Mosley may find himself without a test

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 12:16 p.m.

Polished in the ring and out, Shane Mosley comes into his Saturday fight at Caesars Palace in need of a test if not a rival.

In a rare example of superiority, he's seeing the down side of having crushed everyone he has previously fought. With 36 wins, no losses and 33 wins by knockout, Mosley, at 29 years old, scans the boxing landscape and can only hope someone emerges who can not only give him a decent challenge but excite the sport's sometimes lethargic fans.

Whether Shannan Taylor, who he'll face at Caesars, is up to the task remains to be seen.

But it may be telltale that Mosley used the press conference with Taylor to "call out" Felix Trinidad, speculate on Oscar De La Hoya's future and wistfully contemplate bouts with younger fighters who have barely dented the public's consciousness.

"There are fighters out there who people haven't really seen who could give me some interesting fights," he said. "There are a bunch of guys at 140 who say they're coming up, so we'll see.

"It could work out alright."

He's being optimistic.

In truth, Mosley and Trinidad are unlikely to fight, as Mosley, the World Boxing Council welterweight champion, readily admits. And he has already beaten De La Hoya.

As for the crew at junior welter, only Kostya Tszyu and Zab Judah merit a second glance and one of them is apt to be eliminated if the proposed unification series at 140 plays out this summer as planned.

It could leave Mosley trapped in a situation in which no one wants to fight him and, perhaps, no one can beat him.

"He's the best fighter I've ever been involved with," said his promoter, Cedric Kushner, who is charged with locating and securing opponents for a man on the verge of being labeled boxing's pound-for-pound champion.

De La Hoya's reluctance to commit to a rematch may be understandable, yet it's undercutting Mosley's earning power. He's getting $1.7 million to fight Taylor, while a second fight with De La Hoya could be worth 10 times as much.

"If Oscar comes around, we'll try to fit him into the picture," Mosley said, somewhat coyly, given the glee he would feel if a rematch became reality. "But it looks like Oscar is headed for 154 (pounds), which lets me know he doesn't want to fight me.

"I'm not rushing to 154 to fight him."

When Mosley and De La Hoya fought last June in Los Angeles, it was at 147 pounds and Mosley emerged with a decision victory. De La Hoya has not fought since but will fight cut-prone Arturo Gatti at 147 pounds March 24 at the MGM in Las Vegas.

If De La Hoya wins and is feeling his oats, he could commit to a fight with Mosley yet there's no sign of it happening as of today.

A Mosley vs. Trinidad fight is extremely unlikely, given that the latter is scheduled to fight at 160 pounds May 12 in New York when he faces WBA middleweight champ William Joppy.

"There probably won't be a fight with Trinidad," Mosley confesses. "I think he has his plans set on 160. I'd take a chance on fighting him at 154, but I won't go to 160."

The bottom line: Mosley may be from Pomona, Calif., yet feel like an islander who has been left to his own devices.

The only other current champion at 147 is Andrew Lewis, who recently defeated James Page for the WBA crown. Lewis vs. Mosley is doable, yet the former is still a questionable commodity.

Others at 147 who could be worthy of a fight with Mosley include Raul Frank and Vernon Forrest, who have a fight for the vacant IBF championship pending. But neither would seem to have the firepower to withstand a bout with Mosley, who counts knockout wins over John John Molina, James Leija, Wilfredo Rivera and Antonio Diaz as among his best.

"There are a lot of possibilities," Mosley said of his future. "And if the big-name guys don't want to fight me, I'll have to keep going to guys like (Taylor)."

Ah yes, Taylor.

"We're not looking past him," Mosley promises. "He's has power, he's strong and he says he's going to come after me. He has a lot of confidence and that's good; I like that in a fighter."

Taylor, a tough guy who says he has had 200 street fights in his native Australia and who is being paid $300,000 for this fight, is 28-0-1 with 18 knockouts and has the look of a man who isn't about to quit or be intimidated. Yet he's a heavy underdog and is a plus 1400 in the Caesars Palace sports book.

Mosley is a minus 2000 for a fight that is being held before a fairly private crowd, the bulk of the 2,500 tickets having been purchased by the Park Place resort group for distribution to its best customers. HBO is televising the main event plus a heavyweight fight between Oleg Maskaev (20-3) and Lance Whitaker (22-1).

"I'm not trying to be cocky or facetious or anything, but I trained very hard for this fight and I don't see Taylor winning," Mosley said. "I think I'm too strong for that.

"I want to look great and stake my claim as the pound-for-pound champion. But if I look too sensational, Oscar may never want to fight me again."

He smiles, and broadly at that.

It's the smile of a man who may be so good at what he does that he has to go begging for challengers.