Sugar Shane Mosley was even sweeter the second time around.
Mosley came on in the late rounds again Saturday night to beat Oscar De La Hoya for the second time in three years, winning a close but unanimous decision to take the WBC and WBA 69.3kg titles.
De La Hoya said he planned to hire lawyers on Monday to investigate the decision.
PHOTO: AP
"I'm not doing this because I'm a sore loser," De La Hoya said. "I'm doing this for the sport of boxing."
But Marc Ratner, director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said the result wasn't out of line.
"There's nothing to protest," Ratner said. "It was a judges decision."
De La Hoya was leading on two scorecards and even on a third midway through the fight, but Mosley won the last five rounds on two cards and the last four on a third.
"It happened in the [Felix] Trinidad fight and it happened here," De La Hoya said. "I thought I won the fight. I didn't even think it was close."
All three judges did, though, scoring it 115-113 for Mosley. AP had Mosley winning 116-113.
The fight may have meant far more than a few gaudy belts for De La Hoya. He vowed before the bout to retire if he lost again to Mosley, who took a split decision from De La Hoya in June 2000.
Just like the first fight three years ago, Mosley was fresher and faster in the later rounds, while De La Hoya looked weary and tried to win rounds by fighting in flurries in the final seconds.
The fight before a sellout crowd of 16,268 at the MGM Grand Hotel was billed as redemption for De La Hoya, who lost to Mosley when both were young amateurs and again when they met as pros.
But it turned more into vindication for Mosley, whose career hit the skids when he lost twice to Vernon Forrest and who hadn't won a fight in more than two years.
"I thought I won by one or two rounds," Mosley said. "He gave me a lot of movement. I knew I hurt him. He never hurt me."
Mosley was the aggressor throughout the fight, though he pressed the action only in spurts. By the late rounds, though, he was putting on more pressure, and the two fighters went toe-to-toe in a hotly paced final round before the bell rang and they hugged like two warriors who had given their all.
De La Hoya was guaranteed US$17 million, though he agreed to pay Mosley US$500,000 of that if he lost. By winning, Mosley pocketed US$5 million.
The money, though, wasn't De La Hoya's biggest motivation. He desperately wanted to avenge one of only two defeats in a remarkable career in which he has won titles in five weight classes and earned some US$150 million in the ring.
By the 12th round, that desperation showed through as De La Hoya came out and the two met in the center of the ring and threw punches almost nonstop for the first minute.
"We were never concerned in the corner," De La Hoya's trainer, Floyd Mayweather, said. "We never even thought of losing. It never crossed our minds."
Punch stats showed De La Hoya landed 221 punches to 127 for Mosley.
"I felt such overwhelming power throughout the fight," Mosley said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and