Mosley wants to up ante

Dean Juipe

Friday, Feb. 7, 2003 | 10:32 a.m.

For someone who was out of sight, Oscar De La Hoya was hardly out of mind.

In fact, whether it was promoter Bob Arum or the participants in Saturday's main event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Shane Mosley and Raul Marquez, barely a minute went by at Thursday's press conference without someone mentioning De La Hoya or asking a question related to him.

It isn't that there's a sudden interest in the Golden Boy. It's just that: Arum thought he had a deal with Mosley for a fight with De La Hoya Sept. 13 in Las Vegas; Mosley wants more money for the fight than is being offered, which has Arum fuming; and Marquez wants only to be offered what Mosley is rejecting, should he beat Mosley this weekend.

Turmoil? Controversy? Hey, everybody wants an Oscar.

And Mosley needs an award-winning performance -- and, perhaps, to swallow his pride -- to get one.

"The offer's off the table," Arum said of his arrangement with Mosley for a fight with De La Hoya. "We made a deal for $4 million and then he reneged. OK, so goodbye, leave me alone if you're not going to deal in good faith.

"The only way he'll get the fight now is to accept $4 million, or talk Oscar into giving him the extra money off his end.

"As far as I'm concerned, we don't have a deal. Before, all Shane had to do was win Saturday, but now if he struggles at all I'm not going forward one bit. If wins impressively, I'll call to see if they've changed their minds.

"If they haven't, we'll go back to (Fernando) Vargas."

Vargas, who lost to De La Hoya last September, is anxious for a rematch and Arum finds him a more attractive fighter than Mosley. Working in Mosley's favor, however, is that he owns a 2000 victory over De La Hoya and the latter has expressed an interest in avenging that decision.

"Mosley has his delusions," Arum said. "He's talking ignorantly. Obviously he's not as marketable as Vargas, and this is a business.

"We're running a business here, for Christ's sake."

Mosley, who is getting $1.3 million for fighting Marquez, says there was no ironclad deal in place for a rematch with De La Hoya and that he deserves at least the same purse he accepted for his first fight with De La Hoya, which was $4.2 million. In actuality, Mosley's people are campaigning for him to receive up to $8 million for a De La Hoya rematch.

"It isn't about money, it's about pride," Mosley said. "Yeah, I've lost twice since I beat Oscar, but people know and respect me.

"Bob is trying to force me into taking the fight and is begging me to accept what he's offering, but it's not working. If the money isn't right, I'll pass on the fight and maybe we'll get it right next time."

Mosley, 38-2, is coming off consecutive losses to Vernon Forrest and has moved up a weight class, to 154. He's a minus 850 betting favorite in the sports book at Mandalay Bay for his fight with Marquez, who is 34-2.

Marquez is getting $300,000 for this fight and is a plus 650 underdog. He said if he pulls off the upset and wins, he wants to be treated fairly in this De La Hoya sweepstakes.

"I'll take the money Shane's turning down," he said. "I'll fight Oscar for $4 million, no questions asked."

With the issue of De La Hoya and a fall fight overshadowing the prefight hype for the bout with Marquez, it's easy to see why ticket sales are lagging. The arena has been scaled back to 5,000, but 48 hours from the opening bell only half of those seats had been sold.

Mosley, incidentally, is contractually entitled to the gate receipts (through his management company, IMG).

HBO will televise the fight as well as a companion bout between welterweights Andrew Lewis and Antonio Margarito. Lewis, 22-1-1, is getting $75,000 and is a plus 220 underdog; Margarito, 27-3, receives $200,000 and is a minus 260 favorite.

Arum said he would look to match the Lewis-Margarito winner against Forrest later this year.

First bell is 5 p.m., with the main event at 8.

"I need to move, show some speed and be spectacular," Mosley said of getting into the ring with a larger man who has fought at 154 most of his life. "I'm not overlooking Raul; he's left-handed and he's bigger than me.

"But the only way he could possibly beat me is to keep me cornered, and I don't think that's going to happen."

Marquez, who, like Mosley, is 31 years old, says he's up to the challenge but fears that Mosley won't stand and fight.

"It could be boring if he's going to run," Marquez said. "But I'll try to keep that from happening. I've got nothing to lose and I'm going to try and overpower him.

"I can't hold back. This is the biggest opportunity of my boxing career and I feel I'm catching him at the right time."

If that "right time" includes the distraction of a looming fight or protracted debate about a fight with De La Hoya, Mosley could be susceptible.

"Everybody wants to talk about Oscar, Oscar, Oscar," Mosley complained as he was making the rounds in the interview room.