SUGAR'S SWEET REPEAT

July 15, 2006

Fans expecting to see a long match between two determined fighters slugging it out to a decision were given the opposite Saturday night, as Shane "Sugar" Mosley ended one chapter of his career and started another.

Mosley surprised the audience late in the sixth round with a stunning left hand blow, sending Vargas cruising to the canvas, leaving him flat on his back. Mosley, looking down on his opponent, waited in a neutral corner while Vargas stumbled twice to get back on his feet. The surprise punch left Vargas clearly stunned and came in a moment of beautiful precision from Mosley, inspired he said, by Oscar De La Hoya's own 11th-round TKO against Vargas in September of 2002.

"When I was in the ring, I remembered watching Oscar fight Vargas," Mosley said. "He threw that perfect left hook. I was bouncing around, and I saw the opportunity, and I threw the perfect left hook again."

Vargas was unable to collect himself in the ring after the eight-count and referee Kenny Bayless called the fight in the midst of a second flurry of punches from Mosley. The jubilant fighter, greeted by his father/trainer Jack Mosley, Bernard Hopkins and Oscar De La Hoya in his corner, was lifted onto his father's shoulders after the call.

Vargas was scolded in the early rounds by his corner for his slow, knockout seeking approach. With whatever plan he had backfiring, the fighter plodded forward, throwing very few punches and unable to find a rhythm against Mosley's much more aggressive style. "I thought it was slowly going my way," Vargas said, and though that may have been words from a wounded boxer holding on to his pride, slow was definitely the word to describe Vargas' display.

Early on the fight struggled to get started, with several clinches and complaints to the ref from both boxers. The prevailing mood was that of frustration until the third round when Mosley, seeing that Vargas was slow to the draw, began preemptively counter-punching many of Vargas' few attacks. Mosley landed 50% more punches than Vargas and clearly dominated the fight, showing the same speed and sharp right hand that he has in the past. Eventually it was that same speed that closed the book on this rematch.

As for the future, it has been a much talked about issue over the past weeks, and now with Mosley's skillful defeat of Vargas, "Mayweather" will be the word on everyone's tongue. As for Vargas, his ferocious fan base will no doubt follow him to every city, and every weight class, he chooses to go.