Last February, Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas fought in an entertaining light middleweight contest that saw Mosley emerge victorious when Vargas’ eye had swollen to the size of a potato. Despite obviously blinded vision, Vargas was hanging in with Mosley. It was a fight so nice that they had to do it twice. The rematch took place last Saturday in Las Vegas and this time the winner was easy to see.
Shane Mosley vs. Fernando Vargas II
“Sugar” Shane Mosley left no room for excuses after thoroughly destroying Fernando Vargas in their rematch. Mosley outboxed Vargas in every round. He was patient and showed much more quickness than the heavy Vargas. Danny Smith, Fernando Vargas’ trainer, claimed his man was just too slow to keep up. In the sixth round, Mosley landed a left hook that seemed to come right out of EA Sports. Vargas immediately fell to the canvas yet amazingly struggled back up to his feet. “El Feroz” was never the slickest boxer but no one can ever question his heart. Mosley got a few more punches in before the referee stopped the fight but they were merely a formality.
The knockout drew instant comparisons to Oscar De La Hoya’s knockout of Fernando Vargas in 2002. It was a left hook by Oscar that knocked Vargas down in the 10th round of their fight and yet another left hook that put him away in the 11th round. Considering the Golden Boy is a good friend and promoter of “Sugar” Shane Mosley, it seems clear the two shared some notes. Perhaps Vargas should stay out of the Golden Boy camp from now on.
Shane Mosley now has any boxing opportunity that he wants. Just like his promoter Oscar De La Hoya did, Mosley knocked out a tough opponent in a high profile fight and is now ducking offers from Floyd Mayweather, Jr. A trip back down to welterweight is most likely for Shane Mosley, who was reunited with his father as his trainer for this rematch with Vargas. Despite the major cash that would come from a fight with Mayweather in November, Mosley maintains he will not fight again this year.
Fernando Vargas’ future is far less promising. On the bright side, he’s getting married on August 5th. Seems like a risky wedding date being so close to a fight date with an opponent that mangled his face the first time around. However, once the honeymoon is over it’s back to reality. Fernando Vargas is done at light middleweight. If he returns it will be as a middleweight or even a super middleweight. It’s weird talking about Vargas as an old, washed-up fighter given that he is only 28 years old, but that’s exactly what he’s become.
Felix Sturm vs. Javier Castillejo
Usually, this fight would be listed under the Results From Last Week section but something strange happened on the way to Felix Sturm’s WBA Middleweight title defense against Javier Castillejo. He got caught by surprise and lost his title. In a stunning upset that was supposed to be an easy fight in front of a hometown crowd, Javier Castillejo forced the referee to stop the fight in the 10th round when Sturm couldn’t defend himself against Castillejo’s onslaught.
Felix Sturm has been considered one the best pound for pound fighters in the world even though his name isn’t common to the casual boxing fan. Before this title defense, Sturm’s lone loss came against Oscar De La Hoya in a decision that most people believe should have gone to Sturm. The signs for an upset appeared early. Sturm wobbled Castillejo in the first round and gained a false confidence. The champ lost focus and was caught by a left hook left uppercut combination that put him down on the mat. Sturm got to his feet and survived the round. The knockdown was a wakeup call and Sturm took control after the third round.
Sturm built a comfortable lead and was well ahead on all the scorecards by the tenth round. No one told the 38 year-old Castillejo that he wasn’t supposed to win this fight. The Spanish challenger caught Sturm napping again, this time in the 10th round and nailed him with a left hook. Sturm fell against the ropes and Castillejo continued to pummel the champion until the referee finally stopped the fight. It turns out that Castillejo broke Sturm’s jaw with the left hook that led to the knockdown in the second round.
Sturm should have no problem rebounding from this loss once he has recuperated from his injuries. Sturm’s loss leaves the middleweight division wide open for undisputed champion Jermain Taylor. After three draining fights against Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright, rumors are circulating that Taylor’s next opponent will be Sergio Mora, the winner of The Contender reality show. Mora currently is scheduled to fight in late August and if he wins, a showdown with Taylor in December is very likely. Needless to say it will be a huge jump in competition for Mora.
If Taylor vs. Mora does happen, it will likely be out west. That goes against Taylor’s desire to fight in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, but Mora’s drawing power is very good on the west coast. The date is tentatively set for Dec. 2 on HBO PPV.
Results From Last Week
– Undefeated prospect Jason Litzau continues his meteoric rise up the featherweight division with a first round knockout of Nicky Bentz. Litzau is likely to have a big 2007.
– Former world title contender Yory Boy Campas defeated Miguel Hernandez by corner stoppage in the 6th round. Campas moves his record to 88-8.
– 2004 US Olympian Rock Allen stayed undefeated as a professional with a unanimous decision over Henry Mitchell.
– Ben Tackie won his welterweight showdown against Wilfredo Negron by ninth round TKO.
– Juan Diaz retained his WBA Lightweight title with a TKO victory over Randy Suico in the ninth round.
– Daniel Ponce De Leon knocked Sod Looknongyangtoy out cold in route to defending his WBO Super Bantamweight title.
Jockscraps – The Stories They Won’t Tell
10 Things You May Not Know About Roger Clemens
After falling to 1-3 since rejoining the Houston Astros despite a 2.96 ERA for the season, pitcher Roger Clemens opened up to reporters and gave us all a little insight into what he was doing during his time off:
10) I ran over a golden retriever and killed it. It had a tag around its neck with an address on it, so I drove to the house and knocked on the door. A little girl answered and I told her that some big meanie had run over her doggy and that it was dead. She cried for a really long time, but I told her I vowed to personally find who was responsible and bring him to justice. Deep down inside I felt bad about the whole ordeal, so I gave her an autographed baseball and a ticket to watch our minor league team play.
(9) Whenever I hear Eddie Money’s voice on the radio, I get the sudden urge to engage in fast, sweaty sex. Especially that “Take Me Home Tonight” song.
(8) It’s weird, but I can take a shower and walk around the house for exactly thirty minutes, and when I rub my balls and smell my fingers, the scent reminds me of Halloween when I was a kid. I don’t know why my sac smells like Autumn candy, but it does every now and then.
(7) I own a couple hundred acres of land down around the Mexican border. On weekends I’ll drive Pettitte, Oswalt, and myself down there and we’ll shoot at all the illegals coming across the border. I’ve got an honorary Texas ranger badge that Chuck Norris gave me. I have seven confirmed kills. Pettitte’s bitch ass has over twenty. Oswalt shoots like a retard. He’s crippled three of the little devils, but no confirmed kills.
(6) I don’t ever eat Chili Cheese Fritos, ‘cuz every time I walk past someone from the Middle East, I notice they smell just like Chili Cheese Fritos. It’s negative association, man. Just can’t bring myself to eat ’em. Makes my stomach turn.
(5) If I had to be any type of fruit in the world, I’d be a tangerine. No doubt about it.
(4) One time I went fishing with a friend of mine. When I got home, my little girl asked me if I caught anything. I told her I accidentally caught Nemo (you know, from the movies). She started to cry, but I told her if we remembered to scale him, de-vein his turd pack, and cook him right, ol’ Nemo would taste just fine. This didn’t stop her damn crying, so I gave her an autographed baseball and a ticket to a minor league game.
(3) My favorite singer of all time is Elvis. Sometimes I get real drunk and shoot out the television screen too, just like the King did.
(2) I never give to the United Way. I don’t trust those money-grubbing cheats. You shouldn’t either.
(1) People always ask me, “Roger, how come you still pitch so well in your 40’s?” I tell them it’s a strict training regimen but really, I just have a robotic arm.
Spit Bucket
Contender Season 2 begins tonight on ESPN. Arturo Gatti fights this weekend on HBO and I’ll have a full report of his fight with Carlos Baldomir next week. Until then, check this out:
Tom Gubitosi has the Weekly Sports Pulse and that pretty much means baseball coverage.
The Happy Hour produces a 20th Century All-Star Team for MLB but more importantly, boasts a picture of under-boob.
The Funniest Movie Of Our Generation Tournament continues. Don’t forget to vote.
Steve Murray reviews Louis C.K.’s One Night Stand comedy special.
