Sugar Shane Mosley spearheads a load of Southern California prizefighters who will be busy in the near future.
Mosley’s potential showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is being discussed and could take place in May. At first, it was slated for March 13 and would have gone up against Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Joshua Clottey on the same date, but HBO bigwigs decided that was not a good idea.
Mosley, a Pomona native, has tried for years to get Mayweather in the ring to no avail. Now that Mayweather is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, which also promotes Mosley, it could be a much easier fight to make.
“You know my record for making fights. It used to be 100 percent but now it’s 98 percent,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy Promotions.
The one that got away was the Pacquiao and Mayweather fight that dissipated over drug-testing procedures. It was supposed to take place on March 13. Now Mosley could be the opponent for Mayweather.
“Mayweather and Mosley would be one of the two or three best fights of the year without a doubt,” Schaefer said.
LOOK AT THE FUTURE
Mosley was in Pacoima last weekend to watch his son Shane Mosley Jr. perform in the U.S. district national championships. The 152-pound teen won his first two bouts as both dad and grandfather Jack Mosley worked in his corner.
One other area fighter who did well was Saul Rodriguez, of Riverside, who participated as a 132-pounder in the open division. That’s usually for adults, but Rodriguez, 16, has proven to be pretty advanced for his age. The quick-fisted power puncher captured a win in his first fight but was edged by former national champion Xavier Montelongo, of Montebello, in one of the two best fights on Saturday.
Rodriguez will be a force in the near future.
LOCAL BOUTS
In the pro ranks, back-to-back fight cards at San Manuel casino and the Ontario Doubletree Hotel had packed houses as local fighters performed.
Riverside’s Jose “El Nino” Reynoso gave undefeated prospect Aris Ambriz a shock and nearly upset the tall junior welterweight from Azusa on Thursday. The fight was ruled a draw.
“We were lucky to get a draw,” said Victor Hernandez, who trains Ambriz. “I don’t know what was wrong with my fighter.”
Kaliesha West received a split draw against three-time world champion Ada Velez in a six-round clash held at super bantamweight.
“I could feel her experience in the ring,” said West (11-1-1), who convinced one judge that she clearly won the fight, but the other two scored it a draw. “She was very strong on the inside.”
It was a major test for the Moreno Valley prizefighter, who showed impressive speed and power.
On Friday night, Venezuela’s Patrick Ortiz dominated against a tricky and defensive-minded John Brown in a junior welterweight clash at Ontario.
“He fought a lot of world champions, so I knew he would be a little difficult,” said Lopez (18-2, 12 KOs), who suffered a cut from an accidental clash of heads. “I’m ready for a world title fight.”
Sitting at ringside in Ontario were world champions Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley, of Indio, and Yonnhy Perez, of Colombia. Both fight under the Thompson Boxing Promotions banner. Lopez wants to be their third world champion.
“We’ll see how he looks in his next fight,” said Alex Camponovo, who makes the matches for Thompson.
Perez, who won the bantamweight title in a thrilling upset last Halloween against Ghana’s Joseph King Kong Agbeko, could be matched with Abner Mares in a world title clash.
Mares trains in Indio under master trainer Joel Diaz.
“That’s a fight we’re talking about,” said Camponovo.
Frank Espinoza, who manages Mares, said the fight could be one of the best fights of the year.
“I think Abner is ready to show everyone what he can do this year,” Espinoza said.
That can be said of a lot of fighters from the Inland Empire who look ready to burst onto the world scene in 2010.
