OCT. 30, 2:00PM ET
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, PRESIDENT, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS: Thank you very much too all the media who is listening in. We are getting closer to the Fast & Furious Saturday November 10, Cotto versus Mosley at the Madison Square Garden. I do want to announce that we are close to a sellout and we expect a sellout at the Madison Square Garden. As you all know this is a much anticipated fight, which most likely will be the event of the year if not the fight of the year. A great indication of that is we have tremendous sponsors lined up for this event who will be marketing and be part of the event with the Puerto Rico tourism board. We have Beowulf, the movie, which will be out shortly. We have Tecate Beer, who’s a primary sponsor and also Southwest Airlines. I would like now to introduce to you a trainer and father of Shane Mosley. He is a two-time trainer of the year. He’s been with Shane Mosley throughout his whole career, and that is Jack Mosley who will be talking a little bit about how training camp is going.
JACK MOSLEY, TRAINER OF SHANE MOSLEY: We’ve been working very, very hard, and on all kind of combinations to for this fight coming up November 10. So I call my style power boxing, so needless to say we’ve been working on a lot of power, the cursed right hands, body shots, everything that all fighters throw. But they just put the combinations together differently. So we’re working on balance, foot work, and the whole bit. Shane is a powerful fighter, and we’ll be ready November 10. So whatever Cotto brings, we’ll be ready for it.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: We have a tremendous card lined up. Again, Golden Boy with Top Rank has put together from top to bottom a card that I’m sure most of the buyers and all of the buyers of the HBO Pay-Per-View fight will enjoy. One fight that we’re extremely proud of putting together is the best 135 pound champion, Joel Casamayor from Cuba with a record of 34 and 3 with 21 knockouts against Jose Santa Cruz with a record of 25 and 2. They will be fighting for the WBC and the Ring world lightweight title.
Also, on the card you have Antonio Margarito with Golden Johnson. And opening the show you have a great exciting young prospect that Top Rank put together from Moss Park, California, with a record of 19 and one with 14 KO’s, Victor Ortiz against the difficult and always crafty Carlos Maussa. Without any further adieu I would like to introduce to you a champion inside and outside the ring, a professional when it comes to his training. And he is world champion many times over, fighter of the year with a record of 44 and four with 37 knockouts from Pomona, California, Sugar Shane Mosley.
SHANE MOSLEY: I’ve been training very hard, as my father said, I’m a big bear and I’m ready to go. I can’t wait for the fight to happen. I’m ready to go, we’re now getting ready to do the conference and the press first thing tomorrow.
I also wanted to mention another fighter that’ll be fighting on the card, Billy the Kid from Australia. Hopefully, he can do well and maybe he can fight for his next fight because he’s been training very hard as well. You definitely can see all the things that my father and I have been working on. Madison Square Garden is definitely a great fight place. All the legendary fighters fought there, and I’m very happy to be fighting at Madison Square Garden in front of all the New York and Puerto Rican fans. My wife’s from New York so I’m always in New York a lot and it kind of feels like being at home away from home. So, I can’t wait for the fight.
DAN RAFAEL, ESPN: Shane, you’ve accomplished so many things in your career. You’ve been the number one fighter in the world. You’ve won, as they said during the introduction, many, many titles over the course of your excellent career. You’re like more the veteran now in this fight, the older guy. But what still motivates you to take these kinds of fights? Cotto’s such a young, strong champion. What’s your motivation in this type of match up?
SHANE MOSLEY: Well, my motivation is beating the best fighters out there. Cotto is a tremendous WBA world champion, and it’s the fight that people want to see. You know, I think it’s a fight people want to see. And I think with me and Miguel Cotto both being, you know, fighting warriors, I believe that people will come out to see it at the Garden or watch it on Pay-Per-View. I think it’s going to be an exciting match.
DAN RAFAEL: Shane, can you talk a little bit about the fact that you are now a little bit of the older fighter? You certainly didn’t look like it in your last fight against Collazo. You looked, as many of us thought, many years younger than you really are. But have you been able to maintain that sort of style like where it doesn’t look like you’ve aged at all in the last several years the way that you’ve been fighting in your recent fights.
SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I maintain it by keeping myself in the gym, and keeping myself backed up. So when I do fight I don’t have to work as hard to keep myself in shape. I’d have to work on keeping myself or making myself sharp as far as keeping my basics together, my jabs, right hand, left hooks and stuff like that. I didn’t really fight for a while, I guess, since February, probably maybe seven/eight months. But, I’ve been in the ring, sparring with Oscar, Robert Guerrero, Billy the Kid, and all these different people just keeping myself in shape and sharp. I’m already in great shape in this race to do my thing, use my experience against the other fighter, and I think that’s what’s important with me in my come back to being at the top of the class.
DAN RAFAEL: Jack, when you watch Shane in the gym today compared to what it was like when he was coming up in when he was lightweight championship or even when he was welterweight champion after beating Oscar in their first fight, what do you see as the main difference between, the Shane who was the number one fighter in the world and the Shane today who is not far off being the number one fighter in the world but maybe isn’t quite at that same ultra, ultra lead level that he was five or six years ago. Do you see many differences?
JACK MOSLEY: Well, actually Shane is getting his speed back to where it used to be. And his response reduction has come up. You know, it kind of fell off because he was lifting weights and things and looking a slow twitch muscle. But now that he’s not lifting weights and everything, his speed and everything is rapidly coming back to form. He’s looking sharp, and his sparring partners testified that he has tremendous power, tremendous body shots. So it’s basically he’s got the style that hasn’t changed, and that’s his style forever. Now, we all know as you get older you’re thrown off a little bit, but not much. Most of the fighters out there he was matching speed for speed. Certainly Cotto is not as fast as, hit as hard as, and not as strong as Shane.
I don’t know what Bob Arum was thinking about when he said, “We’ll fight Shane.” I mean, he’s thinking about age but that’s not going to work. Shane is just tremendously too powerful for Cotto. All the big people that he’s fought and sparred with right now don’t compare with Cotto’s mind, but on November 10th, we’ll see.
ROBERT MORALES, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS: I was thinking, you fought Oscar twice and of course those were great crowds. But I actually think the crowds were pretty split. And also I don’t think Oscar, simply because of some jealousies out there, ever had all the Mexican fans behind him. But I think Cotto is probably going to have, if not all, you know, 98.99 percent of the Puerto Rican fans behind them, behind him. Puerto Rican fans are extremely passionate. All that said, do you think this is going to be the wildest crowd you will have encountered in your long career? And what do you think about it?
SHANE MOSLEY: Actually, no. I don’t. I actually fought Byron Moon (ph) when I was like 17 years old, and that was the wildest crowd that I’ve ever been in the ring with, even at 17. I fought Anaba Sovero (ph) and he was a Puerto Rican guy, and that was for the junior world title. When they announced my name for the United States, I could hear the boo, you could feel the boo. It was tremendous but, that never bothered me.
I don’t think that the fans in the crowd are going to be as wild as you would think. I think I’ll have a lot more New York fans than people think. Being that I’m always in New York a lot and a lot of New Yorkers want to see me. They even love me. Even the Puerto Ricans that are in New York or in Puerto Rico, being in Puerto Rico, they tend to love me in the fight. So I think that it’s going to be more Cotto but maybe a lot of fans for me, though.
ROBERT MORALES: Shane, I have a question I’d like both you and Oscar to answer. For many years, of course, Felix Trinidad, Jr., was the hero in Puerto Rico. And I am wondering how close in your mind, Shane, in your opinion, how close do you think Miguel Cotto has come to realizing that same kind of fame that Trinidad had in his hay day?
SHANE MOSLEY: I think that it could pretty close. Trinidad had, a tremendous tele personality where the Puerto Rican fans really loved him, and really grasped to him. His personality, his being of Puerto Rican, and he was very outspoken and the Puerto Ricans just loved him. Cotto is a little quieter than and not as open as Trinidad. But I think that the Puerto Rican fans definitely respect Cotto’s heart and respect that when he goes in there and he gives his 100 percent all as a warrior and they can get behind him.
ROBERT MORALES: I was asking Shane about Felix Trinidad, Jr., and how popular he became, especially in his hay day. I mean, man, he was real, real popular in Puerto Rico.Do you think that Cotto is that popular? Or how close do you think he is? How big is his popularity in comparison to that of Trinidad’s?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: No, I mean, Trinidad still is the most popular Puerto Rican fighter here in the islands. But obviously Cotto, with what he has accomplished, has made a name for himself here on the island. But Trinidad continues to be the most loved Puerto Rican fighter in the islands.
ROBERT MORALES: Do you think anything that Cotto can do the rest of his career could get him to that same level? Or do you think that maybe Trinidad is just going to be better no matter what as far as popularity?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I think a lot has to do with personality. Trinidad was very outgoing with the people. He was always smiling and signing the autographs and nothing bothered him. He was very likeable guy. And I think that’s been the difference.
LANCE PUGMIRE , LOS ANGELES TIMES: Hey, Shane, one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about is, you know, your experience advantage in this fight includes your previous participation in some major Pay-Per-View events including the De La Hoya fight. Can you talk about how that’s going to be to your benefit to be another part of your advantage in this fight and how you think that could affect Cotto to his detriment?
SHANE MOSLEY: Well, I mean, I definitely think it’s a benefit for being an experienced fighter and that experience in this type of equation. But, Cotto is a world champion, too, and he has a lot of experience of big crowds and people getting on him. So, I think it’s just going to be a great fight for both guys to see who’s the better fighter, and how we’ll deal with that.
LANCE PUGMIRE: What do you feel at this point in your career that you do have to prove? I mean, it’s been a while since the second De La Hoya fight. Do you feel that’s there’s still some skepticism out there about, your ability to be, like father and calls this young lion?
SHANE MOSLEY: At this point I’m not really champion over anybody. I just don’t have to prove it to anybody anymore. Just proving it to myself that I can do what I can do and just let it be known that I am the best fighter out there. That’s all. I just want to let people know that I’m the best. So I guess I’m proving that.
LANCE PUGMIRE: OK. And Jack, what’s your perception of the issue of, Shane’s participation in more, you know, epic fights? And Cotto, he’s not new to it but it’s a pretty major fight for him.
JACK MOSLEY: Major fight for Cotto, you mean?
LANCE PUGMIRE: Yes. I mean, the difference in, is he ready for that? Is there going to be some, not jitters but maybe some uncomfortable feelings?
JACK MOSLEY: For Cotto, you mean?
LANCE PUGMIRE: Yes. Yes.
JACK MOSLEY: He might have jitters. I’m sure he does. He’s worried sick. And, you know, like the title, the Fast & Furious, well, that title fits Shane. So Cotto is worried sick about fighting Shane I already know. You look in his eyes and tell. He knows he’s not as strong as Shane, he knows he’s not as fast as Shane, and Shane he probably hits hard. Shane hits just as hard, if not harder. Right now, like I said, he hasn’t lifted weights in a while so his speed production has picked up. He’s doing combinations again, and he’s not trying to knock everybody with one single shot, but one shot can knock you out, as Vargas can attest to that. The thing is, Cotto’s worried about fighting Shane. That’s the bottom line. He’s worried about fighting Shane. T hey’re thinking that Shane’s age is going to be a factor and that’s not a factor at all.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: I don’t think Cotto’s fight plan is too much of a secret. I mean, what he does in most fights is