It was the summer time of 2000. Nonetheless drunk on the optimism of the New Millennium, the world appeared a happier, much less unstable place. The social media giants dominating our lives now didn’t even exist. The tragedy of 9/11 and the “Battle 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 totally different simply twenty years in the past. Lennox Lewis reigned because the undisputed heavyweight king; an bold younger champion who some referred to as “Fairly Boy” defended the primary of many world titles; and the spectacular Roy Jones Jr., broadly thought to be the best boxer on the planet, feasted on a roster of underwhelming challengers. In the meantime, Latino heartthrob Oscar De La Hoya, aka “The Golden Boy,” was in actual fact the most important star within the sport, outdoors 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 choice from beneath Oscar’s nostril, and “The Golden Boy’s” march to immortality was stopped in its tracks. To make issues worse, De La Hoya was broadly ridiculed for “operating” 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 beginner rival of Oscar, Mosley’s failure to make it to the 1992 Olympics had hampered his ascent by way of the professional ranks, however his distinctive expertise noticed him showered with the sort 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. referred to as Mosley the perfect light-weight he’d seen “outdoors 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 velocity, brutal physique assault, and eager ending instincts of the fighter they referred to as “Sugar Shane” blended superbly into what his father, Jack, referred to as their “energy boxing” model, and it led to eight consecutive title wins, all by knockout. However being unable to safe a very large 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 Heart in Los Angeles on HBO pay-per-view.
Shane was a slight underdog for the massive showdown, with Oscar’s presumed benefits in dimension and energy a typical pre-fight theme. However a detailed have 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, nevertheless it was really 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 dwelling. I can do no matter I would like,” Shane advised Boxing Month-to-month within the lead-up to this legit, ‘greatest vs greatest,’ pay-per-view showdown. And certain sufficient, as he made his technique to the ring, smiling and bouncing and surrounded by his household, Shane appeared an image of absolute confidence. De La Hoya, as was his approach previous to a giant battle, appeared centered 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 robust and assembly De La Hoya head-on with a collection of onerous proper arms across the guard. Wanting 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 several 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 every time in vary. Halfway by way of the fifth Mosley picked out a peach of a proper uppercut, timing the shot to perfection beneath a De La Hoya jab that was a fraction of a second too sluggish, a snapshot of the ridiculous ability 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 seemed 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 chill out; [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 onerous 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 wherever.
De La Hoya marched ahead within the eighth and landed some stiff jabs, however Mosley appeared the extra fluid and cozy 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 fireplace with fireplace, however he was lacking increasingly more, dropping the exchanges and taking sharp photographs.
And in spherical ten the tide formally turned because the velocity and superior jab of Mosley dominated. Connecting at a powerful 65 p.c charge, he virtually 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 advised De La Hoya straight: “We want this spherical.” In spite of everything, Oscar had clinched victory earlier than within the last 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. Once they clinched for a short respite, Oscar shook his head to indicate he was wonderful, however the punches advised a special story. Midway by way of the spherical Mosley thudded dwelling a vicious proper hook to the physique; damage, De La Hoya instinctively fired again and bought 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 large, 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 last end result was, if not apparent, clear to most. Nonetheless 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 entire 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 combating onerous, by no means stopped attempting to win, by no means ran from Mosley’s onslaught. “The unhealthy 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 exhilarating 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 linked with an enormous 57 p.c of his complete 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 actual 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. But it surely was Mosley who emerged as the brand new star, briefly gaining recognition, after a powerful efficiency, because the premier boxer on the planet, pound-for-pound. And although his profession wouldn’t dwell 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
