Mayorga: "I'll Beat Shane Mosley Worse Than Vargas"
LOS ANGELES —Four-time world champion Sugar Shane Mosley has agreed to tangle with former three-time world champion and supreme provocateur Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The last time Sugar Shane Mosley stepped foot in the ring in Los Angeles was against Oscar de la Hoya in 2000 at STAPLES Center, in a fight that catapulted him to boxing superstardom. Eight years later, on Saturday, Sept. 27, Mosley will return home to fight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, a Los Angeles suburb, for the first time since that epic bout to face three-time world champion Mayorga in a boutcontested at the 154-pound limit.
Tickets for the event priced at $350, $150, $75 and $50 go on sale Thursday, Aug. 7 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets, on the Web at
www.Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at (213) 480-3232. Tickets are also available for sale at The Home Depot Center Box Office, open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT, and on event days. Event suites, group packages and VIP packages are available by calling 1-877-AEG-TICKETS (1-877-234-8425) or by visiting
www.aegtickets.com.
“It’s been eight years since I fought at home and I can’t wait to fight at The Home Depot Center,” Mosley said. “Mayorga’s a big talker and I know things are going to heat up between us, but I’ve been down this road before. All the talking in the world isn’t going to help him when we step into the ring, that’s where Mayorga will have to eat his words”.
Mayorga followed by saying, “Fernando Vargas and all of his supporters in Southern California told me I couldn’t back up the talk in November but I did,” referring to his domination of former two-time world champion “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas at STAPLES Center on Nov. 23. “I will do to Mosley exactly what I did to Vargas or even worse. Mosley will have to prove to me he can stand up and fight the way Vargas tried to do.”
President of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar de la Hoya, who having fought both fighters has a unique vantage point said, “I know Mosley and Mayorga very well, having been in the ring with both of them and in all honesty, nothing compares to Shane’s speed or Ricardo’s power. That makes this a perfect clash of styles and one that should result in a great fight when the bell rings.”
Don King, Mayorga’s promoter, who thinks Mayorga will win if he comes in at his best commented, “Mayorga too often fights two opponents, himself and the other guy. Shane Mosley should pray that Mayorga continues to fight two opponents. If Mayorga fights single-mindedly, nobody can beat him. The only person that can beat Mayorga is Mayorga. I predict Mayorga will put on one of the best performances of his life and knock Sugar Shane Mosley out.”
Golden Boy Promotions Chief Executive Officer Richard Schaefer, who is happy to be bringing Mosley back to his Southern California fans, responded, “Bringing Shane Mosley home to fight in Los Angeles has been a goal of ours for years and finally that dream has become a reality. Add in the great reception that Ricardo Mayorga got when he beat Fernando Vargas last year in Los Angeles and I’m sure this is an event that all fight fans will want to see.”
Kery Davis, Senior Vice President of Programming of HBO Sports, said, “September 27th should be an exciting night of boxing and we are really looking forward to presenting the action live on HBO. We have a doubleheader on tap for the evening and there is plenty on the line for all the fighters.”
Rod O’Connor, General Manager of The Home Depot Center, said, “The Home Depot Center and AEG are proud to partner once again with Golden Boy Promotions and Don King Productions to bring another marquee fight to southern California boxing fans. In 2008, The Home Depot Center has hosted two of boxing’s most storied matchups, including Vazquez vs. Marquez III and De La Hoya vs. Forbes. Mosley vs. Mayorga on September 27th will complete the year’s greatest hat trick in boxing.”
A world champion in three weight classes who has honorably worn the “Sugar” name, Sugar Shane Mosley, 36, (44-5, 37 KOs) is considered one of boxing’s all-time best. A native of Pomona, California, Mosley won his first title in 1997 when he defeated Philip Holiday for the IBF World Lightweight crown. Mosley successfully defended his Lightweight title eight times, impressively winning them all by knockout. Mosley then skipped the junior welterweight division and moved directly to welterweight. In his third fight at 147 pounds, Mosley in 2000, defeated Oscar de la Hoya for the WBC World Welterweight title, the first of two wins over “The Golden Boy.” The second victory over De La Hoya, in 2003, netted Mosley the WBC and WBA Super Welterweight belts. After two close losses to Winky Wright in 2004, Sugar Shane returned with a vengeance, winning five of six bouts that included two stoppage victories of Fernando Vargas, a win over Luis Collazo and a razor-thin decision loss to Miguel Cotto. On Saturday, Sept. 27, Mosley plans on starting another winning streak at the expense of Ricardo Mayorga.
Mayorga (28-6-1, 22 KOs), 34, hails from Managua, Nicaragua. He burst upon the boxing world in 2002 in his first world title shot against then-World Boxing Association welterweight champion Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis. A virtual unknown at the time, Mayorga taunted his opponent by allowing him to punch him in the face repeatedly while he left his hands at his waist before sending the champion to the canvas with a thunderous assault in round five that left Lewis unfit to continue in the match. Few could have predicted at the time that Mayorga would shock the world again when he took on Boxing Writers Association of America 2002 Fighter of the Year Vernon “The Viper” Forrest, who held the WBC World Welterweight Title when they met. Forrest appeared to be as perplexed as Lewis when the Nicaraguan bomber smothered him with a barrage of combinations that sent him to the canvas in the first round. Forrest lasted until just the third round before the referee waved off the beating. Mayorga proved he was no fluke by agreeing to an immediate rematch with Forrest where he notched a majority-decision win. In his last 10 fights, Mayorga has faced five reigning world champions, four former world champions and one world-ranked fighter.
Mosley vs. Mayorga is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Don King Productions with Mosley promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Mayorga by Don King Productions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Southwest Airlines. The bout will be televised live as part of a double header on HBO’s World Championship Boxing beginning at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET. The co-featured bout will be announced shortly
