Monday, March 15, 2004 | 9:18 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins were both likely 2,000 miles away, one at his home in Puerto Rico and the other at his home in Philadelphia.
But they undoubtedly noticed something that happened Saturday night in Las Vegas, something sports bettors are apt to have seen as well.
They saw what happens more often than not when a naturally bigger man fights a man -- and a talented man, at that -- who has moved up multiple divisions over the course of years. They saw Winky Wright, who has fought at 154 pounds since his first pro bout in 1990, take apart Shane Mosley, who debuted as a 135-pound lightweight in 1993 and who was fighting for only the third time at 154, at Mandalay Bay.
The significance to De La Hoya and Hopkins is that they're scheduled to fight (at a catch weight of 157 pounds) Sept. 18 in Las Vegas, under similar circumstances to the Wright vs. Mosley bout. De La Hoya debuted at 133 pounds in 1992, while Hopkins, who has been a pro fighter since 1988, has always fought at 160, give or take.
It's just a matter of time before the betting line in that fight is adjusted as a result of wagers made in the aftermath of Wright's decisive win against Mosley. De La Hoya, already a plus 120 underdog in the sports book at the MGM, is apt to become a more pronounced underdog when Wright's dominance against Mosley sinks in with the betting public.
Wright defeated Mosley by 6, 6 and 4 points on the judges' cards in a performance that was almost startling. It was Mosley who was making the most money and who had an even bigger fight (vs. Felix Trinidad) on the drawing board, yet Wright all but toyed with him in taking a unanimous decision.
If nothing else it showed that the man at the natural, long-term weight holds an advantage that shouldn't be slighted. Wright has spent his entire career in the junior middleweight division, while Mosley has stepped from 135 to 140 to 147 to 154 in the span of a decade.
When Mosley had to fight a man who had been at 154 for a while -- as opposed to fighting fellow weight-class jumper De La Hoya -- he was perplexed by his inability to make an impact with his punches.
"I felt like I had a monkey on my back," Mosley said later of his inability to connect, not making excuses but adding that there was a fatigue and possible dehydration factor in play as well.
Wright, meanwhile, said he was comfortable and in control.
"I felt I was the better overall fighter," he said. "I was stronger than him."
It appears as if he will have to prove it to Mosley again, however, as a unique option clause had been inserted into their initial contract. The clause stated that if Mosley won there would be no mandatory rematch, but if Wright won a rematch would be due.
Promoter Gary Shaw said he started working on the rematch particulars Sunday and Mosley said he welcomed another shot at the man who is now the undisputed junior middleweight world champion.
"I'm a warrior," Mosley said. "I'll make some adjustments and try it again."
But, for Mosley, this could be eerily similar to his failings in back-to-back fights with Vernon Forrest in 2002. Forrest, the longer residing fighter at 147 pounds, won both of those fights by decision, prompting Mosley to add weight and try his hand at 154.
And he looked good at 154, but, in retrospect, those were fights against another man (De La Hoya) who was ascending in weight.
I'm not saying there's an ironclad lesson to be learned here, yet the outcome of the Wright vs. Mosley fight should send a warning to fighters such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., who fancies himself fighting guys as heavy as 160 pounds despite the fact he started his career at 130. Other fighters who seem impervious to the pitfalls of jumping weight divisions -- which can have as few as 3 pounds difference or as many as 15 -- may want to rethink their plans as well.
Of course there is a flip side to almost any argument and there's one here too, as Roy Jones Jr. jumped two divisions to defeat John Ruiz for a heavyweight championship last year. But Jones had the good sense to relinquish the heavyweight title he had won, rather than continue facing bigger men who were going to outweigh him by 20 or 30 pounds.
So I'll say this: I like Wright to win the rematch with Mosley, and any doubt I had about Hopkins defeating De La Hoya has just about been erased.
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