Meet Shane Mosley, Lightweight

What happened to Shane Mosley?

Good question, says his father and trainer, Jack, who has seen his talented son move from dazzling lightweight prospect to frustrated contender to a long, bizarre stay in boxing limbo.

Better question: What hasn’t happened?

“We were sitting in a restaurant a while ago, and we asked the waitress if she knew who Shane Mosley was and she said, ‘No,’ ” Jack Mosley said. “And then we asked if she knew Vernon Forrest, and she says, ‘Yeah.’ Oscar De La Hoya? ‘Yeah.’ Marco Antonio Barrera, Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Johnson. . . .

“She liked boxing, so she knew all those people, knew all of them except Shane. That’s kind of bad when you’re in Pomona and somebody knows all those people except the fighter from Pomona.”

Even if you have heard of Mosley, even if you were desperately trying to hear about the 24-year-old lightweight with the blistering hand speed and 19-0 record--18 knockouts--you haven’t heard much about him lately.

Mosley’s once-promising career is pockmarked by court fights and “tortuous interference” lawsuits, depressingly long layoffs in what should be the peak of his career and sparring-session wars.

How good is Mosley? Ask former 130-pound champion Genaro Hernandez, whose nose was broken by Mosley in sparring sessions two weeks before Hernandez’s fight against Oscar De La Hoya last September.

“I think he’s better than most people I’ve fought,” Hernandez said. “He’s quick, strong, and he’s intelligent.

“As good as he is, right now, he definitely should be a champion. All this is just a waste of his time.”

Or ask at the camps of Julio Cesar Chavez and De La Hoya, both of whom have sought to bring Mosley in for high-speed workouts in preparation for their June 7 bout.

“It’s a shame what’s happened to him,” De La Hoya said of Mosley’s lull. “He’s better than anybody else out there.”

Mosley turned down the sparring requests. He is staying home to work out on his own and concentrating on June 15. That is the end of his three-year contract with promoter Patrick Ortiz, with whom the Mosleys have been fighting for almost a year, through several court maneuvers and lawsuits.

The Mosleys claim that Ortiz never properly promoted Mosley, couldn’t get him big enough fights, and that, once it became clear Mosley was a contender, he should have let a more significant promoter buy the contract. Both Bob Arum, who is being sued by Ortiz for interference, and Don King have shown interest.

Mosley’s biggest purse has been $6,000, the kind of cash some of his contemporaries spend on lunch.

“I’ve been held back,” Mosley said. “Anybody that watched my career can tell you that it’s been at a standstill. Something’s wrong. How can this guy, he can beat everybody in the lightweight division, and he can’t get a fight?”

Ortiz says he can’t comment on the Mosley situation because of the litigation.

“This is tough,” Ortiz said. “I can just say, ‘Yeah, I’m disappointed.’ ”

Mosley’s last fight was in January, on a card promoted by Cedric Kushner in Biloxi, Miss., and he was allowed to fight that one only after permission from the California State Athletic Commission to earn some money while his struggle with Ortiz continued. He has no fights scheduled.

“Some fighters would fall apart--they would be big and sloppy, eat and be depressed,” said Mosley, who knocked out Mike Bryan in the first round in that January bout. “Something like this, when you have a person steadily trying to ruin you, most fighters just fall apart, ‘Oh man, what do I do now?’

“I’ve lost a lot of time. But I’m still sharp and I’m ready to go.”

For the fighter, who has survived financially mostly by living at home with his parents, it’s all about June 15. Then, he can sign with another promoter--he’s not sure who yet, only that he will be much more careful in choosing--and says he knows his path to fame and fortune will no longer be delayed.

“I think it’s really going to happen pretty quick,” Mosley said. “Once I get another promoter, it’s going to shock the world how fast.”

*

The state Assembly approved a bill Monday that would make boxers applying for California licenses prove that they are not HIV-positive, but the bill’s supporters are worried that skittishness over the issue could kill it in the Senate.

“This has been an uphill battle all the way, to everybody’s surprise,” said Richard DeCuir, executive director of California State Athletic Commission, which has been leading the push for passage in the wake of disclosures by fighters Tommy Morrison, who tested HIV-positive before a recent Las Vegas bout, and Paul Banke, who has AIDS.

“Especially since the boxing community in general has been very supportive--the boxers, promoters, all the way to the referees--we’re all shocked that many legislators are very afraid to touch this issue. We’ve taken care of the invasion-of-privacy issue, since the commission will not be involved in any exams.”

Boxing Note

Bobby Wood, one of the busiest Los Angeles lightweights of the 1950s, died last Wednesday of multiple stab wounds after an altercation in Medford, Ore. He was 61. Wood had more than 90 fights, including losses to Willie Pep and Sandy Sandler. According to a spokeswoman for the Medford police, there has been an arrest.

Calendar

Tonight: Jamie Ocegueda vs. Angelo Nunez, junior-welterweights; Warner Center Marriott, Woodland Hills, 7:30 p.m.