Friday, Nov. 12, 2004 | 10:12 a.m.
Having turned down a proposed third fight against Oscar De La Hoya and the lusty payday that would have accompanied it, "Sugar" Shane Mosley opted instead to put his championship belts on the line against Ronald "Winky" Wright in March.
The Greeks called it hubris.
Wright, a 3-1 underdog, dominated the three-time champion through 12 rounds at Mandalay Bay, scoring a one-sided unanimous decision to capture the unified title at 154 pounds.
Since then, Mosley has fired his father Jack as trainer, brought highly regarded Joe Goossen on board and exercised his option for a rematch against Wright.
Mosley (39-3, 35 knockouts) hopes to make amends against Wright (47-3, 25 KOs) next Saturday at Mandalay Bay. The scheduled 12-rounder is for Wright's WBC and WBA super welterweight belts.
The winner could put himself in position for a megafight next year, possibly against Bernard Hopkins, Felix Trinidad or De La Hoya.
"A lot of great fighters have lost, then come back to fight another day and win more big fights," Mosley said Thursday on a conference call. "Look at Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard."
This time, however, Mosley will enter the ring as an underdog of better than 2-1. In a poll of reporters released Thursday, 74 picked Wright to win the rematch and just 13 selected Mosley (one voter predicted a draw).
Mosley, 33, who won titles at lightweight and welterweight while moving up through the weight divisions, was a perennial presence in boxing's pound-for-pound rankings before losing twice to Vernon Forrest in 2002 and then to Wright. Even so, he said the underdog role suits him fine.
"In my first fight against De La Hoya, I was a big underdog, and I went in there and took it out on Oscar De La Hoya," said Mosley, who beat the Golden Boy at welterweight and again at 154. "It gives me a lot of motivation. I want to win this fight and get back on top of the pound-for-pound (ratings)."
Wright has taken on an air of cool confidence leading to the rematch -- and with good reason. He seized control virtually from the opening bell in the March bout, handcuffing Mosley and subduing the champ with a succession of stiff right jabs and searing left crosses.
In the 10th and 11th rounds, Wright landed a barrage of devastating blows that left Mosley temporarily comatose on his feet.
"I was able to dominate him because I'm a much better fighter," 32-year-old Wright said. "I was pleased with my performance and I'm ready to go out there and do it again.
"The only way I'm going to lose is if I die. And I don't plan on dying."
Wright figures Mosley and Goossen are devising some new strategies for the rematch, but he said he's ready for whatever they have up their sleeves.
"He's gonna try all kinds of new things," said Wright, based in St. Petersburg, Fla. "He's not gonna do the same thing be cause it didn't work the first time. But it don't matter what he's gonna do. It matters what I'm gonna do."
Wright's trainer, Dan Birmingham, also acknowledged that Mosley isn't likely to stand pat.
"I anticipate Shane will take more chances, maybe come out stronger early on, try to throw more punches," Birmingham said. "Those are things we prepare for. ... I think (the outcome) will be just about the same -- especially when Shane starts eating Wink's leather."
After the first bout, Mosley said he felt dehydrated in the ring and, mysteriously, was not up to snuff physically.
Goossen, who was at the fight but not yet working with Mosley, characterized it as a freakish "off night" for the fighter.
"It was not Shane at his best," said Goossen, who first encountered Mosley when he was a 12-year-old in the amateur ranks in Southern California. "When we watched the tape later, it became clear that it was an off, off night against a tricky, determined southpaw. ...
"I'm not trying to change (Mosley) so much as bring him back to where he was when he was doing his best work. I'm looking to recapture all the great things I've seen him do in the ring."
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