Vol. 4, No. 5, May 2008
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Mandalay Melee
Mosley-Judah bout could send someone
The Golden Boy could not bring his annual Cinco de Mayo extravaganza here. Oscar De La Hoya’s May 3 matchup with Steve Forbes seemed better suited for Los Angeles, where he grew up, than for Las Vegas, where he personally bankrolled the town’s last two celebrations of Mexican heritage and pride.
De La Hoya brought a nearly $7 million gate here for his 2006 victory over Ricardo Mayorga. Last year was the mother of all Cinch de Mayo gifts. His battle with Floyd Mayweather produced a Vegas record $18.4 million gate and an estimated citywide impact of $100 million.
Not every major fight can come here, but De La Hoya will return as a promoter. One of his employees, Sugar Shane Mosley, will headline at Mandalay Bay against Zab Judah May 31. Mosley has a multi-dimensional relationship with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Mosley is a natural salesman, who fights and works for De La Hoya. Mosley is also the only man ever to defeat De La Hoya twice. He also became embroiled in boxing’s version of the steroid clamor, filing a recent lawsuit against a company that claimed he knowingly took them before the second De La Hoya fight in 2003.
Now, Mosley needs a Vegas fix. He opposes Judah, hoping for more home-ring magic. Mosley’s best high-profile victories occurred right here. In 2003, he outpointed De La Hoya at MGM. It launched a string of desert triumphs, including David Estrada at Caesars Palace, Jose Luis Cruz at MGM, Fernando Vargas once each at MGM and Mandalay and Luis Collazo at Mandalay Bay in his last fight here. In between these efforts, he lost two gritty battles to Winky Wright in Las Vegas. But Mosley, a pro since 1993 and a champion in the lightweight, welterweight and junior middleweight divisions, hit career overdrive by coming here.
The win over Collazo, a lefty, was one of Mosley’s most dominating performances. He will need a similar effort against Judah, another southpaw. The event’s “High Stakes” billing could not be more accurate. The Mosley-Judah loser will suffer severe ramifications. The penalties would entail a long road back to the limelight and the specter of retirement.
“You better believe this is an important fight,” Mosley says. “The stakes are high, for both of us. It will be an excellent matchup because we both have a lot of speed and power. I respect Zab—he can really punch—but I’m on a mission to get through this and be ready for the top welterweights in the world.”
Mosley’s best fights may have occurred when he was 147 pounds. As he gained weight, his power waned. Meanwhile, Judah promises to be in better shape than previous fights. Thirty-six-year-old Mosley is 44-5 with 37 knockouts. He needs to win handily against Judah, 36-5 with 25 knockouts, a hyped former Olympian who never achieved his full potential. Unlike Mosley, Judah has lost his major battles—to Carlos Bloomer, Floyd Mayweather, Cory Spinks, Kosta Tszu and Miguel Cotto. The last name links these fighters.
The Mosley-Judah winner hopes De La Hoya wins a scheduled September rematch with Floyd Mayweather and then opts to fight him. De La Hoya has never let politics stand in the way of who he fights. He opposes the top names, for the top price.
