Boxing, politics over dinner with Arum, Roach

Although I came in around 9:30 p.m. (after my last day of class before the Christmas break at the De La Salle University Graduate School of Business) exactly a week ago for a dinner that started at 8 p.m., I was still able to catch enough of and take part in the interesting after- dinner conversation at the palatial home (called the White House) of Nene and Stella Araneta. The talk shifted from, among others, boxing, and Manny Pacquiao’s next most likely opponent, to Philippine and US politics to steroid use by some of the world’s top-rated boxers to Manila’s Christmas traffic.

The occasion was a dinner tendered by the Aranetas for promoter Bob Arum and his wife Lovee and Manny Pacquiao’s equally world-famous trainer, Freddie Roach. Seated around the table were the Aranetas, the Arums, Roach, Judy Araneta-Roxas, investment banker Jo Anne de Asis and I. Pacquiao was invited but he left the day before for Gen Santos to prepare for his big birthday bash on Dec. 17. Seated in the adjacent table were, among others, sports columnist Ronnie Nathanielsz, ABS-CBN’s Dyan Castillejo and World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion and former WBO super bantamweight titlist, Juanma Lopez of Juncos, Puerto Rico.

To my right was Roach whom I had some brief conversations with over the years in Manila, at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Dallas.

It was only natural that the conversation would drift to who would be Pacquiao’s most likely opponent. With no hesitation, Roach said, Shane Mosley, an answer that Bob Arum did not contradict.

From where we sit therefore, Mosley, 39, will, unless something drastic happens, meet Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 7, 2011 for Pacquiao’s welterweight title. The 5’9” American born in Pomona, California has a ring record of 46-6-1 and one no contest. Thirty-nine of Mosley’s victories came via knockout.

Mosley held, at different times, the titles in three different divisions: World Boxing Association super welterweight, World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Association welterweight and International Boxing Federation lightweight.

Prior to turning pro, Mosley had an outstanding amateur record. He was the 1992 US amateur lightweight champion and was part of the US teams to the 1990 Goodwill Games (bronze medal) in Seattle and the 1989 world junior championships (silver medal) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Mosley made his professional debut on Feb. 11, 1993 when he knocked out Greg Puente in the fifth round. He ran up a string of 37 more victories from April 4, 1993 to July 7, 2001, when he beat Adrian Stone by third round TKO to retain his WBC welterweight title.

Mosley ‘s38 straight victories over nine years came to a halt when he lost his WBC welterweight title by unanimous decision on Jan. 26, 2002 to Vernon Forrest at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York. A rematch six months later, July 20, at the Canseco Field House in Indianapolis, Indiana, ended the same way: Mosley again lost by unanimous decision.

Mosley scored his biggest wins against Oscar de la Hoya: by split decision on June 17, 2000 at Staples Center in Los Angeles and by unanimous decision on Sept. 13, 2003 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Mosley came very close to beating Floyd Mayweather in a welterweight contest on May 1, 2010. He had Mayweather in deep trouble in the second round but Mosley failed to sustain the attack and, in the words of some boxing experts, “let Mayweather go”. Roach himself suspiciously wonders why Mosley failed to deliver the coup de grace in that fateful second round. Mayweather recovered from Mosley’s two right hands to win by unanimous decision.

ESPN reported that Mosley admitted in a 2003 grand jury testimony that he used the banned drug EPO for the De la Hoya bout. The website sportsillustrated.cnn.com states Mosley reportedly began his doping regimen prior to his 2003 bout with De la Hoya, a match that he won due in part to his strong performance in the later rounds of the fight. Prior to that admission, Mosley had insisted that he had not been using steroids. He was however identified as a customer of BALCO Labs, which produces performance enhancing drugs.

Sports illustrated and the Los Angeles Times also reported that Victor Conte, founder of BALCO has since accused Mosley of knowingly taking performance enhancing drugs.

It is no wonder then that Roach has maintained that Mosley has to undergo and pass a drug test prior to the Pacquiao bout.

At this point, I suspect that, without the use of steroids, Mosley will not make it past the fifth round against Pacquiao.