Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley
Date/ Venue: June 17, 2000/ Staples Center, Los Angeles
Titles: WBC welterweight
BY ANSON WAINWRIGHT
“We had [IBF lightweight titleholder] Philip Holiday and Cedric [Kushner] approach us for an opportunity for Mosley. The problem I had was if we didn’t agree to that fight, Mosley was certainly going to become the mandatory, which would give me much weaker bargaining power. The one condition we made was to retain options on Mosley if he won. As it happens, he won and we co-promoted him with Cedric for many fights.
“While the De La Hoya fight wasn’t a Golden Gloves promotion, it was a major event. The buildup to the fight was incredible and the fight itself never disappointed, being 12-rounds of toe-to-toe boxing.
“Mosley is one of the most accomplished fighters I’ve been associated with. He probably has to be at the top if I’m giving him his due. Unfortunately, towards the end, Mosley and Cedric had a major fall out which meant we lost our interest in him but I’ve stayed in contact with him. He’s a real gentleman. I really enjoyed working with him. It must rank as pound-for-pound the biggest fight we’ve been involved in.”
Result: Mosley SD 12
