LA has inside track for De La Hoya vs. Mosley

Tuesday, March 7, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley have the date. All that's left is a site for their June 17 fight.

Promoter Bob Arum flew to Los Angeles on Monday to try and complete negotiations for a fight that would match the two hometown welterweights at the Staples Center.

If officials at Staples come up with $6 million or so and agree to other terms, Arum said the fight will be theirs.

"We're going to go with them if all terms are comparable," Arum said. "Right now, Staples has the best deal on the table."

Arum is also negotiating with the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino for the fight, and said another unnamed Las Vegas resort may also enter the bidding.

The Staples deal, though, intrigues Arum because it would be the first boxing card at the new arena and would match two fighters who both grew up and live in the Los Angeles area.

"There's a lot of drama in opening the arena for boxing with two LA fighters," Arum said.

In addition, if the Los Angeles Lakers make the NBA Finals, the fight could be sandwiched in between Game 6 and Game 7 of the championship series.

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