sufficient, as he made his option to the ring, smiling and bouncing and surrounded by his household, Shane seemed an image of absolute confidence. De La Hoya, as was his method previous to a giant battle, appeared targeted however extra tense earlier than getting into the sector accompanied by a Mexican mariachi band. All pre-fight speculations apart, what remained was what made De La Hoya vs Mosley a must-watch proposition for boxing followers: this was a conflict between two of the perfect within the sport, pound-for-pound.
Spherical one noticed Mosley boxing superbly, beginning sturdy and assembly De La Hoya head-on with a collection of exhausting proper fingers across the guard. Trying looser and faster of hand and foot, Shane rifled a pointy jab and out-landed “The Golden Boy,” sweeping the spherical on all three scorecards and prompting coach Robert Alcazar to implore Oscar to “Use your jab! And be first!”
De La Hoya responded, touchdown clear jabs and a number of other left hooks to the physique in spherical two, however Shane was extra versatile over the following few rounds, edging backwards to time Oscar along with his faster single photographs, whereas De La Hoya stalked purposefully, letting rip with two-fisted mixtures each time in vary. Halfway by the fifth Mosley picked out a peach of a proper uppercut, timing the shot to perfection underneath a De La Hoya jab that was a fraction of a second too gradual, a snapshot of the ridiculous talent ranges on show. To his credit score, Oscar got here firing proper again and swept the fifth and sixth rounds on all three playing cards with efficient aggression.
The primary six rounds of De La Hoya vs Mosley had been tactical however fiercely contested, and on the mid-way level the momentum gave the impression to be with Oscar, a truth mirrored within the official tallies; one card was even whereas the opposite two had “The Golden Boy” main by 4 and two factors respectively. “The tide goes towards De La Hoya,” famous HBO’s Service provider. “No query,” agreed Jim Lampley.
Coach Jack Mosley, sensing the necessity to regain the initiative, inspired his son to, “Simply calm down; [use your] rhythm,” and Shane got here out sharp within the seventh, rolling his higher physique extra and timing Oscar with leaping left hook counters and exhausting overhand rights. Each fighters raised a fist as they walked again to their corners after one other shut spherical, however the message from Mosley was clear: I’m not going anyplace.
De La Hoya marched ahead within the eighth and landed some stiff jabs, however Mosley seemed the extra fluid and comfy fighter now as he bounced on his toes and circled away, even turning southpaw for the final minute. Livid exchanges in a pivotal ninth had the group on its toes, with Mosley seeming energized. Oscar tried to battle hearth with hearth, however he was lacking increasingly, dropping the exchanges and taking sharp photographs.
And in spherical ten the tide formally turned because the pace and superior jab of Mosley dominated. Connecting at a powerful 65 p.c fee, he nearly doubled Oscar’s totals, out-landing him by 34 to 19, because the momentum clearly swung to Shane with the competition nonetheless up for grabs on the judges’ playing cards. One other shut spherical within the eleventh noticed Mosley greater than maintain his personal, and Alcazar instructed De La Hoya straight: “We want this spherical.” In spite of everything, Oscar had clinched victory earlier than within the closing spherical of a superfight, pulling down Ike Quartey and coming inside a whisker of scoring a stoppage. However on this night time “Sugar” Shane was to show he had extra endurance than “Bazooka.”
On the bell, with the group roaring, each champions got here out blazing, ripping fierce salvos to each head and physique. However the sharper, eye-catching photographs have been coming from Mosley. After they clinched for a short respite, Oscar shook his head to point out he was high quality, however the punches instructed a distinct story. Midway by the spherical Mosley thudded residence a vicious proper hook to the physique; harm, De La Hoya instinctively fired again and obtained hit flush on the jaw with an enormous proper that stiffened his legs. “Shane Mosley is out-hustling Oscar De La Hoya, out-working him, out-fighting him when it issues most!” declared Lampley. Mosley took the spherical huge, touchdown a large 45 punches to De La Hoya’s 18, as they traded furiously proper to the ultimate bell.
De La Hoya vs Mosley was extremely aggressive and had greater than lived as much as the hype, however the closing end result was, if not apparent, clear to most. Nevertheless the judges turned in playing cards of 116-112 and 115-113 for Mosley, versus 115-113 for De La Hoya, which means Oscar was just one spherical away from securing a draw. The whole punch stats have been additionally tight, with Mosley touchdown 284 to Oscar’s 257. And considerably, this time De La Hoya by no means stopped preventing exhausting, by no means stopped attempting to win, by no means ran from Mosley’s onslaught. “The dangerous reminiscence of the Trinidad battle is completely erased,” declared Lampley. “This has been a warfare.”
However regardless of Oscar’s gutsy effort, it was Shane’s second-half surge that made him a deserved winner in an exciting twelve spherical donnybrook. Mosley threw and landed extra punches in each single spherical from the eighth to the twelfth, swept the final six rounds on one of many judges’ playing cards, whereas dropping solely the eleventh on one other, and related with an enormous 57 p.c of his whole energy punches in comparison with 37 p.c for De La Hoya.
“Within the twelfth spherical we each stood toe-to-toe, and we each went soul-searching, to see who was the true champion,” mentioned Mosley. “I needed to present the world that I used to be ready to battle … that I’m a real warrior.”
De La Hoya vs Mosley had been billed as “Future,” and on this night time, amid the glitz and glamour of the Los Angeles Staples Centre, Shane Mosley fulfilled the potential many had predicted he was destined to attain, whereas in defeat, De La Hoya earned the warrior’s respect he craved. However it was Mosley who emerged as the brand new star, briefly gaining recognition, after a powerful efficiency, because the premier boxer on this planet, pound-for-pound. And although his profession wouldn’t reside as much as the lofty heights of his namesakes Robinson and Leonard, on this night time he did the “Sugar” moniker proud. — Matt O’Brien
