PROVIDENCE–No one calls Sergio Mora the Latin Fake any more. Not since he won and then lost title bouts against Vernon Forrest.
The self-styled Latin Snake showed some bite in winning a junior middleweight crown from the accomplished Forrest.
Now, while he?s itching to shine like new money in a Jan. 24 bout against the ever popular TBA or his cousin the always popular TBD, Mora told me that his East Los Angeles homeboy Oscar De La Hoya should be flying his fake flag, not his freak flag, if he cannot get rid of that little Pinoy pest Manny Pacquiao in five rounds or less.
Mora, in Rhode Island to cheer on his old ?Contender? TV show teammates, made it plain that he considers the Dec. 6 Oscar-Pacman bout a bad joke.
Pacquiao may wind up having 15 years or more of worldwide fame, Mora said, but if the bigger, stronger Oscar gets deadly serious in the ring, Pacman will have 15 minutes or less of leather eating time.
?It won?t go five rounds,? Mora said Wednesday. ?It shouldn?t go five rounds. If it does go longer, then Oscar should be embarrassed. It would really be an embarrassment for him if that happens.
?He should just run Manny right out of the ring.?
I asked Mora, as a popular Mexican American boxer, what?s up with all the anti-Oscar venom spewed inv the Golden Boy?s handsome face from so called ?real Mexicans? such as JC Chavez Jr. and, in past years, a big-mouthed Fernando Vargas.
Mora laughed and then explained, sort of.
?You can?t understand this if you?re not Mexican or Mexican American,? Mora said. ?It?s a macho thing. They feel Oscar is not macho enough in the ring, that he has not bled enough. The way Oscar wins fights is not the usual, brawling Mexican style of fighting. ?
Mora?s biggest dream has been and continues to be getting a shot at his homie. Mora knows Oscar will fight twice in 2009 but believes he?s not in a position to lure the Golden Boy into a fight yet.
?Losing the title back to Vernon hurts,? Mora said. ?When I beat Vernon, I thought maybe I could get that fight with Oscar. It?s still something I would love to get. That?s my dream fight but now I must concentrate on finding the toughest opponent we can get for Jan. 24 and go from there.?
By the way, Mora has a nice sense of humor. I asked if he would go into acting or politics after hanging up his gloves.
“Not politics,” Mora said. “They might go way back and find out something bad that I did.”
Can Pacquaio stand up to Oscar?s wicked assault longer than 15 minutes?
Mora does not believe it. More or less?
Mora said go with less.
And then the Latin Snake slithered away.
