Photo: Teddy Blackburn/Golden Boy Promotions

More on Cotto-Mosley!
Plus Oscar, Arum, Hopkins and Pacquiao

November 9, 2007

By Matt Richardson

Oscar de la Hoya and Bob Arum have had a tumultuous relationship over the years. At times they loved one another; at times they hated one another. They have frequently disagreed but have recently come to a mutual understanding. With de la Hoya’s Golden Boy promotions gaining steam and with Arum’s Top Rank as prominent as ever the two men have began working together in new ways; promoting some of the best fights in the sport. Despite their notoriously rocky relationship the two men seem to agree on two things: they want to make the best fights available and they both think Saturday’s welterweight fight between Miguel Cotto (Arum’s fighter) and Shane Mosley (Oscar’s) will be an excellent fight.

One of the best fights available however, could include de la Hoya himself. If Cotto beats Mosley on Saturday at Madison Square Garden one of the biggest, best and most obvious fights would then be de la Hoya versus Cotto; but will it happen?

“Obviously my last fight was a sparring session. It was a sparring session and that’s the reason why I’m fighting two more times and hanging up the gloves next year,” explained de la Hoya. “I still feel I have the desire and the energies to continue. And yes, I do want to go out with a big bang. I’m not going to say that I’m going to fight Cotto. I’m not going to say that I’m not going to fight Cotto. I do want to be involved in those classic fights, where people are going to talk about for years to come; those brawls. I want to be involved with that. I’m hungry for that.”

De la Hoya, 38-5, 20 KO’s appeared to backtrack on previous statements he made in which he said he would honor his wife’s wish to refrain from fighting Puerto Rican fighters. “At the end of the day it’s me who makes the decision,” he said. “Ultimately I’m going to do what’s best for the sport.”

To which Arum retorted he’d being willing to do whatever it took to get a de la Hoya fight for Cotto. “If that’s what it takes to make the fight I’ll have Cotto apply for Israel citizenship,” Arum said. “Anybody who’s a welterweight would eagerly want to fight Oscar de la Hoya because that’s where the money is,” Arum said. “It’s a no-brainer.”

“2 AND I’M THROUGH”

One thing de la Hoya appeared certain about was his future in the sport. Regardless of his next opponent “The Golden Boy” said he will only fight two more times. He says he’ll fight once in May and once in September of 2008 with an interest in having either fight in Dodger stadium. He also said he would be willing to go to England to fight Ricky Hatton should the Brit perform well against Floyd Mayweather next month.

FUTURE GBP/TOP RANK PROMOTIONS

At the top of the list is the eagerly awaited rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. According to both de la Hoya and Arum the possibility is being discussed. “Richard Schaefer and Bob Arum are already taking about a rematch,” de la Hoya said of negotiations between his business partner and Arum. A rematch between the two pound-for-pounders could take place at 130, 135 or at a catchweight in between.

“I’m not going to advocate one course of action or another,” Arum said. “I have no preference at all.” In addition to a rematch against Marquez other possibilities for Pacquiao include a lightweight tile fight against David Diaz or a possible fight with the winner of next weeks Humberto Soto-Joan Guzman fight. Regardless of who Pacquiao fights, it will likely take place on March 15th, probably at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

HOPKINS-CALZAGHE HEATING UP

De la Hoya says his company is already in negotiations with Frank Warren to match the light heavyweight champ with the super middleweight one. “That’s a great fight and both fighters want it,” de la Hoya said. “We just have to figure out the dates and time. We’ll have to talk to his (Calzaghe) people about it,” he said. One possible venue Hopkins has routinely mentioned to host the bout is Yankee stadium in New York. De la Hoya says he likes the idea. Arum, however, who promoted the last professional fight at the venue with the third and final fight between Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton, said it may not be such a good idea.

“It’s a bitch because of what it does to the field,” he said. Plus, he said, “you don’t add a sufficient number of seats by doing it outdoors.”

BODY SHOTS

Those people who expect Cotto to win on Saturday continually point to his effective body-punching as one of his keys to victory. There was a time, though, when Mosley was just as good a body-puncher as Cotto is, if not better. During his time as lightweight champion Mosley was arguably the best body-puncher in the game. He strayed away from that as he got older and bigger but his father and trainer Jack says the great body-punching will return on Saturday. “He knows how to throw body shots,” Jack explained. According to Shane’s father, his son relied too much on weight lifting and his body-punching technique suffered because of it. “Weights mess you up,” he said. “A lot of times weights take your power away from you.” Regarding his son absorbing Cotto’s body shots in return, Jack remained unfazed. “You can’t run in there being concerned with what somebody’s going to do.” Mosley also didn’t appear impressed after watching tapes of his son’s opponent. “He’s going to have to do something more than that because if he doesn’t, he’s in trouble.”