Oxnard's finest, Fernando Vargas(26-2, 22 KOs), has signed on to fight home-state rival Shane Mosley(41-4, 35 KOs) on February 25. In a strange twist the fight will be promoted by each of the fighters' biggest rival, Oscar De La Hoya, and his promotional team, Golden Boy Promotions. Mandalay Bay was the lucky high bidder for the highly anticipated battle of seemingly fallen warriors. Mosley was on many pound for pound lists as recently as last year, but has since come under a lot of unwarranted media criticism. Shane lost a close split decision to Winky Wright in their 2nd fight and since then he went on to beat tough fringe contenders David Estrada and Jose Luis Cruz. Although the former champ looked very unsure of himself, he did win wide decisions. Vargas has not looked the same since he got thumped by Felix Trinidad in, surprise, Mandalay Bay in 2000. Trinidad landed devastating bombs all night and though Vargas showed a lot in the cajones department, his chin and overall health have never recovered. Oscar also KO'd Vargas two years later in a humiliating loss further heightened by a positive test for steroids. Since then, back troubles and boring fights have plagued his career. A test with another somewhat faded veteran is just what both these guys need. No doubt both Vargas and Mosley know the importance of this bout and a listless performance would, at the least, stop HBO from paying either of them anymore. Unless they are jealous of Kevin Kelley fighting on ESPN2 for peanuts, each had better train for the fight of his life.

To be truthfully honest these are my favorite current fighters and I am probably looking forward to this bout a lot more than most. I followed each of their careers and traveled far and wide to see each both excel and fail in some of the greatest fights of the last decade. Both men are educated historians of the sport and they want a spot in history. Mosley has already earned a spot in the Hall of Fame, but he needs some icing on the cake to be remembered as a true great of the sport. Vargas, on the other hand, is a few huge victories away from the any HOF consideration. All we can hope for is that both men are 100% mentally and physically and that each is prepared to make the fight worthy of HBO PPV.

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