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| Date | November 20, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBA, WBC and The Ring light middleweight titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wright wins by majority decision (115–113, 115–113, 114–114) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winky Wright vs. Shane Mosley II, billed as Melee at Mandalay, [1] was a professional boxing match contested on November 20, 2004, for the WBA, WBC and The Ring light middleweight championship. [2]
Following his upset defeat at the hands of Winky Wright, Shane Mosley's promoter Gary Shaw confirmed that they planned to exercise the rematch cause in the contract. Mosley was reportedly offered a deal to step aside to allow Wright fight Félix Trinidad. [3] The rematch caused the IBF to strip Wright for not facing mandatory challenger Kassim Ouma and instead accepting a rematch with Mosley. [4]
Wright meanwhile was involved in a promotional dispute, with his contract with his existing promotor Square Ring expiring, despite having reportedly agreed a verbal agreement to resign with them, he initially signed with Lou DiBella before dumping him having agreed a deal with Don King, contingent on him arranging a bout with Trinidad. [5] [6] [7] With Trinidad's comeback being delayed, Wright opted to continue with the Mosley rematch, promoted by Gary Shaw. DiBella expressed his displeasure with the situation saying "Winky misled me. He misled others, and the situation became a mess and looked like it could deteriorate into a further mess, it's a no-win situation."
Wright would admit that he was less excited to face Mosley again saying "I'm excited for the rematch, I ain't as excited. The first time it was the first real big fight for me. Now, did it and it's just another fight that I got to win." [8]
Since the previously fight Mosley had parted company with his father Jack as his trainer and had hired Joe Goossen. [9] [10] [11]
Wright was a 13 to 5 favourite.
The first few rounds would see the same pattern of the previous bout with Wright dominating with right jabs and solid left hand shots, preventing any significant body punches from Mosley landing. In the 5th round Wright would appear much more aggressive giving Mosley the opportunity to land two hard punches to the head that appeared to slow the champion. While Wright would regain the momentum, Mosley was able to land to the body more often than he had before.
The bout would go the full 12 rounds, judge Hubert Earle scored it 114–114, while both Duane Ford and Tom Kazmarek both scored it 115–113 in favour of Wright, giving him a majority decision victory. [12] [13] [14] [15]
HBO's unofficial scorer Harold Lederman scored the bout 117–111 and the Associated Press 116–112 both for Wright.
Speaking after the bout Wright said "He was a great fighter. I caught him with more shots. He deserved the rematch, though. He came to fight." He would call for a big money against one of the other top pound for pound fighters "Tito's No. 1, but I'll fight Oscar, Bernard Hopkins, whoever the fans want." [16] [17]
Confirmed bouts: [18]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary bouts | |||
 Ian Gardner | Tokunbo Olajide | NABO and NABC Light middleweight title | Majority decision |
| Non-TV bouts | |||
 José Celaya | Alphonso Williams | Light middleweight (8 rounds) | 3rd-round TKO |
 Carlos De Leon Jr | James McCallister | Super middleweight (6 rounds) | Majority decision |
| Henry Buchanan | William Harmon | Light heavyweight (6 rounds) | 1st-round TKO |
| Nick Casal | Jovanni Rubio | Welterweight (4 rounds) | 1st-round KO |
 Daniel Cervantes | Juan Zuniga | Light welterweight (4 rounds) | Unanimous decision |
| Ronald Johnson | Cromwell Gordon | Super middleweight (4 rounds) | 4th-round TKO |
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Australia | Main Event |
 Hungary | Sport 1 |
 United Kingdom | BBC [19] |
| United States | HBO |
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