Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:05 a.m.
One step closer to the end of his career, Oscar De La Hoya acts as if he's counting the days until he leaves boxing behind.
Yet he has some unfinished business to attend to, including a Sept. 13 rematch with Shane Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"I feel young and strong and fast, but I'm getting older," he said Wednesday, joining Mosley for a split press conference that originated at the Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles and concluded at the MGM in Las Vegas. "It's time for the next Golden Boy."
But with no other Golden Boy on the horizon, this one will have to do for now.
"This is for all the marbles," he said, emphasizing the focus he intends to have for not only this bout but, in all probability, one more next spring before he formally retires. "At this point in my career, I need this fight. It's for my place in boxing history."
Mosley defeated De La Hoya by split decision Nov. 4, 2000, in Los Angeles. And De La Hoya wants revenge.
"I felt like I lost that night," he admitted. "So I'm changing my whole strategy to beat him.
"I will be very confident. I know I will be well-trained."
De La Hoya, 30, is a minus 250 betting favorite in the sports book at the MGM. Mosley, 31, is a plus 210.
There is a proposition bet of "will" or "won't" go 12 full rounds, with the "will go" at a minus 200 and the "won't go" at a plus 170.
"I would hope not," promoter Bob Arum said, when asked if he thought De La Hoya would have any trouble with Mosley this time around. "But I would have thought he wasn't going to have a problem the first time.
"But he had other things going on that distracted him."
De La Hoya agreed.
"I was doing this, I was doing that, I wasn't all there," he said. "I feel this will be a completely different fight."
One thing about it, De La Hoya gets Mosley in the midst of a lengthy stretch without a win. Mosley may be 38-2 with 35 knockouts but he has not won a fight since besting Adrian Stone at Caesars Palace back on July 21, 2001. Since then Mosley has lost twice to Vernon Forrest and suffered a three-round, no-decision with Raul Marquez at Mandalay Bay in February.
"He had a window to take another fight all the way until May 12," Arum said of Mosley's decision to go without an interim bout. "But I think that's overdone. He might not need it."
Mosley believes the speed he exhibited that allowed him to beat De La Hoya three years ago is still there, and that it will be the difference this time as well.
"I knock out a lot of people but I won that first fight by having hand speed in the later rounds," he said. "I'd much rather win this one by knockout and not leave it in the hands of the judges.
"But what I really want is to win in good fashion -- not just win, but a spectacular win."
If Mosley does win the rematch, he'll pocket an additional $500,000 that will otherwise go to De La Hoya. That stipulation is part of the contract, and for promotional value the MGM had $500,000 on display for the press conference.
"It's a great motivator for him," De La Hoya said of the cash on display. "For me it's not about money ... it's about getting revenge."
He's 36-2 with 29 KOs and the main reason the Grand Garden Arena is already a virtual sell-out even four months in advance of the fight. The arena will be set up for 14,462 and Arum estimated some 12,500 tickets have already been sold.
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