Monday, Feb. 27, 2006 | 7:39 a.m.
Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas left the ring at Mandalay Bay heading in separate directions - though both left open the possibility their paths could cross again.
Sensing an impending renaissance to his long and storied boxing career - or at least one more big payday - Mosley began mapping out his return to the welterweight division by calling out the world's top 147-pounders, including Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Wearing sunglasses after the fight to hide his badly swollen left eye, Vargas launched his campaign for a rematch, a chance to avenge his loss to Mosley by 10th-round technical knockout in a junior middleweight nontitle bout Saturday night at the Events Center.
"Absolutely I'm asking for revenge,'' said Vargas (26-3), who ruled the junior middleweight division for two years before losing to Felix Trinidad in 2000. He regained the title a year later, then lost it to Oscar De La Hoya in 2002.
But it's Mosley who can call the shots after coming away with the victory in a rough-and-tumble fight that had plenty of shoving and wrestling interspersed with some clean, powerful shots landed by both men.
The fight was billed as a contest between two former champs looking to recapture their lost magic - and Mosley believes a megafight against Mayweather would do just that.
"Floyd Mayweather is an exceptional talent; pound-for-pound he's one of the best in the sport,'' said Mosley (42-4, 36 knockouts). "In Floyd and me you have two guys with great hand speed. I might have a power edge, but he might have an edge in skills. I think it would be a great fight.''
Mayweather, unbeaten in 35 professional bouts, is better than a 4-1 favorite to beat Zab Judah in their welterweight showdown April 8 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
De La Hoya, who lost to Mosley twice and now promotes him with his Golden Boy Promotions company, said 147 pounds is the optimal weight for Mosley at this stage of his career.
Mosley, 34, weighed in at 152 for Saturday's fight, two pounds under the limit - and that was right after eating a big meal, he said.
"What can you say about Mosley? He keeps on ticking,'' De La Hoya said. "He's going to go down to 147 and challenge the best welterweights out there. He's talked about Mayweather, (WBO champ) Antonio Margarito, even some of the junior welterweights who want to move up. We're really excited about his future.''
Mosley did not rule out a rematch, though it would have to take place at 154 to accommodate Vargas, whose "walking around'' weight is at least in the 180s.
"It sounds good, if a rematch is there,'' Mosley said. "We'll have to sit down and talk about it. I wouldn't have any problems doing it.''
Vargas adviser Shelly Finkel predicted Mosley would accept a rematch if it would generate more money than any welterweight match that could be made.
"That's what it's all about, right?'' Finkel said.
Mosley earned about $3 million for Saturday's fight to Vargas' purse of about $4 million. Vargas said he would also pay off a $100,000 bet he made, man-to-man, with Mosley.
"The bet was all his idea,'' Mosley said, appearing nonplussed about the whole thing.
Vargas thought he was winning the fight and said he was astonished when referee Joe Cortez called a halt to the bout at 1:22 of the 10th round.
"I thought they were just breaking us up,'' Vargas said. "I thought, it's over? ...
"I know, and Shane knows, that I was the one putting pressure on him from Round 1. I was the one making things happen.''
Vargas might have been the only one of the more than 9,000 in the building who was surprised by the stoppage, though. His left eye, which had been swelling since Round 1 when Mosley landed a hard overhand right, was virtually sealed shut by the 10th.
"The whole side of his face was so swollen, I couldn't miss it (whether) I was throwing a jab or a right hand,'' Mosley said. "I knew it was a matter of time; if I just kept punching they would stop the fight.''
Mosley landed more punches (147-for-498, 30 percent), though Vargas connected at a higher rate (139-for-429, 32 percent), according to CompuBox statistics. Mosley had the edge in power punches, landing 127 of 303 (42 percent) to Vargas' 114 of 341 (33 percent). Vargas landed more jabs (25-for-88, 28 percent) than Mosley (20-for-195, 10 percent).
Two judges, Paul Smith and Chuck Giampa, had Mosley leading 86-85 on their scorecards when it was stopped. The third judge, Patricia Morse Jarman, had Vargas ahead 86-85.
The Sun's scorecard had Mosley more firmly in control, leading 88-83, or seven rounds to two.
Jeff Haney can be reached at 259-4041 or at [email protected].
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