Mosley’s Fists Need to Do Negotiating

Separated by only two seats at Thursday’s news conference to hype tonight’s Shane Mosley-Raul Marquez 12-round junior middleweight fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Mosley and promoter Bob Arum are worlds apart on the subject of Mosley’s worth as a fighter. They remain stalemated over a possible Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya fight in September, Mosley not ready to accept Arum’s offer of a guaranteed $4.25 million.

But Arum was happy to illustrate his side of the argument by taking a reporter down the hall from Thursday’s news conference to the arena where tonight’s fight will be held.

It is the 12,000-seat arena De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas filled five months ago for their 154-pound title fight, a match that drew about 950,000 pay-per-view buys.

But that arena will look drastically different for tonight’s fight. Bleachers have been wheeled in to seal off the ring, cutting the capacity to less than half at 5,000. That was all, it was believed, the fight can draw -- and not all of those seats have been sold.

There will be no pay-per-view for Mosley. Tonight’s bout will be shown on HBO beginning at 7.

The limited appeal of tonight’s fight is not really surprising. De La Hoya alone has shown the ability to draw, regardless of the opposition. Mosley has needed another marquee name in the ring, and he’s hardly getting that tonight in Marquez.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not a big fight for Mosley. In fact, few have been bigger. It’s his first fight at 154 pounds, the weight at which he will face De La Hoya if that fight does occur.

And it’s a fight that Mosley must not only win, but win convincingly if he ultimately decides to settle for Arum’s offer.

“I am not going to dwell on anything other than this fight,” Mosley said. “Raul Marquez is in a world of trouble. He thinks he will be able to push me around, but I think I am going to be stronger and even better at this weight.”

Arum insisted Friday that he would pull out of the tentative agreement unless Mosley puts on an overpowering performance tonight.

A loss, of course, would end the discussion.

And it’s not as if Arum doesn’t have an alternative. He has intensified discussions with Vargas as a substitute for Mosley.

In the Other Corner

Talk about an afterthought!

Marquez need not even have bothered to attend Thursday’s news conference, because the focus was all about after tonight and what will happen with the De La Hoya fight.

Truth be told, Marquez is a better talker than fighter at this stage of his career. Against Mosley (38-2, 35 knockouts), Marquez comes in with a record of 34-2 with 23 knockouts. He won the International Boxing Federation 154-pound title with a ninth-round technical knockout of Anthony Stephens, and successfully defended it twice -- against Romallis Ellis and Keith Mullings -- before losing the belt to Luis Campas on an eighth-round TKO.

But all that happened six years ago. Since then, the only world-class opponent Marquez has fought is Vargas, who beat him on an 11th-round TKO in 1999.

What Marquez is adept at is describing the fights of others. He is an analyst for HBO Latino and says, “That’s my career after boxing.”

After tonight, that career may look more appealing than ever.

Also on the Card

In the semi-main event, World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (27-3, 18) will defend his title against Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis (22-1-1, 20).

Margarito, a winner of 18 consecutive fights, first fought for the WBO crown, vacant at the time, against Daniel Santos in 2001, but that match was stopped in the first round after an accidental head butt left Margarito cut and unable to continue.

With Santos subsequently moving up to 154 pounds, Margarito again stepped into the ring in a bid for the 147-pound title, this time against Antonio Diaz last March, and won on a 10th-round TKO. In his only defense, Margarito beat Danny Perez on a decision at the Arrowhead Pond in October.

Lewis’ only loss was to Ricardo Mayorga, who won on a fifth-round TKO last March and took Lewis’ World Boxing Assn. 147-pound title.