Fernando Vargas vs. Shane Mosley

Showdown

Date	February 25, 2006
Venue	Mandalay Bay Events Center, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBA super welterweight title eliminator
Tale of the tape
Boxer Fernando Vargas Shane Mosley Nickname Ferocious Sugar Hometown Oxnard, California, U.S. Pomona, California, U.S. Purse $4,000,000 $3,000,000 Pre-fight record 26–2 (22 KO) 41–4 (1) (35 KO) Age 28 years, 2 months 34 years, 5 months Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) Weight 153+1⁄2 lb (70 kg) 152 lb (69 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA No. 1 Ranked Light Middleweight WBC No. 2 Ranked Light Middleweight The Ring No. 4 Ranked Light Middleweight IBF No. 5 Ranked Middleweight 2-time light middleweight champion WBA No. 4 Ranked Light Middleweight WBC No. 5 Ranked Light Middleweight IBF No. 1 Ranked Welterweight The Ring No. 4 Ranked Welterweight 3-division world champion
Result
Mosley wins via 10th-round technical knockout

Fernando Vargas vs. Shane Mosley, billed as Showdown, was a professional boxing match contested on February 25, 2006. The bout was a WBA super welterweight title eliminator.

Background

In late October 2005, it was reported that negotiations between 3-division world champion Shane Mosley and 2-time light middleweight champion Fernando Vargas had begun for a potential fight between the two in early 2006. Both fighters were looking to get their respective careers back on track as Mosley had lost consecutive light middleweight title fights in 2004 to Ronald "Winky" Wright and had faced marginal competition in 2005 while Vargas has not fought for a world title since losing to Oscar De La Hoya in 2002 and had spent over year out of boxing following a back injury before finally returning in 2005, winning both of his comeback fights that year. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who promoted Mosley, mentioned that in addition to Vargas, Mosley was also looking at facing either Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Zab Judah but mentioned that getting the Mosley–Vargas fight was a priority, stating "the Vargas fight is the right fight for Shane, and that Shane is the right fight for Vargas. So we'll keep talking. Hopefully, we can put it together."

After over a month of negotiations, the bout was made official in late November to take place on February 25, 2006 on HBO pay-per-view. Though Mosley had fought as a welterweight in both of his 2005 fights, the fight was contested at the 154-pound light middleweight limit where Vargas had spent the majority of his professional career.

Fight Details

In what was a close fight, the two fighters were nearly even in punches landed with Mosley having an extremely narrow 147–139 edge though Vargas landed at a slightly higher percentage as he scored on 32% of his 429 thrown punches compared to Mosley's 30% success rate on his 498 thrown punches. However, Mosley scored often with both power punches and jabs to Vargas' left eye from the opening round on causing it to swell and get progressively worse as the fight continued. By the eighth round, the swelling on Vargas' eye had ballooned and was practically shut, leading to the ringside physician to check the wound after the round, though Vargas was allowed to continue the fight. Mosley continued to punish Vargas' eye in the ninth as he landed right hands almost at will. Following the round, referee Joe Cortez, Nevada State Athletic Commission head Marc Ratner and the ringside physician David Watson had a meeting to discuss Vargas' injured eye with the verdict being that the fight would be stopped if he could not withstand Mosley's right handed attack. 1:22 into the tenth round, Mosley landed a big right hand to the eye after which Cortez stepped in and immediately stopped the fight, giving Mosley the victory by technical knockout. At the time of the stoppage, Mosley was ahead on two judge's scorecards 86–85, while Vargas was ahead by the same score on the third. HBO's unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman had it 86–85 for Mosley.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

Weight Class	Weight		vs.		Method	Round	Notes
Super Welterweight	154 lbs.	Shane Mosley	def.	Fernando Vargas	TKO	10/12	note 1
Bantamweight	118 lbs.	Jhonny González	def.	Mark Johnson	KO	8/12
Heavyweight	200+ lbs.	Calvin Brock	def.	Zuri Lawrence	KO	6/10
Preliminary bouts
Lightweight	135 lbs.	Joel Julio	def.	Wilmer Mejia	RTD	2/6
Light welterweight	140 lbs.	Daniel Cervantes	def.	Derrick Moon	UD	6
Middleweight	160 lbs.	Tomas Padron	def.	DeShaun Cohen	TKO	2/4

^Note 1 WBA Super Welterweight Title Eliminator

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	HBO