Oscar Takes His Lumps

LAS VEGAS — From Shane Mosley’s corner came squeals of joy. From Oscar De La Hoya’s corner came squeals of protest.

But from the judges came only silent unanimity.

In a rematch that resembled their first meeting, Mosley beat De La Hoya by decision Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 16,268.

De La Hoya (36-3) had declared before the fight that if he lost Saturday night, he would retire. But in the aftermath of Saturday’s match, it was his promoter, Bob Arum, who was threatening to leave boxing, claiming his fighter had been robbed.

“I’m out of this mess,” Arum said. “I will never, ever be a party to this again.”

De La Hoya said he will investigate the decision.

As in the first fight three years ago at Staples Center, De La Hoya had the early lead, then faded in the closing rounds, Mosley using his blazing speed, quick fists, body shots and a relentless attack to pull out a close match. Mosley, who won the first meeting by split decision, won the last four rounds Saturday night on all three judges’ scorecards.

De La Hoya didn’t see it that way.

“Obviously I thought I won the fight,” he said “I didn’t think it was even close. I thought I won by at least three points.”

All three judges, Duane Ford, Stanley Christodoulou and Anek Hongtongkam, had Mosley winning, 115-113. The Times’ Steve Springer had Mosley winning 115-114. The Times’ Bill Plaschke and Randy Harvey both had Mosley, 115-113.

“I thought I won by one or two rounds,” Mosley said.

There can be little dispute that it was a close fight. And also one curiously lacking in drama.

Certainly in comparison to the buildup.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena sold out early, added more seats and sold out again. It was predicted that the pay-per-view numbers could exceed 700,000. There were 2,000 closed-circuit sites around the country.

For Mosley, it was considered a last chance. He hadn’t won a fight in 26 months, had been beaten by Vernon Forrest twice and fought to a no-decision over Raul Marquez in a fight stopped because of accidental head butts. For De La Hoya, it was thought to be another crowning moment by the oddsmakers who established him as a 2-1 favorite. He was coming off his victory over Fernando Vargas a year ago.

But over the 12 rounds, both men fought conservatively and tentatively at times, seemingly aware of the stakes. Mosley would get aggressive, then back off. De La Hoya would score with his patented jab and then stop throwing it. Both fighters fought flat-footed much of the time, rarely dancing. There was little time spent on the ropes by either fighter and very little holding.

It often looked more like a chess match than a boxing match, both fighters standing in front of each other, feinting and waiting for a responding move, not willing to commit themselves to what could prove to be a fatal move.

A highlight reel of memorable moments would start and end with an accidental head butt by Mosley in the fourth round. It opened up a cut on the side of De La Hoya’s right eye, at the point where his eyebrow ends. But it wasn’t a factor in the fight, although it opened up periodically, leaving the right side of De La Hoya’s face bloody at times.

George Foreman, an HBO commentator, thought it was a factor.

“The judges scored the blood,” he said.

But longtime trainer Emanuel Steward thought Mosley’s fast finish was a bigger factor.

“The Las Vegas judges like to see a fighter finish strong,” he said. “They won’t give points to a fighter who seems to weaken.”

The punch stats clearly favored De La Hoya. He connected at a 36% success rate, landing 221 punches. Mosley connected at a 26% success rate, landing 127 blows. De La Hoya dominated in terms of jabs landed (106-33) and also won the battle of power punches (115-94).

“We were never concerned in the corner,” said Floyd Mayweather, De La Hoya’s trainer. “I told Oscar, ‘You are strong. Keep boxing.’ It never even crossed our minds that we could lose.”

When it was over, Mosley was quick to compliment De La Hoya.

“I knew I hurt him,” Mosley said. “He never hurt me. I could have gone another 12 rounds.”

Mosley said his increased aggressiveness in the later rounds came at his father’s urging.

“My father tried to convey to me,” Mosley said, “that, since Las Vegas is Oscar’s town, we really had to pour it. I felt I had overwhelming power.”

So now Mosley (39-2, 1 no-decision), the man who couldn’t put fans in the seats, the man who had to settle for a $4.5-million guarantee (plus the $500,000 put in the pot for the winner) has again defeated the Golden Boy of boxing, who had a $17-million guarantee (minus the half million).

Mosley also won De La Hoya’s World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn. super-welterweight titles.

“Oscar is a great warrior,” Mosley said. “If he wants to fight again, I’m ready to do again. It’s a great feeling. It would have been heartbreaking to have lost in the ring after losing the negotiations.”