Focused on business

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 4, 2004 | 9:42 a.m.

Shane Mosley has been a professional fighter for more than 10 years and he knows something about keeping his priorities in order. It's first things first, and all of that.

That's why he called a halt to at least the public portion of the ongoing negotiations between his management team and representatives of Felix Trinidad. Yes, Mosley wants to fight Trinidad this fall and it's being discussed, but he realized those conversations were undermining his March 13 fight in Las Vegas with fellow junior middleweight world champion Winky Wright.

The talks with Trinidad made it appear as if Mosley was looking past Wright and he decided to force them to the back burner, even with Trinidad announcing as he did this week that his two-year retirement is over.

"I did mention it to them that maybe they needed to stop focusing so much on those contract negotiations," Mosley reiterated during a conference call with Wright, speaking about the desire he expressed to his manager and promoter to keep a lid on the Trinidad discussions. "I told them to hold off on that.

"After Winky, I'll definitely be fighting Trinidad.

"But I'm not overlooking anybody."

Yet it is a reflection of Mosley's confidence (and the confidence his management team has in him) that a fight with Trinidad is already well into the planning stage.

"I don't even care," Wright said, when asked about Mosley lining up a future fight on the assumption that he will beat Wright when they fight next week at Mandalay Bay. "But I'd think it would be a bad call if he's looking past me.

"I can't see how Shane Mosley beats me. Yeah, he's quick and a great fighter, but I don't see what he can do to beat me."

Bettors think otherwise and have made Wright a plus 250 in the sports book at Mandalay Bay. Mosley is favored at a minus 330 for a fight that will give the sport its first ever unified (WBC, WBA and IBF) champion at 154 pounds.

But if Mosley wins he doesn't intend to hang on to the belts for long.

"After I win the three belts I don't think I have any need (for retaining them by fighting mandatory challengers)," he said. "But before I get to the pot of gold (and a fight with Trinidad), I have to beat this man."

Mosley, 32, is 39-2 with 35 knockouts and owns the WBC and WBA junior middleweight titles.

Wright, also 32, is 46-3 with 25 KOs and is the IBF champion at 154 pounds.

Mosley is coming off a second win against Oscar De La Hoya, while Wright has won seven consecutive fights, albeit against lesser opposition. He was forced into those bouts -- most recently vs. Angel Hernandez at Mandalay Bay -- as fighters such as Mosley, De La Hoya, Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins ignored his pleas for a fight until Mosley suddenly needed a March 13 opponent after Ricardo Mayorga was upset by Cory Spinks Dec. 13.

"Let's not fool ourselves. He wanted the Mayorga fight," Wright said of the vacancy that came open on Mosley's schedule. "Yes, the frustration built up over the years, but I'm happy to finally get the fight.

"I feel (De La Hoya, Trinidad, etc.) genuinely didn't want to fight me and take the chance when they could fight somebody else with less risk."

Wright is, nonetheless, appreciative of the opportunity before him.

"All I've ever asked for was an opportunity to fight the best," he said. "Now I've got that opportunity.

"I don't feel I want to fight too much longer, (so) I want to fight the best."

And Mosley, in the aftermath of his second win against De La Hoya, is back to being regarded among the best, his back-to-back losses to Vernon Forrest in 2002 notwithstanding.

"We're friends and I've got nothing against Shane," Wright said. "He's a good guy.

"But he can't hurt me. He can punch for someone 140 or 147 pounds but he's not knocking anybody out at 154."

This will be Mosley's third fight at 154 pounds and only his third ever against a southpaw.

"I didn't have to fight Winky," Mosley pointed out. "I could have waited for Trinidad to come out (of retirement). But I give opportunities to different fighters and this is an opportunity (for Wright) to make himself even bigger in the sport of boxing."

If Wright is successful in that quest, it will come at the expense of Mosley -- and Trinidad, assuming a Mosley vs. Trinidad fight is just waiting to be formally announced.