- 2 days ago
Sugar Shane Mosley defends his IBF Lightweight Title against former Super Featherweight Champion Jesse James Leija on HBO Boxing
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00:00:00The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports, the network of champions.
00:00:22I peeped that fool out the corner of my eye at first.
00:00:25I know he saw me seeing him, cause something in his eyeball, it said fear, and I can sense that, you know.
00:00:34He made his way to the other corner as if to escape me, so it seemed, but in the center ring, can't nobody hear you scream.
00:00:43Tonight's the night. Let's get ready to fight.
00:00:47Your ontologist is gone. Let's get it on.
00:00:53He knew his end was near.
00:00:55And I'm on him. Right hooks first.
00:00:58Let your teeth hit the canvas like these blows came down from the universe.
00:01:01Two-handed cranium joints I'm giving in some left.
00:01:03Course the doughnuts make a fool want to know what's going to hit him next.
00:01:06What he done did?
00:01:08Why even came here for this cash?
00:01:09He ought to go bust your ass.
00:01:12And the passengers, yo, they just ignored as I put on the hurt and just boom, what?
00:01:16Boom, boom, it seemed like his blow was working.
00:01:19My ferociousness was animalistic, precise, and execution.
00:01:21I'm thinking, kill, kill, kill.
00:01:24And that fool's screaming, chill.
00:01:26See, I got you in a hem.
00:01:28Haymakers is making you spitch, blood, and slim.
00:01:31And your trainer in your corner you can't wait to get back to?
00:01:34Because your lips is large and your eyes is black and blue.
00:01:37Take that for perpetuating negative stereotypes of how there ain't no more good pugilists.
00:01:44Take this for abusing this.
00:01:45And that for not having no scrapping skills.
00:01:47Man, you wish you had scrapping skills?
00:01:49You wish you can go to Angelo Dundee and buy some scrapping skills?
00:01:52There ain't no manual.
00:01:53So I'm going to hand you all these.
00:01:55Some floats and stings like butterflies and bees.
00:01:59Bear witness to this punishment.
00:02:00Your suffering will be immense for not training enough for indifference.
00:02:04Indifference, damn, I hate you for that the most.
00:02:09So don't utter a sound.
00:02:11Let them know quietly who is pound for pound running this town.
00:02:19They call him RJ.
00:02:21And the audience, they can't hear, see, or smell your fear.
00:02:25Because in the center ring, can't nobody hear you scream or even care.
00:02:34They call him unterwegs.
00:02:35I'll see you again.
00:03:48Once again, we are on Native American soil, halfway between Boston and New York City.
00:03:53But there's nothing halfway about tonight's stars.
00:03:56They are among the biggest and best in the sport today.
00:03:58Shane Mosley looking forward to gaining further valuable ring experience and polishing his star here tonight,
00:04:05while Roy Jones attempts to further hone his act,
00:04:09staying active and searching, as does Mosley, for his next big impact fight.
00:04:15Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley.
00:04:17We welcome you to this special edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing,
00:04:21which showcases, at the very worst, two of the five best fighters in the sport, maybe two of the best three.
00:04:28Speculation as to who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport constantly centers between Oscar De La Hoya,
00:04:35who will be fighting again on February 13 against Ike Corte, and Roy Jones Jr., whom you'll see here tonight.
00:04:41And if those are the two best, then Shane Mosley, whom you'll see defending his lightweight crown in the first fight tonight,
00:04:46is at the very worst one of the top five.
00:04:49Many experts would say a clear-cut number three, waiting to move up if De La Hoya or Jones should slip.
00:04:57Working with me, as always, HBO Boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
00:05:00Larry, we get ready to watch two great champions against two very professional challengers.
00:05:06What kind of a show can we expect tonight?
00:05:08Double trouble, I'm afraid, for the challengers.
00:05:10But for us, it's performance art.
00:05:13That is to say, it's more concert than competition, at least on paper.
00:05:19It co-stars Roy Jones and his amazing combinations, his original jazz riffs,
00:05:29and Shane Mosley, who is more into classic pop, who gives emotional, passionate renditions of classic skills.
00:05:40They are thrilling to watch, but the other guys often have something to say about just how thrilling they can be.
00:05:49And if we just go back a couple of weeks, Jim, when McCullough fought the Prince,
00:05:54McCullough almost stuffed his performance art.
00:05:59You mean Prince Nassim didn't knock McCullough out at .228 of the third round, as he had said he would do?
00:06:04Or .229.
00:06:05Or .228 of the 12th, for that matter.
00:06:08Well, we don't necessarily expect either Jones or Mosley to face the kind of challenge tonight
00:06:13that Nassim Hamed wound up with a couple of weeks ago.
00:06:16But as our two-time world heavyweight champion and in-house boxing expert George Foreman could say,
00:06:21it can happen to anybody.
00:06:23And part of what young Mosley faces now, as he continues his rapid improvement,
00:06:27is that every one of his fights is a bigger and bigger event because of his star quality.
00:06:32Does he have the professionalism to handle that well?
00:06:34Well, he's going to have to accept that he's in that position now.
00:06:38You earlier called me a legend.
00:06:40That means you've been around a long time doing something good.
00:06:43But you are old.
00:06:43You are a legend, George, and it's all good.
00:06:45It's all good.
00:06:45Don't worry.
00:06:45When you get old and good at doing something, there's always some young fellow who would like to step into your shoes.
00:06:50And that's when you can do it.
00:06:51Tonight, when everybody's patting him on the back saying how great he is, you can do it.
00:06:56Yeah, Jesse James Leha, realistic about his chances here tonight, but a total professional with a lot of experience
00:07:02who will be there to pick up the pieces if young Mosley should slip.
00:07:04But Shane Mosley so far has been virtually flawless, carefully trained, and calmly trained by his father.
00:07:12It's a two-man act that's working very well.
00:07:14With 27 knockouts in 29 pro fights, 135-pound world champion Shane Mosley may be today's most exciting fighter.
00:07:26Relatively unknown, he's beaten nearly every opponent to come his way since his father and lifelong trainer first took him to the gym at the tender age of nine.
00:07:35Well, my father, he would just go to the gym and he'll work out.
00:07:39And, you know, I was at home with my mother and, you know, I was very energetic at the time.
00:07:46So finally my mother said, well, you know, take your son to the gym with you, you know.
00:07:49He has a lot of energy. Let him burn up some energy so he can come home and he can go to sleep.
00:07:53With his father Jack in his corner, Shane embarked on a successful amateur career, winning a handful of international and national events.
00:08:01The only blemish from his amateur days, a loss in the semifinals of the 1992 Olympic trials.
00:08:07So I was number one in the country from basically from 89 to 92, I was number one.
00:08:13I just, I fell short of the Olympics.
00:08:17I mean, you're disappointed, but things happen and you got to move on.
00:08:22And so we, Shane realized that and I realized that and I just, we just worked that much harder.
00:08:27Shane made his pro debut a year later.
00:08:30Living at home in his parents' garage, he patiently waited for big paydays while remaining focused on the job at hand.
00:08:36Overpowering every opponent he faced in the ring.
00:08:40It didn't mean nothing for me to, you know, go back there and stay in the garage when I had a car.
00:08:45I always had a car and I always had food on the table.
00:08:48I always had, you know, whatever I needed.
00:08:50He's not starved of anything, you know, so why would it be a crisis?
00:08:54It's not even a crisis.
00:08:56He just, just had to wait.
00:08:57And the wait was an enjoyable wait.
00:09:00He can go to his room and look at TV and video games and do whatever he's been doing, you know.
00:09:06So that's, that's the joy of having a father.
00:09:09I knew one day, you know, I would get that break.
00:09:12And when it happened, you know, regardless of how long it was, I was going to wait.
00:09:15And when it happened, I was going to be ready for it.
00:09:17In August 1997, Shane finally got his shot at a world title.
00:09:22Battling the flu, he easily decisioned Philip Holliday.
00:09:26He has defended that title five times since, retaining the same attitude that got him there in the first place.
00:09:32I think right when I turned pro, I made a decision to myself that I'm going to be world champion and that nobody's going to beat me.
00:09:41I don't care who it is.
00:09:43In the gym, Jack is boss, but it is a two-sided relationship between father and son, one in which Shane is allowed to voice his opinions and make himself heard.
00:09:52If I say something, I feel strongly about it and, and I show him the reasons why, and, and he'll look and, okay, well, yeah.
00:10:02Yeah, you're right.
00:10:03You know, he'll tell me.
00:10:05So it, it, it's a flexibility type of thing.
00:10:08Nobody's just being, you know, stern on whatever they're trying to say.
00:10:12It's just, it's a flexibility.
00:10:14Well, you just work on things we need to work on, you know.
00:10:16And a lot of times he has ideas, you know, let's try this, try it this way.
00:10:19Well, okay, let's try it that way and see if it works, you know.
00:10:22Because I might have something in my mind that's going to work, ultimately work, but I'll let him go ahead and explore his way, you know.
00:10:28I think that's what helps me become who I am as a world champion, being able to express myself when I want to, you know, basically say what I want or do what I want.
00:10:39Because I know that if I do something wrong, he's going to let me know.
00:10:43But when I do something wrong, it's going to be on me.
00:10:45The values Jack has instilled into Shane have helped make him into what he is.
00:10:49And every day serves as a reminder of how fortunate they've been.
00:10:53He molded me into becoming who I am today.
00:10:59You know, if it wasn't for my father's support and love and spirit with me, then, you know, it would be hard.
00:11:05Because I don't think a lot of people or a lot of, you know, sons have their father there, you know, to support them and help them out through those trying times.
00:11:16I think it's, you know, mutual love, and it's just, it's a great feeling.
00:11:23Jack and Shane Mosley have come a long way together.
00:11:27And no matter what happens inside the ropes, they'll always be there for each other.
00:11:31And the tale of the tape now is bringing it back live to ringside at Foxwoods.
00:11:38You can see the five-year age advantage for Mosley, four-inch height advantage.
00:11:42Jesse James Leha took an extra hour and a half or so yesterday to make the weight of 135.
00:11:47They both weigh 150 as they exit their dressing rooms tonight.
00:11:53And a seven-inch reach advantage for Mosley.
00:11:55Punch that numbers, Larry.
00:11:58Here's a look at their activity.
00:12:00The activity is similar, but as you can see, Mosley is the more accurate puncher.
00:12:07That's especially true with the jab as well.
00:12:12Rules of the bout.
00:12:14And he's a grandfather again today.
00:12:16So congratulations in advance.
00:12:19Harold Letterman.
00:12:19Thank you, Jim.
00:12:20The Sugar Shane Mosley-Jesse James Leha fight is scheduled for 12 rounds
00:12:25using those new unified rules for all World Championship fights.
00:12:28There is no standing eight count.
00:12:30No three knockdown rule.
00:12:32Only the referee can stop the fight.
00:12:33And he cannot be saved by the bell at any round, including the 12th and final rounds.
00:12:38Jim.
00:12:39And just as Shane Mosley is trained by his father,
00:12:43So, too, is tonight's opponent, the veteran Jesse James Leha, trained by Jesse Leha Sr.
00:12:50On camera left there, Mosley's right, or Leha's right shoulder as they walk out together.
00:12:56Last month at this weight class, 135 pounds, you saw John Brown score a technical knockout victory over Gabrielis in Atlantic City on HBO.
00:13:07Jesse James Leha had expected to be in that fight in the position occupied by John Brown.
00:13:13But he got a separated cartilage in his ribcage, wound up having to delay.
00:13:18He gets this assignment instead for bigger money, but against a much more difficult opponent.
00:13:23Well, as he put it, this isn't the fight you'd pick, but the high side is very high.
00:13:28If he puts on a good performance, if he should somehow score a huge upset, the high side is there.
00:13:36And the record for Jesse James Leha, whose buddies call him James.
00:13:4237 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws, only 15 KOs.
00:13:46Most notably, 4 separate fights against future Hall of Famer Azuma Nelson.
00:13:51And Leha won 2 of them and got a draw in another.
00:13:54So he's 2-1-1 against Azuma.
00:13:56His previous experience against another superstar, Oscar De La Hoya, not so good.
00:14:09Sometimes we're not prepared.
00:14:10Knocked out in the second round in Madison Square Garden.
00:14:12When it happens, sometimes we're caught short.
00:14:15And here comes Shane.
00:14:16We don't know exactly how to handle it when it comes up.
00:14:19Sometimes we don't know just what to do when adversity takes over.
00:14:29And I have advice for all of us.
00:14:32I got it from our can, it's Joe Zabinu, who wrote this tune.
00:14:36And it sounds like what you're supposed to say when you have that kind of problem.
00:14:41It's called mercy, mercy, mercy.
00:14:49Roy Jones, who was commentating
00:15:16at Shane Mosley's last fight,
00:15:21called him the best lightweight in history,
00:15:26this side of Roberto Duran.
00:15:30I don't know if we can go that far yet,
00:15:32but he may be on the road.
00:15:35Well, it's been a glorious division over the years.
00:15:39Some of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport have been lightweights.
00:15:42Yeah, I think in our time, in the last 25, 30 years ago or so,
00:15:49I think that Duran and Pernell Whitaker were the best of all the lightweights.
00:15:55So he's hoping to move into some pretty good company.
00:15:5929 wins, no losses.
00:16:0027 knockouts Mosley has of all reigning champions in the sport today.
00:16:06And as you know, that means 48 of them.
00:16:09Mosley has the highest knockout percentage.
00:16:12Check out our website at www.hbo.com slash boxing.
00:16:19You can check statistics, scores, or chat with other fans at www.hbo.com slash boxing.
00:16:26You can also, incidentally, register your congratulations to Harold Letterman
00:16:30on the birth of a new grandchild there.
00:16:33Now let's go to ring announcer Mark Barrow for the official introduction.
00:16:37Ladies and gentlemen, boxing lost a good friend this week
00:16:43when Madison Square Garden's longtime dealmaker, Harry Markson,
00:16:49passed away at 92 years of age.
00:16:53In memory of Mr. Markson, we ask that you, for this member of the Hall of Fame,
00:16:59please pause with me for a moment of silence and the traditional 10 count.
00:17:07May you rest in peace.
00:17:28And now, ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome
00:17:31to the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut
00:17:35for an evening of World Championship Boxing on HBO
00:17:39under the promotion of Murad Mohamed and M&M Sports
00:17:43and Square Ring Incorporated
00:17:46in association with Budweiser, this Bud's for you.
00:17:50Your matchmaker is Talat Mohamed.
00:17:53Tonight's vouts are under the auspices
00:17:55of the Mashantucket Pequot Athletic Commission.
00:17:59The chairman is Joey Carter.
00:18:01Your vice chairman, Richard Butler, executive director, Joe Letellier,
00:18:08and boxing coordinator, gentleman, John Burns.
00:18:12Ring officials assigned by the Mashantucket Pequot Athletic Commission.
00:18:16Your ringside physicians are the chief physician, Dr. Michael B. Schwartz,
00:18:21Dr. Anthony Alessi, Dr. Walter R. Ialuchi, and Dr. Joseph Harpenteri.
00:18:29Your timekeeper this evening is the lovable Ludell at the bell
00:18:34and counting for the knockdowns, Johnny Callis,
00:18:39and in the main event of the evening, Arthur Mercanti.
00:18:43This is your first championship bout of the evening.
00:18:47It is scheduled for 12 rounds
00:18:49for the IBF Lightweight Championship of the World.
00:18:54Ring officials assigned by the International Boxing Federation,
00:18:58President Robert W. Lee,
00:19:00Supervisor in Attendance Walter R. Stone.
00:19:03Your judges at ringside are from Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
00:19:09Don O'Neill, from Deerfield, New Hampshire,
00:19:13William James, and from Edson, New Jersey, Larry Hazard, Jr.
00:19:19Your referee for this event from Patterson, New Jersey,
00:19:24Eddie Cotton.
00:19:25Introducing now the principal's first in the blue corner to my right,
00:19:32wearing the black trunks with silver trim.
00:19:36He weighs in at 135 pounds.
00:19:40His professional record reads 37 victories, 3 defeats, 2 draws,
00:19:46and 15 wins coming by way of knockout.
00:19:49He hails from San Antonio, Texas,
00:19:53the former WBC Junior Lightweight Champion of the World,
00:19:58Jesse James Leja.
00:20:03Leja.
00:20:05His opponent in the red corner,
00:20:08wearing the white and blue,
00:20:11also weighing in at 135 pounds,
00:20:14he is undefeated in 29 professional bouts
00:20:20with 27 wins coming by way of knockout.
00:20:25He hails from Pomona, California,
00:20:28introducing the IVF Lightweight Champion of the World,
00:20:33Sugar Shane Mosley.
00:20:38Mosley.
00:20:39Wild words for the IVF Lightweight Championship of the World.
00:20:47Boxers.
00:20:54Boxers, you both received your instructions in the dressing room.
00:20:58Protect yourself at all times.
00:21:00Obey my commands.
00:21:01Let's touch gloves.
00:21:02Have a good, clean fight.
00:21:03When you hear opportunity knock,
00:21:07Jesse James Leja said before this fight on why he took it,
00:21:12let him in for dinner.
00:21:14But look who's coming for dinner.
00:21:21Leja spent most of his career at 126 and 130 pounds.
00:21:26He has had previous experiences fighting as a lightweight,
00:21:29but it's awfully difficult to go in against a guy like Shane Mosley,
00:21:33who walks around at about 155.
00:21:48The separated rib cartilage is on the right side.
00:21:53Or check it, the left side of Leja's body.
00:21:54It would be the right hand with which Mosley would dig to the ribcage
00:21:57to find that target.
00:21:58But Shane told us,
00:21:59I won't do anything special because of that.
00:22:01I'll land the punches that are open for me.
00:22:05Now, Leja's is starting out bending forward, up and down.
00:22:11That's what you want to do.
00:22:12Mosley keeps his right hand down.
00:22:14You want to make sure that you lower him to keep it even lower.
00:22:18Throw punches downward for the first two rounds
00:22:20so you can get him relaxed.
00:22:21Come on top with a left hook.
00:22:22Things can change.
00:22:24You saw Leja wing a right hand because
00:22:27Mosley has a habit of letting the left hang out there.
00:22:32But he may be inviting it.
00:22:36Now he's getting ready to say,
00:22:37like a lot of power punchers,
00:22:39Mosley loves to keep his hands down
00:22:40to tempt the opponent to come at him.
00:22:42When you're fighting the puncher,
00:22:47you want to make him come forward
00:22:48and throw away some of that hot air.
00:22:52Throw it away.
00:22:52Make him walk forward.
00:22:56When they're practicing,
00:22:57all of the combinations are thrown
00:22:58when they're hand,
00:23:00whoever's holding the hand pads,
00:23:02standing forward, moving forward.
00:23:03So you want them to move backwards a little bit
00:23:05and make them do what they don't practice.
00:23:11That's what Leja should do now.
00:23:13Just back up every now and then.
00:23:14It's not going to make you look...
00:23:16It's not going to shame you to back up a little bit.
00:23:19Get off! Get off!
00:23:22Leja's a total professional.
00:23:24He doesn't care how he looks in there
00:23:25if he can be effective.
00:23:27Good work on the inside,
00:23:28I thought, there by Leja.
00:23:31He's gotten to the body a couple of times
00:23:33in the early going.
00:23:35There's the first right hand to that left side.
00:23:38Stop punching! Stop punching! Get off!
00:23:40Already he has Shane Mosley
00:23:41throwing one shot at a time.
00:23:43Just by moving backwards,
00:23:44you can nullify the combinations.
00:23:51So in the tactical battle so far in round one,
00:23:54Jesse James Leja is doing the right thing.
00:23:56He's doing the right thing.
00:23:57You jab every now and then,
00:23:58but stay backwards.
00:24:01Make him throw one shot at a time
00:24:03because you're not there.
00:24:04And Mosley having to reach to land
00:24:06as Leja keeps the distance between them.
00:24:15Time!
00:24:15That was a very good round for you, Shane.
00:24:25Just relax a little more so you can see.
00:24:30The head button.
00:24:31Yeah, I got about your head.
00:24:33Just relax a little more
00:24:34so you can see what's happening, okay?
00:24:37And move off the line
00:24:39so you can get your jabs off.
00:24:42Work your jabs a little more.
00:24:43Okay.
00:24:43Did you cut?
00:24:44Did you cut?
00:24:45Did you cut?
00:24:46A little bit.
00:24:46See, yeah.
00:24:47On this other side.
00:24:48Okay.
00:24:48Oh, shoot.
00:24:49Right there.
00:24:50Come on, you.
00:24:50Oh, it's up.
00:24:51It's high.
00:24:51Don't worry.
00:24:52Come on, you.
00:24:52You got to roll a little bit more, okay?
00:24:55Okay.
00:24:55You got to be a little faster.
00:24:57You got to keep that jabs going.
00:24:58Right.
00:24:58You roll down, you jab.
00:25:01Like I said, remember?
00:25:02Close your eyes.
00:25:02Come on.
00:25:04Second down!
00:25:05Okay.
00:25:06Okay.
00:25:06And we're going with some jabs, okay?
00:25:09Set up some jabs.
00:25:10Must have been a headbutt while we weren't looking.
00:25:17Both corners operating on their fighters.
00:25:23And George, we heard Jack Mosley asking his son Shane to move off the line so he could land
00:25:28some jabs.
00:25:29What does that mean?
00:25:30He's going to have a difficult time doing it because you really want him to step around.
00:25:34You have to jab this guy in a circle.
00:25:36You want to get him off of his defense.
00:25:37Don't stand and watch what you're doing.
00:25:39Kind of move up a little bit.
00:25:41Forward just a little bit.
00:25:42So he needs Mosley to move laterally to his left to set up the jab.
00:25:45There was a good lead right hand.
00:25:46He didn't mention that to him.
00:25:47You just have to step and move in a circle.
00:25:49Mm-hmm.
00:25:50But if you step forward, then Lejas has a better chance of doing some counter punching
00:25:55yourself.
00:25:56Lejas, of course, trying to land his counter right over Mosley's often low left hand.
00:26:03And what you want to do is bend down, Lejas.
00:26:05You bend down.
00:26:06Whenever he comes after you with his hands down, just jab up.
00:26:09You won't miss him.
00:26:16Mosley loading up with the right hand to the body.
00:26:20And then comes upstairs with a hard right hand to the top of Lehigh's skull.
00:26:26These punches are hurting Lehigh, I can tell you that.
00:26:32Mosley is discouraged because he preferred to throw a combination or two, which he just did.
00:26:38Lehigh himself, in discussions with us, made the comparison between fighting Mosley, a superstar,
00:26:44and fighting De La Hoya, as he did a couple of years ago at Madison Square Garden.
00:26:48He said, hey, against Oscar, I underestimated him, and I allowed him to hit me with big bombs early.
00:26:54Priority one here is not to get caught with big bombs early.
00:26:58They're doing a fine job now moving to Shane Mosley's to his left.
00:27:03Mosley is not accustomed to that.
00:27:05You want to do that for a few rounds to get him off balance.
00:27:10Move left, make your guy think.
00:27:16One, two with Mosley.
00:27:18Mosley crosses his feet whenever Lehigh moves to his left.
00:27:30Lehigh goes in the other direction.
00:27:33Lehigh is in safety zone whenever he moves to his left.
00:27:36To his own left?
00:27:37No, to Shane Mosley's left.
00:27:39To Shane Mosley's left.
00:27:40So when Lehigh moves to his right toward Shane's left hand.
00:27:43He gets himself right back in the danger zone.
00:27:45But he can keep this fight going all night just by simply moving to the left, jabbing every now and then.
00:27:51Extend the fight, get you some combination.
00:27:54A guy like Mosley has so many knockouts, he doesn't like to go round after round.
00:28:00All right, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it.
00:28:09Good job.
00:28:10And let's watch a miss.
00:28:11Good job, fellas.
00:28:12Good job, good job.
00:28:13Time!
00:28:15Good job.
00:28:17Top lightweights, Larry.
00:28:22Take a look at the highly regarded lightweights of the world.
00:28:26You see Mosley regarded as the best.
00:28:28Cesar Bazan, who he would like to fight, has one of the belts.
00:28:32Israel Cardona, who was originally scheduled for this fight tonight, pulled out.
00:28:37tonight and pulled out and steve johnston a former champion who actually beat mosley in the amateurs
00:28:44once several times but who lost earlier this year to bezan he's good enough victory he's not going
00:28:49to let you see it okay so he's got to get the mentality that this is power boxing we're going
00:28:55to punch his floor real relaxed so the arms don't get tight or anything like that he comes in
00:29:00you heard jack mosley say to his son we want him to get the idea that this is power boxing he calls
00:29:17shane mosley a power boxer so in combinations with power he wants him to start dictating that power
00:29:30get out get out punch out get out get out all right stop one stop lehigh working to the body
00:29:42in tight good job good job mosley with a couple of return efforts
00:29:49i like the idea that lehigh is doing is moving occasionally to uh mosley's left at his own
00:29:55discretion his corner is not telling him to do it a thinking fighter
00:30:02been around a long time you couldn't beat azuma nelson twice without having your head together in
00:30:06the ring his ability to think now the referee is telling him to keep his head up i don't know why
00:30:13he's not the taller guy how can his head not be up not feel right cross from mosley caught lehigh
00:30:20flush and seems to have stunned him just a little bit mosley goes right back to the right to determine
00:30:26if lehigh has his legs lands it one more time stop one stop with lehigh trying to buy a little time
00:30:33while his head clears
00:30:38well that was power boxing
00:30:39i think the lehigh is doing a good job as long as he has shane mosley throwing one shot at a time
00:30:49good counter left hand in there by lehigh landed flush on the chin of shane mosley one shot at a time
00:30:56for uh mosley as long as he's doing that lehigh's got a good chance of extending his fight against quality
00:31:03opposition mosley has had to chop down his opponents hasn't been a a one-punch knockout guy until late
00:31:12in the rounds after he's weakened the opposition he knocked out an undefeated fighter jorge morales in
00:31:18new york city in september had a spectacular performance last year against demetrius sabalas here on
00:31:25hbo actually that was earlier this year now mosley's executing his left jab a lot better
00:31:33bounces on his feet you see a guy start to bounce like that he's thinking something is going right
00:31:44lehigh sneaking in a couple of left mosley landing his jab
00:31:49now left hook sneaks past the guard of lehigh
00:31:54good right hand to the body almost an uppercut by shane mosley had an uppercut motion landed on the
00:32:01rib cage those punches hurt because you don't you're not prepared your body's extended
00:32:10lehigh again trying to get to the body himself
00:32:13it's been a tactical battle through the first three rounds mosley's power in evidence but lehigh able to
00:32:20limit his opportunities
00:32:22you heard it real good don't worry about it don't worry about trying to knock him around
00:32:27i know let it come i'm dropping pressure on him huh wait
00:32:31bravo that take that out okay what can't keep the pressure on okay keep the pressure on
00:32:37okay that's good keep the pressure on continue work the jab get on your toes a little bit
00:32:46you're grabbing me home he's your heart you're grabbing uh grabbing two three times you know
00:32:53teaching two three times put him back put him back
00:32:58here's that big right hand that landed a little bit high
00:33:01following a sneak right hand earlier in the round there you see lehigh is not backing off
00:33:14and indeed by compu box numbers in the first three rounds lehigh is holding his own in terms of
00:33:21the number of power shots landed mosley has landed more punches but the the difference the margin is
00:33:28coming in the jab category when they go to power punches lehigh's landing one for everyone he takes
00:33:33now mosley's may be the harder shots and over the course of the fight that could prove to be the difference
00:33:42that mosley is quick just threw a left jab to the body and he spin around and with a right hand to the
00:33:47side that's a difficult point combination he has a lot of gifts you know you don't take on the nickname
00:33:55sugar unless you're pretty certain of yourself in there
00:34:02draws at least two obvious and dangerous comparisons
00:34:09lehigh's got to make certain he doesn't be in one spot long you got to do what you're going to do
00:34:13and move into another position
00:34:17with chopping left hand by lehigh there hasn't been able to hurt mosley yet but he's made contact
00:34:25whenever lehigh's stationary he gets two or three good shots
00:34:30he moves just a slight bit mosley throws one punch at a time
00:34:35like that george yeah it's going all night like that
00:34:39once he decides to be stationary he catches it get out get out get out get out get out get out get out
00:34:45yeah that head button is getting to him a little bit
00:34:57low blow by lehigh
00:35:00referee any cotton steps in okay okay go
00:35:03and in case you ever wonder if the protective cup works here's your answer
00:35:14suddenly switching southpaw for a moment shane mosley
00:35:18and out of the southpaw stance he tries to rip with left hand leads
00:35:22gets a left hand to the body i don't much like the look of the flicking right jab out of this southpaw stance
00:35:32you know one thing when a guy starts to switch is some kind of frustrations in there
00:35:36you can't pick it up exactly maybe he got caught from the corner of the eye
00:35:39and the guy is moving throwing him off by moving one one position to another
00:35:44and when you're a good fighter like that you don't switch unless there's something wrong
00:35:51mosley arcing that uppercut to the body twice one was blocked one landed
00:35:57lehigh continuing good five ways to limit the opportunities go ahead george mosley was able to
00:36:03get in a good right hand right on the side of the head that's kind of frustrating because he
00:36:08thinks his power is not effective but it is just that he didn't land it just deep enough and around
00:36:12the chin left hook landed for lehigh as you saw mosley lands a right hand over the top and follows
00:36:18it with two more as the bell sounds
00:36:23still to come tonight light heavyweight champion roy jones jr defending that title although doing so
00:36:30three pounds below the limit at 172 against otis grant a middleweight coming up 12 pounds in weight
00:36:38with a big opportunity to fight roy
00:36:45earlier this week roy jones struck a blow for jared and we'll have more on that as the evening goes
00:36:51along so continue to relax when you throw your punches but play some accurately the target okay
00:36:58that's still causing the wind i feel if you want him every round but you can work your lens a little
00:37:05more to get you some position to throw the body shot lehigh tells us that he reads motivational books like
00:37:14the power of positive thinking and tao sports he seems well motivated tonight george he's done a good job he
00:37:24he has a strategy he's been able to keep to it i think that's great when you're going up against a
00:37:30young tiger like shane mosley you want to have a strategy forget about all of the much macho stuff
00:37:36get your strategy and keep it harold how do you have it scored through the first four
00:37:40rounds jim a relatively easy fight to score foot or nothing 40 to 36 sugar shane mosley the champions
00:37:46winning this fight you know with hand speed i mean dropping beautiful right hands nice left jams
00:37:51good combinations jim one thing i got to tell you hello that cup works fine unless you throw a low
00:37:56blow and end up with direction and you ride that cup up then you virtually triple a guy when you bring
00:38:01it up that's when it hurts you got to be trying to do that now we're fighting somebody a foot taller
00:38:12you know what it never hurts unless you're rich
00:38:14you're a poor guy you can just keep fighting nothing bothering you
00:38:25you must have a good memory george no good used to travel around the little town oh good right hand
00:38:32by shane mosley
00:38:35the problem is whenever he lands a good shot he's going forward he's not affected
00:38:39his target needs to be stationary so he can get a good combination in on it
00:38:46mosley said he wouldn't necessarily focus on throwing right hands to the body to try to get at lehi's
00:38:51recovering rib cage but the right hand to the body has become a major weapon in the arsenal as the
00:38:57fight has progressed good right hand now by lehi what's what you want to do you want your taller
00:39:07opponent to get his head lower for you jesse james lehi totally unintimidated but when he gets close he
00:39:14pays a price like that as you saw the hand speed again of shane mosley he's been able to do what we
00:39:21said early on in the fight lord has got to get his right hand down to the lower his left hand too
00:39:26then you got your combination as he just caught him with the tip hand of the left hook the tip of
00:39:31it another left hook
00:39:40larry was talking earlier about jack mosley's phrase power boxing when you see shane mosley use his feet
00:39:48to rapidly get into position to attack with a power punch that's exactly what his dad is talking
00:39:53about he's able to land a good combination there each one right on top of the head even with the eye
00:40:02well lehi is certainly showing he has a world-class chin i believe he's
00:40:07he stopped once in his 10-year career that was in the 12th round
00:40:11uh-uh second round oscar de la oia excuse me right i was thinking of uh another fighter named otis grant
00:40:23getting better he's getting better take some deep breaths
00:40:27okay
00:40:44okay but when you throw the left right step over a little bit single to the body you might hit the elbow
00:40:50you might hit the body okay but you got to get down a little bit so you can do that and you got to be off
00:40:55in the line so you can create that open open okay okay take a deep breath six round six seven round
00:41:03six round coming up six round coming up
00:41:12lehi told us that he underestimated oscar de la oia when he fought him
00:41:19walked right into his big left hand hasn't made the same mistake here tonight
00:41:25that's good
00:41:27smart fighter learns from experience letterman gives another round to mosley it's a shutout on harold's
00:41:33guard so far low blow by shane this time okay i got you must keep him up okay you all right how you
00:41:41feel you all right okay let's go
00:41:51that's good that's good that's good that's good
00:41:57he's been able to make shane mosley get away from what his dad told him
00:42:01that's what you want to do do something to get him away from this direction good left hook by lehi
00:42:06hot cut down
00:42:08called a right hand in exchange though partially blocked but mosley has done some serious damage
00:42:13to the body in this round he's landed two hard left and two hard rights to the body and that created
00:42:18the opening for the right hand that ultimately puts jesse james lay hot down and it is scored as a
00:42:26knock down seven you know i didn't think it was a knock down look to me like he was going backwards
00:42:34fell into the ropes and then after he was in the ropes mosley hit him yeah but i think mosley had landed
00:42:40a big enough right hand in driving him back there that it convinced referee eddie cotton
00:42:45to call it a knockdown i think that's exactly what happened jim shane shane shane no no no that's
00:42:51close i don't have to tell you again i don't have to tell you again okay all right shane's well aware
00:42:56that it's the body punishment that set up that right hand he wants to go back there and another
00:43:01thing his dad told him to get lower a little bit he may have to just stand up a little higher when
00:43:04he throws that left hook may not be good with a right hand may not be a good idea to bend down
00:43:11and get low with it just let it go from your height these are whistling right hands by mosley and leah
00:43:17he's shying away from the damage at this point yeah this guy shane mosley goes right to the body
00:43:23two quick left hooks leah totally on the defensive now he lands a big right hand
00:43:32boy that rose that leah really really has some good combination by leah courage great courage by jesse
00:43:42james leah you were gonna say he has cojones larry i would let you say yes he has cojones
00:43:51all of his fans in texas know what we mean
00:43:57sugar shane busting him to the body again as they come down the stretch of round six it's been a huge
00:44:03round for shane mosley who was credited with the first knockdown of the fight but also
00:44:09was twice worn for low blows by eddie cotton so you have to assume that the next low blow by mosley
00:44:15would cost him a point
00:44:25okay when you're getting hurt see take your time aim at your target you got him hurt aim at your target
00:44:31don't start getting out of control okay take a deep breath we said water
00:44:36let's take a look at the knockdown larry and give us another interpretation
00:45:04all right here you see it's a big right hand right there that stunned leah momentarily
00:45:11and now as they wrestle and push back you can see that it was pushing that got him there
00:45:17and a punch that kept him there right on the money
00:45:21as a professional fighter leah has done himself some good where others are turning around and
00:45:34marching in the opposite direction from mosley leah is here big purse for him 250 000 and he's making the
00:45:43most of the most of it well i think what we see from leah tonight suggests that he would have it would
00:45:50have had an excellent chance of beating gabrielis last month if he had gotten the fight for which he
00:45:55was originally scheduled in before he hurt his rib cage yep
00:46:01but to his credit he's taking this outstanding young fighter on getting shut out and beaten up but not
00:46:08without a fight
00:46:13gabrielis ultimately was beaten last month by john brown the man who stepped in
00:46:18for leah and i think you know you got to look at leah tonight and say well he would have done well too
00:46:22that's an injustice any cotton couldn't even see that one all right look that was here yeah no no no
00:46:36what don't guys look well look i'm taking a point we got one point
00:46:43low or uh legal george what'd you think really close but i would give it the body shot because it was
00:46:48clean it did touch the body some i thought it was a clean body shot i thought so too and and and and
00:46:56since mosley was was between leah and cotton i don't know how cotton could have called that i think
00:47:01he was guessing harold half the glove was above the waistband half the glove was below jim let me tell
00:47:07you something jesse james leah is wearing those trunks high the defining line is the belly button you can't
00:47:13see his belly button and neither can i when shane mosley hit him in the body it was perfectly legal
00:47:18because he hit him on that waistband and the waistband is in the legal territory because he's wearing those
00:47:23trunk so high it's all going to be a moot point if leah continues to take the kind of punishment upstairs
00:47:29that he's taken in the last two rounds
00:47:34mosley is gradually solving this puzzle george yeah and the referees had been doing a good job up until then
00:47:40so i'm you kind of want to lean and think well maybe thought something anyway
00:47:47well he had seen the progression of low blows earlier and didn't want it to get out of hand
00:47:50that's a good instinct leah continues to show his courage mosley continues to hammer him over the top
00:47:57with right hands and left hooks and then occasionally to drop down and do the same to leah's body yeah
00:48:04there's a cut on leah on the either it's the bridge of leah's nose or it's over toward the left eye can't
00:48:11tell yet i think it might be the left eye been catching that right hand clean
00:48:21yeah at first mosley was landing the right hand over and over to the top of leah's head
00:48:26but in the last couple rounds he's managed to get him around the eyes and on the cheekbones
00:48:31and he's keeping his eyes on his opponent now
00:48:42it's all right it's all right you're doing great you're doing great what you got to do is
00:48:45do it okay you're doing great he's got a hard head so as you know you just got you
00:48:51you're standing still too long you throw him and you're standing there
00:48:59we got one we're going one two three and we stop right there
00:49:02we got it we got it remember we're about trying to knock him out but if you get him hurt take
00:49:23advantage of it all right let's see if this was a low blow right on the border trunks high
00:49:33clean blow
00:49:37so he loses the point that he had gained by knocking leah down in the preceding round and
00:49:42maybe there's a form of justice in that you see there harold letterman still with shane mosley well
00:49:47ahead by copy box punched at numbers it's a wipeout now mosley landing 100 more punches in the fight
00:49:54then has leah much of the margin having been accumulated in the last two rounds
00:50:02he's got the same spring in his feet that he had in the first round this round he's a well-conditioned
00:50:10fighter no bad habits loves to be in the gym fought september in new york as we mentioned he
00:50:16was out of the gym for about a week and a half and then stepped right back in to prepare for this fight
00:50:24and his sparring sessions are legendary on the west coast because shane
00:50:29through the early portions of his professional career and even
00:50:31back in his amateur days has sparred with some of the biggest names in the sport
00:50:43now leahaz is no longer caring to fight at all he's just waiting to catch and protect himself
00:50:49he's a welterweight jim excuse me welterweight thank you larry
00:51:07that little left uppercut hook seems to open up the cut even a little bit more draw a little bit more
00:51:13blood from leah you can believe shane mosley's fingers may be hurting a little bit after throwing
00:51:19so many right hands when he came back to the corner at the end of the last round he said to his dad i
00:51:24think i hurt my left hand and his dad said oh yeah okay well he's got a hard head in other words don't
00:51:30pay too much attention to it you still gotta fight hit a guy high on top of the head eventually your fingers
00:51:36start to start to start to swell
00:51:46now he's just sliding forward throwing big right hands he's some kind of body puncher too george
00:51:51he is some kind of body puncher he has the package
00:52:00right hand lands flush left hook to the body
00:52:06he's landing a lot of shots to leahaz hit
00:52:12another on the side of the head oh that hurt
00:52:16that one hit his ear hurt him in the ear
00:52:20i think jesse's great courage has carried him about as far as he's going to go and right now
00:52:25intelligence is beginning to take over
00:52:27come on come on come on come on okay okay go go go
00:52:30i guess he's hurt
00:52:35makes it out of the eighth round but how much more of that does he want
00:52:41it's a dark game guys how you doing circuit how you doing what happened with the year talk to me
00:52:46hit him right on me i hit him right on it yeah yeah yeah you want to go ahead yeah continue
00:52:54you want to do that you got to fight fast you got to stay inside you got to stay inside inside and
00:53:00fight like hell okay you ain't gonna do that let us stop right now okay what do you think
00:53:06here's the punch that landed on the ear as leah tried to what they call rubberneck away from that punch
00:53:24second zone right on the ear that's smarts george doesn't it which one going down with smart
00:53:35now it does uh does leah have a ringing in his ears right now well sometimes you get hit and you
00:53:42start pointing to your ears because there's something going along wrong in the head so don't
00:53:46pay much attention to that you heard jesse james's father asking him if he wanted to go forward
00:53:53basically saying you got to fight him and if you don't want to do that maybe we should stop it
00:53:57right now and and james said now i want to keep going well that's when you really need an experienced
00:54:02corner man in there real angelo dundee saying to uh put a corner man with uh and muhammad ali i'm
00:54:08the chief corner man i don't want anymore so you let the fighter save face quickly harold what's your
00:54:14scorecard jim 79 70 that crowd seven with cotton takes a point that comes nine tonight because shane mostly
00:54:20won around that loses one point shane mostly with a big lead eight to nothing in rounds and i'm just
00:54:25gonna i'm gonna make a guess that's the last time we'll see harold scorecard larry yeah i think leah
00:54:30has shown us his courage his professionalism and i don't want to see him take too much more punishment
00:54:38i think that's a fair estimation yeah the corner had a chance to step in and be the hero this time but
00:54:43they didn't you don't want to allow your fighter ask him is it okay get a decision maker get your
00:54:50two percent well we've watched for years the difficulties that fathers sometimes have making
00:54:58the coldest and hardest professional decisions about their sons
00:55:04james's dad is a pro trainer he knows what he's doing and he knows how to believe in his son but
00:55:09jesse james leah has taken a lot of punishment right now from an ultra skilled hard puncher in
00:55:16shane mosley yeah when your fighter turns to you and holds his ear he's telling you something
00:55:22although he's going back to the body real effectively he's a good fighter and he's proven
00:55:26that in there tonight even while taking a beating stop on stop on you stop on
00:55:31oh body shot kurt uppercut with the left hand hurt lay out not coming back with much of anything
00:55:44shane moulder steps around to the left to the right he's not in front of the guy there's no
00:55:49chance he's going to hurt him in the in the exchange
00:55:54he can step to a side and hurt you to the body and come back in front of you and hurt you with an
00:55:58uppercut before you've had time to react that's what you call true footwork best footwork
00:56:08so it's something like target practice now for mosley and leah goes down again as
00:56:13mostly chops at him with the right hand out of the southpaw stance and he is badly hurt jim
00:56:19went to his corner he wants assistance yeah he's taking a terrible beating here
00:56:24i thought he might take the mouthpiece out there and uh no he won't do that but his corner as you've
00:56:29said should by now yeah i mean it's happening in the body also oh the body punishment is just brutal
00:56:39and that would have been another knockdown if it hadn't been for the belt
00:56:51doctor stopped the fight
00:56:55it'll be a tko for jane mosley
00:56:57he's over a value and defective opponent who was simply beaten by great skill
00:57:08come on down the house baby that's right that's how we do it okay
00:57:16grab it from the back
00:57:18okay good look to the other side just look to the other side for me
00:57:22jesse james leha gets a quarter of a million dollars for tonight's effort he earned every penny of it
00:57:37gets the respect of jane mosley
00:57:40but takes a heart beating dr michael schwartz stepping into the corner and saying
00:57:44unequivocally what the rest of us were thinking here at ringside which was that's enough
00:57:48that's enough
00:57:53thanks a lot man appreciate it everybody is scared of him
00:57:57here's a look at the uh the last knockdown you can see that mosley had
00:58:01temporarily switched to a southpaw stance then as he was getting back into his conventional stance
00:58:06leha from a left and a right hand just took a knee
00:58:09well it's about that ear he complained about earlier it was the side of the face that really
00:58:13hurts he's been hit getting hit there all night
00:58:18and in a very professional way mosley set up
00:58:21a lot of the upstairs punishment with vicious body shots throughout the fight
00:58:26boy and he's looking to his corner that's amazing help help
00:58:30so that victory will run mosley's record to 30-0 28 knockouts as we mentioned shane mosley has the
00:58:41highest knockout percentage of any reigning champion in the sport and i can't help but come back to the
00:58:46point jesse james leha was originally scheduled to fight gabriel ellis last month here on hbo
00:58:53looking at the way gabe was that night and losing to john brown and the way jesse was tonight
00:58:58i have to think leha would have won that fight but he got a separated rib cage cartilage took
00:59:03this date three weeks later instead paid a price you got to reach for the stars look at cassius green
00:59:09he's the guy with the tip in his mouth there he hasn't had a winner in a long time so i'm really
00:59:13happy for him he's got one now let's go to larry merchant or look first let's go to mark barrow the
00:59:19ring announcer for the official particulars ladies and gentlemen the referee stops this contest at the
00:59:26end of the ninth round the winner by tactical knockout and still champion sugar shane mosley
00:59:37he's so good and now some further evidence of how good mosley was tonight against an excellent
00:59:49opponent landing 140 more punches than leha more than doubling him and a connect percentage of 45
00:59:56percent at the end of the fight leia is a guy who normally lands 40 of his punches but tonight
01:00:00down at 23 and as we said all along quite a creditable effort for leha he was fighting
01:00:06well to do what he was able to do let's go to larry merchant in the ring all right thank you jim
01:00:11congratulations shane pretty tough guy you fought tonight yeah he was real tough i mean uh i was just
01:00:18telling him i said you have a way of uh kind of holding your head down so when i when i hit him i was
01:00:22hurting my hands all the time so i started slowing up on trying him to the head and trying him in the
01:00:26body more because uh both of my hands were sore it was hurting me just to hit him because he was bending
01:00:32down and you were hitting him high on the head rather than lower on the jaw yeah i believe that's
01:00:36what it was larry i mean i kept hitting him and hitting i was trying to get a good shot in and every
01:00:41time i throw it he'll put his head down real quick put his head down real quick and by like the six or
01:00:45seven rounds like man my knuckles is killing me right now so let me let me try to hit him with some
01:00:50clean body shots because he you know he had a hard head he did body shots won the fight for you right
01:00:55yeah the body shots i think won it um you know i start him in the head and i start dropping out to
01:01:01the body and i know he was feeling it and he was trying to cover it up all the time but i just kept
01:01:04going to the body who do you who would you like to fight next even though we don't know if they might
01:01:10want to fight you well you know i would like to fight caesar barzon you know um he's the next
01:01:17candidate i mean he's a world champion but you know they're not ready they can wait a little longer
01:01:21but you know i would like to fight maybe in march or february but you know it's up to them thank
01:01:26you very much let me say hi to my sister at home and they having and my grandfather having a house
01:01:31warming party i'd like to say hi to l.a boxing big bear everybody all my fans all right thank you for
01:01:38the commercial shane again all right thanks very much incidentally mosley was winning by a near shutout
01:01:44on all three scorecards and george he mentioned that he hurt both hands it happens a lot to punchers
01:01:50hitting really on top of the head he was not able to get to that chin so you you invest a lot
01:01:55and you hurt your hands this guy likes to keep fighting how long will it be before the hands feel
01:01:59good well if he go soaks them in ice a little bit and don't go back to the heavy punching bag so
01:02:03quickly he'll be in good shape no doubt about it all right got the main event still to come
01:02:08between roy jones jr and otis grant before we get ready for that one let's look at the upcoming
01:02:12sports schedule here on hbo next tuesday real sports with brian gumbel returns among the stories
01:02:20a look back at the 1958 nfl championship game between the colts and the giants and its impact
01:02:25on the sport a candid interview with golf's most puzzling personality john daly and will follow
01:02:31the travails of the intense athletes who compete in 100 mile ultra marathon foot races boxing after
01:02:38dark returns in two weeks kennedy mckinney in his first fight since his upset knockout of junior jones
01:02:43moves up in weight to challenge one of the featherweight champions luicito espinoza also that night
01:02:49former champions miguel angel gonzalez and casta zoo battle for the vacant 140 pound title
01:02:56and december 8 hbo sports presents sugar ray robinson the bright lights and dark shadows of a champion
01:03:02you'll follow the triumphs and tragedies of the boxer most experts call the greatest pound for pound of
01:03:07all time although robinson won six world titles and faced down the mob he finished his life sick and
01:03:13virtually broke december 8th don't miss it and still to come the live battle here between otis grant
01:03:22canadian middleweight star moving up 12 pounds in weight to take on roy jones jr as jones defends
01:03:29his light heavyweight crown
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