Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora Battle To Be the Fighting Pride of Los Angeles

Added on Sep 15, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

Los Angeles is home to many of the biggest stars in the world. Celebrities, musicians and athletes are born and bred in the City of Angels and this Saturday night, two of the city’s proudest pugilists will meet in the ring in their own backyard – at the Staples Center. Sugar Shane Mosley and Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, who were both born and raised in the Los Angeles area, have much to say about their hometown and what it will mean to fight there on Saturday.

Mosley started off his career in the lightweight division back in 1993 with a bang as he stopped Greg Puente in the fifth round in nearby Hollywood. Four years and 23 wins later Mosley would get his first taste of a world title when he outpointed then-champion Philip Holliday for his IBF lightweight title. Arguably, the biggest win of Mosley’s historic career came against Oscar De La Hoya in the same venue, the Staples Center, that his upcoming bout with Mora will take place in.

“Oscar de la Hoya is my favorite. My fight against him is the one I watch them most. He is my partner at Golden Boy and I have a great amount of respect for him.

“It is definitely great to fight in L.A. I always fight good fights at Staples Center. They have always been sell-out crowds and I think it is going to be the same way Saturday night. I look forward to a lot of people being there to enjoy Mexican Independence Day boxing,” Mosley recently stated in a press conference.

His opponent on Saturday, Sergio Mora, as previously mentioned is no stranger to the Los Angeles fight scene having grown up in East LA idolizing his current promoter in De La Hoya.

“Oscar de la Hoya represents everything I want to accomplish – championships, status and the ability to give back to the community,” Mora states.

He adds, “It means the world to me to fight at Staples Center. Everyone that knows me and everyone that doesn’t can come and support me and it will be a pleasure to entertain them.”

While Mosley has achieved far more fame inside the ring as well as out of it, its pretty safe to assume that boxing fans tuning in on Saturday and especially those attending the fights live in LA are well aware of Mora and the celebrity he gained by becoming the inaugural winner of NBC’s “The Contender” reality television show which was filmed in his native Southern California.

Despite not being able to immediately capitalize on his new-found fame, Mora worked his way into a WBC junior middleweight title bout against the first man to defeat Mosley as a professional, Vernon Forrest. After 12 close rounds Mora walked away with a razor thin majority decision as well as Forrest’s title, giving Mora’s career a much needed shot in the arm. His championship status didn’t last very long as Vernon would wind up regaining his crown in their return bout. His upcoming bout with Mosley will be his first fight back in Los Angeles since his taste of a major world title and he couldn’t be any happier about it.

“I love being around the same gyms and the same people who motivated me from the beginning. My first gym was in my cousin’s backyard and I wouldn’t want to leave the city that has given me so much.”

Mosley will enter the ring representing his nearby. Mora will be carrying the hopes of East LA residence into the fight. They both grew up in the same area, but that is pretty much where the comparisons end. Mosley made his name knocking people flat in the lightweight division while Mora utilized his hand and foot speed to outpoint his fellow middleweight contenders. Yet here they find themselves with their paths about to cross in a junior middleweight affair to claim the right to be seen as the current fighting pride of Los Angeles.