Boxing Round of the Day: De La Hoya and Mosley End First Fight with a Bang

Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley both have secured their place in the boxing Hall-of-Fame. They first met in 2000 for the WBC welterweight championship.

De La Hoya went into the fight with a 32-1 record while Mosley was 34-0. Both had defined the middle to late 90s in their respective weight divisions.

De La Hoya was a former lightweight and welterweight champion with victories over Julio Cesar Chavez, Jorge Paez, John John Molina, Ike Quartey and Pernell Whitaker.

Mosley became lightweight champion when he defeated Philip Holiday in 1997. He would defend it eight times before vacating the title to move up to welterweight.

The first of their two matchups was a classic battle and showcased both in their prime.

Round 12 isn't always the most active round of a fight, but both proved otherwise and fought like it was the first. Most boxers will tell you to go out and win that last round. Well, Mosley and De La Hoya did everything they could to do just that.

The opening thirty seconds showed just what type of shape both boxers were in as they threw lightning-fast combinations. It was hard to see who was landing the more effective blows, but both got their shots in.

The referee called a halt to the bout to wipe off the middle of the canvas a minute into the round. This didn't stop the boxers from going right back at it once the fight resumed. They continued to fire away until the end of the round.

In the end, Mosley walked away with a split-decision with the scores 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115.

The event was named The Ring magazine's event of the year.

They would have a rematch in 2003. Mosley would take a very controversial unanimous decision over 12 rounds.