Impatience Fuels Mosley’s Drive to Rule in the Ring : Handlers Keep Him From Getting Ahead of His Talent

The question was simple and direct: “How good do you want to be?”

And the reply shot out of 22-year-old (Sugar) Shane Mosley’s mouth as quickly and confidently as his left jab strikes an opponent’s chin. “I want to go down in history as the greatest,” Mosley said. “I’ve been boxing for a long time and I think I have the ability to do that. I think all it is is hard work.”

He might be right. Someone appears to have already taken care of the talent part for Mosley, who started boxing in his hometown of Pomona at age 8. In more than 300 amateur fights, he lost only five times. In his first 11 professional fights, Mosley has 11 victories and 10 knockouts.

So when he answers a question about his boxing future, boldly and decisively, no one around him laughs. Patrick Ortiz, his promoter, and Jack Mosley, his father, trainer and manager, know better.

The question actually seems to be when Mosley will be world lightweight champion, not if he will be.

“From the moment I turned pro, I wanted to get there as soon as possible, as fast as I as I could, however long that took,” said Mosley, who acquired his nickname because of his likeness in looks and boxing style to Sugar Ray Robinson.

Ortiz doesn’t think it will take long. Any time he gets the chance, Ortiz tells you Mosley could be fighting for a title within six months.

“If we could move faster, Shane would move faster,” said Ortiz, who has had some trouble getting opponents for Mosley since taking over his career more than a year ago.

Johnny Bryant, Thursday night’s opponent in the Irvine Marriott’s 10-round main event, was the third choice of Ortiz and Jack Mosley. Angelo Nunez told matchmaker Jerry Bilderrain he wasn’t ready for Mosley, and Jose Caba mysteriously disappeared.

Bryant, a 29-year-old from Las Vegas, is 12-2 with three knockouts and is expected to give Mosley his first real test as a professional.

“Believe me, Mosley will be tested Thursday,” Bilderrain said. “(Bryant) is a brawler. Mosley has got to step up a level. You can’t be overly protective with a fighter.”

But Abel Sanchez, who trained world junior middleweight Terry Norris, said it’s better to be overly protective than overly permissive.

“Mosley’s an immense talent, I just hope they don’t rush him,” said Sanchez, who compares Mosley’s smooth boxer-slugger style to that of Norris. “Managers have to let fighters develop so they can fight at their full potential.”

And Sanchez, who saw Mosley win a 10-round decision over Oscar Lopez on March 26 in Pomona, doesn’t think Mosley has reached his potential.

“Shane handled Lopez a lot better than I thought he would,” Sanchez said. “Lopez is a really awkward guy and Shane just toyed with him, but I didn’t think he’s ready yet. All these kids want to be up there on TV making the big money. (Oscar) De La Hoya, (Larry) Donald, Shane--give these kids seasoning and then put them in there.

“Shane could be ready to fight for a title now. But what if they give him a year to season, he could be so much better. The fighter is always going to want to fight for a title. The people behind him have to know better.”

If it were up to Mosley, he’d be fighting for a world title today.

“I feel if I get in there with anybody, I wouldn’t be overmatched,” Mosley said. “I’m good enough to fight anybody because I’ve been boxing for so long. I’ve got a lot of experience, more than most pros. (Boxing) is just like a walk in the park for me.

”. . . I’m anxious to get in the ring with the best of them, because I want to be the greatest. And to be the greatest, you have to fight the best. I’m not looking for anybody in particular, anybody that’s in my way that has a world title.”

The names that are most often mentioned are World Boxing Council champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez of Mexico (32-0) and International Boxing Federation champion Rafael Ruelas of Van Nuys (41-1).

Since turning pro in February 1993, Mosley has worked his way into the world rankings at 20th by the WBC, and the national rankings at No. 8 in the U.S. Boxing Assn. Ring magazine rates Mosley as the ninth-best lightweight in the world.

Yet Sanchez contends that rankings can be deceiving. He says Mosley should worry more about maturing in the ring than moving up the ranking ladder.

“De La Hoya is fighting Jorge Paez,” Sanchez said. “That will be a good fight for (De La Hoya). He’ll teach Oscar a lot. Shane needs to be fighting the Greg Haugens, the Tony Lopezes, guys that teach you some things in the ring.”

Mosley is taught new tricks nearly every day from his sparring partner, Zach Padilla, the World Boxing Organization’s junior welterweight champion. Padilla is impressed with Mosley’s work habits.

“He can be a world champion if he plays his cards right,” Padilla said. “He wants it bad enough. That’s why he’ll do it. He’s in the gym more than I am. He’s always in shape.”

Dan Goossen, vice president of Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing, has been watching Mosley and he likes what he sees. Mosley will be on the undercard of Top Rank’s July 24 Olympic Auditorium card, which features Padilla against Juan La Porte. The bout will be televised by CBS.

Goossen said television exposure is exactly what Mosley needs at this stage of his career.

“It’s harder and harder to get fighters exposure, money and work,” Goossen said. “The day of the mom-and-pop operation is virtually extinct. The problem is you need exposure to make money, and there’s only a handful of promoters who can do that.”

Ortiz is aware that Goossen can give Mosley something he can’t: Exposure.

“We’re flexible to work with other promoters,” Ortiz said. “I don’t mind co-promoting with Arum or (Don) King. I don’t rule out any situation with them. If it means getting Shane in position to fight for a world title, I think that’s what we’ll do.”

Mosley said he will concentrate on boxing and let Ortiz and his father take care of the rest.

“These guys know what’s best for me,” he said. “I’ll do what they say.”

Mosley said he has been taking his father’s advice since he first stepped in the ring.

“He’s always watching my back and he gives me honest advice,” Mosley said. “He’s not going to tell me a lie so I can feel good. I’m going to get the truth because he loves me. He’s hard on me, but at the same time he’s just showing his love for me.”

Sanchez said father-son boxing relationships can work well or they can be disastrous.

“If the father’s doing all the talking, the dealing, that’s trouble,” Sanchez said. “The father has to treat him like a grown man, step aside and let him be the show.”

Jack Mosley doesn’t have a problem with that.

“I’ve always told Shane that everything I have is his,” said the elder Mosley, a former amateur boxer.

What Jack Mosley has is a rising young star, who has always known what he wants and has never been afraid to say it.

“When I was younger, I really never even looked at the Olympics,” Shane Mosley said. “I always looked at being a world champion. I thought, ‘Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali--they were professionals and they were world champions.’ ”