DE LA HOYA VS MOSLEY II - WHO WILL WIN THE REMATCH, AND WHY

By Ron Brashear
Inside Boxing Writer/Columnist
(Brashear pictured in the ring where battle will take place.)

LAS VEGAS, NV (Inside Boxing – September 12, 2003) – As September 13th is rapidly approaching us, I keep asking myself, "Who is going to win this fight, and why?

There are plenty of accolades to build a case for either one of these two fighters being victorious. However, none of us have a crystal ball, yet we can all take a 50 percent chance at picking the winner!

So I too, figured I would weigh in and share my pre-fight prediction. After looking at this match up in the following areas, I have come to this conclusion:

SPEED
I have to give a slight edge to Mosley. I don't believe there is any fighter in the 154lb weight class that possesses greater hand-speed and foot-speed than Sugar Shane. However, I agree with Floyd Mayweather Sr when he stated, “It’s not all about speed, it’s about the timing of the punches." So this factor alone, will not decide the outcome of this fight.

HEART
This attribute is closely coupled with a fighter's self-confidence. It’s the fighter's ability to remain optimistic when adversity is starring them right in the face. Considering that in these two fighters last 3 fights, De La Hoya is bringing a 3-0 record into the ring whereas Mosley is bringing a 0-2-1 record, I MUST give the edge to Oscar in this category.

CREST
In looking at the previous Mosley fights, the two Vernon Forrest fights, along with the Raul Marquez fight, Shane has seemed to have lost his aura of invincibility that was so noticeable during his 36-0 previous winning streak. Whereas Oscar, with his wins over Castillejo, Fernando Vargas, and Yory Boy Campas, is still showing us signs of improved performances irrespective of the level of opposition. I believe the Vargas fight was so defining for De La Hoya that it would take a miracle right now for someone to
derail Oscar's confidence level. I believe this will be the difference in this fight and I see Oscar digging down a little deeper and pulling out a 12-round decision victory.

I also predict that this fight will be competitive enough whereas even though Mosley comes up short, his performance will be such that he still remains a formidable threat to defeating the elite of 147lb weight class and can be very competitive against the 154 pounders. I have always felt that Vernon Forrest was the only 147lb guy that could beat Mosley due to his lengthy right hand.

So I could envision Shane dropping back down to 147lbs and challenging Ricardo Mayorga. That would be a great boxer vs. puncher match up, with Mosley most likely being the victor.

Nevertheless, I am eagerly looking forward to the De La Hoya vs. Mosley rematch Saturday night. It’s not the type of fight that you want to hear about after the fact; it’s a MUST SEE while the drama is unfolding!

In closing, we all have opinions and I have just shared mine with you.

You have just gone InsideBoxing.com

Ron Brashear can be contacted at brashear@insideboxing.com, ron@brasheargear.com