Mosley Victory Sends Message to De La Hoya

Saturday night was another big night for Shane Mosley, a traumatic night for Adrian Stone, a dream night for Jameel McCline, a devastating night for Michael Grant and a busy night for Valley Hospital.

And finally, long after the last body had hit the canvas, a challenging night for Oscar De La Hoya.

As expected, Mosley (38-0, 35 knockouts), a 20-1 favorite, easily defended his World Boxing Council welterweight champion at Caesars Palace, stopping Stone (30-4-2) at the 2:01 mark of the third round in front of a crowd estimated at 4,900 in the 5,100-seat Pavilion.

After struggling a bit in the first two rounds with Stone’s awkward style, Mosley ended the fight quickly and dramatically in the third with eight unanswered punches, six overhand rights, a left hook and yet another right.

Stone tumbled backward and collapsed on his back, his head banging against the canvas. Referee Jay Nady didn’t even bother to count.

As Stone lay there, staring up blankly at the overhead lights, ringside physician Margaret Goodman hunched over the fallen fighter. So too did Mosley briefly, interrupting his postfight celebration to check on the fighter.

After a few tense minutes, Stone was helped to his feet and left the ring under his own power.

He was taken to nearby Valley Hospital, where a CAT scan revealed no major abnormalities. He was expected to be released late Saturday night.

“I was worried when he went down hard and hit his head,” Mosley said. “I’m glad he’s all right.

“I did what I said I was going to do, which is to look spectacular every time out. He was an awkward fighter, but I wasn’t frustrated. I was patient and I knew I would find my mark.”

Stone was the second fighter to wind up in Valley Hospital on Saturday night.

The semi-main event was billed as the first step back for Grant, the 6-foot-7 ring giant who was chopped down to size in April of 2000 by Lennox Lewis. Grant was 31-0 with 22 knockouts until he walked into Lewis’ flying fists in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Grant had to be helped out of the ring that night after being stopped in less than two rounds and also suffering a knee injury.

It took Grant fifteen months to get back in the ring, but if he had known what was going to happen Saturday night, he wouldn’t have bothered.

The unheralded McCline (26-2-3, 16) made the Lewis-Grant match look competitive in comparison.

This time Grant lasted three seconds.

Three seconds.

That’s how long it took McCline to cross the ring and throw the first punch, a left hand that put Grant down and injured his ankle badly enough to finish him.

“My feet weren’t set right,” Grant said, “and when he threw the punch and I went down, I heard my ankle pop.”

Grant got up and tried to make a fight out of it for 40 seconds. But finally, caught against the ropes, he told referee Tony Weeks, “I broke my ankle.”

Officially Weeks ended the fight at 43 seconds of the first round of the scheduled 10-rounder.

After a quick inspection by Goodman, Grant, who refused to leave the ring on a stretcher, was helped out and transported to Valley Hospital, where there was still no word late Saturday night whether the ankle was indeed broken or merely severely sprained.

“I wasn’t surprised,” McCline said. “Any time I put my hands on an opponent, I can knock him out.”

The final jab of the evening came poolside where, in a postfight news conference, Cedric Kushner, Mosley’s promoter, unveiled a blow-up of a fax he has sent to De La Hoya, offering the fighter $10 million to meet Mosley in November or December.

Mosley, who beat De La Hoya last June on a split decision at Staples Center, has been frustrated by the news that De La Hoya, who has promised to fight a big-name opponent before the year is out, has been negotiating with Fernando Vargas, and has also had talks with David Reid.

“I have good news,” Kushner wrote in the fax, “Shane is ready.”

In Kushner’s deal, Mosley would also get $10 million.

“I don’t know if Oscar wants to fight me,” Mosley said, “but he needs to fight me to get revenge.”

If De La Hoya was watching Mosley’s demolition of Stone, De La Hoya may figure that’s the last thing he needs.