Mosley discounts loss

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002 | 10:05 a.m.

In an effort to emphasize the insignificance of his loss to Vernon Forrest when both were amateurs, Shane Mosley has turned to Mike Tyson.

Tyson completed his amateur career at the 1984 U.S. Olympic Box-Offs when he was beaten by Henry Tillman for a second time. The loss dropped Tyson's record to 24-3 and put Tillman into the Los Angeles Olympics, where he won the gold medal.

Six years later, or June 16, 1990, at Caesars Palace to be exact, Tyson and Tillman stepped into the ring as professionals and the bout was over before the end of the first round. Tyson, in what was his first fight back after his infamous loss to Buster Douglas, destroyed Tillman in quick order and all but negated those earlier amateur setbacks.

Now Mosley intends to do the same with Forrest, who defeated him for a spot on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team.

Mosley, 30, has not lost since and is 38-0 with 35 knockouts as a professional going into his Saturday fight with Forrest in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"You can't put a lot of stock into what happened in 1992," Mosley said during a conference call. "Henry Tillman defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur and then Tyson blew him out when they were pros.

"A loss in the amateurs doesn't mean anything at the professional level."

Mosley's World Boxing Council welterweight title will be at stake in the fight with Forrest, who is 33-0 with 26 KOs. Bettors in Las Vegas can have Mosley at a minus 600 or Forrest at a plus 400 for a fight to be televised by HBO.

"It'd be nice to get a knockout," Mosley said. "If I fight to my ability and as hard as I can, you'll probably see a knockout that night."

Mosley maintains he has improved measurably since his amateur days, while believing Forrest has found a level plane. His father/trainer, Jack, agrees.

"Vernon hasn't changed much," Jack Mosley said. "He's inconsistent (and) he doesn't know the power that Shane has. As soon as Shane turned pro, we started working on power.

"Once Shane tags him a few times, I think (Forrest) will lose focus."

This is a potentially strong fight and one in which Shane Mosley's penchant for revenge is apt to be a catalyst.

"I've heard he's going to jab, jab, throw combinations and hold," Mosley said. "He's got to try and neutralize my speed.

"(But) I can't see him standing in the ring with me for six rounds."

If that prediction proves to be anywhere near accurate, Mosley will have to look as good as he says he has felt while training for the bout in Big Bear, Calif.

"I'm in top condition and very sharp," he said. "It's good that Vernon believes in himself, but I'm a man now and I'm going to show him how much better fighter I am."

As that remark alludes to their earlier fight, it's apparent that while Mosley says he "has gotten under (Forrest's) skin" the opposite may be just as true.

"Now he's starting to ad lib," Mosley said, referring to Forrest's claim that he knocked Mosley down twice during their amateur bout. "The truth is I slipped and got right back up without an eight count.

"He probably wants to get some kind of mental edge by saying he knocked me down twice. He's probably jealous of the success I've had."

There isn't any question that Mosley has emerged as a professional star while Forrest has toiled to the public's ambivalence. He badly needs a high-profile win, while Mosley already has one in his June 17, 2000, decision victory in Los Angeles over Oscar De La Hoya.

"Shane is the most talented fighter I've ever had," said promoter Cedric Kushner.

Should Mosley get past Forrest, he said he'd welcome a rematch with De La Hoya or perhaps a shot at World Boxing Association champ Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis.

"Six Heads e-mailed me," Mosley said. "What he proposed sounds good to me, so let's do it."

As for De La Hoya, Mosley isn't sure he can beat Fernando Vargas May 4 in Las Vegas and, more to the point, he said he isn't about to chase after the Golden Boy.

"De La Hoya is a confused fighter right now," Mosley said. "He doesn't have any stability. When you change trainers all the time, you don't know when to trust the guy you've got."

If there is a rematch with De La Hoya, Mosley will move to 154 pounds.

"When Oscar says he's ready to fight, then I'll go to 154," Mosley said. "But I'm keeping my options open until then. If De La Hoya wants to fight me, I'll take that fight.

"But I'm not begging. I'm tired of playing games."

And he's tired of hearing Forrest gloat about what happened 10 years ago.

"It was a loss," Mosley said, "so I went on to my next goal, which was to become a world champion and one of the greatest fighters of all time. But it taught me a lesson about letting a fight go to the judges.

"(Forrest) is going to be easy to take care of. He's slow and he's lobbing his right hand out there, and I'm going to tattoo him with jabs and right hands."