With Wright Fight, Mosley Places Futures Bet

LAS VEGAS —  Even here, where huge sums of money ride on a roll of the dice, a shuffle of the deck, a $10-million gamble raises some eyebrows.

Especially when it is taken by a high-stakes player such as Shane Mosley.

Mosley’s $10-million pot will be on the line tonight, not at the gaming tables, but in the Mandalay Bay Events Center, where he will fight Winky Wright for the undisputed 154-pound title. Mosley is the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn. titleholder, Wright the International Boxing Federation champion.

Mosley, coming off his second victory over Oscar De La Hoya, will receive a purse of $2.1 million, for a total of a little more than $3 million when other sources of revenue are figured in. Wright will get $750,000.

There could have been more for Mosley, a lot more. This could have been the weekend Mosley fought De La Hoya for a third time -- for a purse of $12 million.

That’s the amount Bob Arum, De La Hoya’s promoter, mentioned to Judd Burstein, Mosley’s attorney, when they began negotiations for Mosley-De La Hoya III.

The problem was, De La Hoya was going to get a $15-million guarantee. Mosley told Burstein to proceed no further, refusing to accept less than a 50-50 split against the man he had twice beaten, regardless of the amount being considered.

“It didn’t matter how much money it was,” Burstein said. “Shane had too much pride to accept less than 50-50. The smart business decision would have be to take the offer, but you have to admire Shane for sticking to what he believes is right.”

That big payday is still out there. Unable to reach an agreement with De La Hoya, Mosley found a kindred spirit in Felix Trinidad, who also has beaten De La Hoya. Trinidad has been retired, but De La Hoya was also trying to get back in the ring with him -- and offering less money than De La Hoya would get.

The handlers of Mosley and Trinidad got together, compared notes and figured, why not just eliminate the middleman? So they did, reaching a tentative agreement for a Mosley-Trinidad fight in November, with Mosley to receive the $10 million he lost by not fighting De La Hoya.

To earn that paycheck, however, Mosley (39-2, 35 knockouts) must first get by Wright (46-3, 25 knockouts), who has an agenda of his own.

It’s an agenda Mosley can identify with. For years, he boxed in the shadow of De La Hoya, plagued by poor management that left him with low-profile sites, lower-profile opponents and small paydays while De La Hoya became “the Golden Boy.”

Wright has been on a similar detour, stuck on side roads for a decade while others traveled a road paved with boxing gold. For Wright, a victory over Mosley would be the breakthrough he has long awaited.

If that happens, it will be because of Wright’s awkward style, southpaw stance and impressive power, a combination that has left many opponents frustrated, confused and whipped.

“I’m a tough fighter,” Wright said. “Shane is going to know he’s been in a fight.”

Wright rejects the notion that he can win only by fighting ugly.

“I ain’t no one-dimensional fighter,” he said.

Maybe not, but he’s in against perhaps the most multifaceted fighter in the sport today. Mosley has speed of hand and foot, surprising power that has not diminished as he has moved up in weight from 135 to 154, impressive stamina and a sharp boxing mind.

All of these assets were on display in his two memorable victories over De La Hoya. Mosley proved to be faster than De La Hoya. He hurt De La Hoya with his power in the second fight. He came on strong at the end of both fights while De La Hoya faded. And Mosley showed the crucial ability to make adjustments in his strategy in both matches, after De La Hoya had won the first half of each bout. Mosley even briefly switched to southpaw in the first De La Hoya fight.

“I hope he tries that with me,” Wright said. “It will mean I am beating him.”

Wright hasn’t shown enough, certainly not recently, to prove he can beat Mosley. In his biggest fight, Wright was beaten on a majority decision by Fernando Vargas. In his last two outings, against lesser opponents Juan Candelo and Angel Hernandez, Wright looked average at best.

“Everything Wink has been through has taken its toll,” said Dan Birmingham, Wright’s trainer. “He hasn’t been serious for a fight like he is now since he fought Vargas.”

Mosley insists his focus hasn’t wavered through all the machinations that led up to this fight.

“There is no need for me to ever fight Oscar De La Hoya again,” Mosley said. “It is important for me to be the undisputed champion.”

Considering his consummate skills, Mosley figures to become just that tonight.

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In an intriguing semi-main event, rising heavyweight Joe Mesi (28-0, 25) goes against Vassiliy Jirov (33-1, 29), a former IBF cruiserweight champion.

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Tonight’s Card

Shane Mosley vs. Winky Wright

Site: Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas.

TV: HBO (6:30)

At stake: Mosley’s WBC and WBA super-welterweight titles and Wright’s IBF junior-welterweight title.

*--* Tale of the tape: Mosley Wright 32 Age 32 154 Weight 154 5-9 Height 5-9 1/2 74 Reach 72 39 Wins 46 2 Losses 3 35 Knockouts 25

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Undercard: Joe Mesi (28-0, 25 KOs) vs. Vassiliy Jirov (33-1, 29 KOs) in a heavyweight bout.