BOXING: MOSLEY PLOTS OWN STRATEGY.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

``Sugar'' Shane Mosley has always come off as intelligent. It would make sense then that he would listen to anything his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, has to say about Fernando Vargas.

Mosley will square off with Vargas on Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in a junior middleweight title elimination fight. HBO pay-per-view will televise.

De La Hoya, who has lost two decisions to Mosley, defeated Vargas by 11th-round technical knockout in September 2002. There were several keys to that victory for De La Hoya. Two of those include: Vargas might have worn down late because he was later found to be on steroids, and De La Hoya was brilliantly patient.

Mosley recently watched film of De La Hoya-Vargas. He took note of what transpired, but it's hard to tell how much weight he is giving on what De La Hoya did.

``I haven't talked any strategy with Oscar,'' said Mosley, 34, of Pomona. ``Basically, I watched the fight with Oscar and Fernando, and I saw different details that worked (for) Oscar and I will definitely be using those different techniques in the fight with Fernando Vargas.

``I watched it alone, not with him (De La Hoya) present. It wouldn't hurt that we sit down and talk about certain things, but this is a battle between me and Fernando.''

Part of De La Hoya's success as a fighter - he has won world titles in a record six weight classes - has been his patience in the ring. It's an intangible many fighters do not possess, an attribute that can make the difference.

Against Vargas, De La Hoya was at his patient best. He survived an early onslaught by a very strong Vargas, bided his time until Vargas was ripe for the taking, then dropped a monster left hook on Vargas in the 11th that was the beginning of the end for the former two-time junior middleweight champion from Oxnard.

De La Hoya would like for Mosley (41-4, 35 KOs) to take something from his performance, but he isn't pushing it.

``I am not in the business to be like every other promoter who is in the fighter's face,'' said De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions and co-promoter of Saturday's fight along with Main Events Inc.

``I am a fighter first and I know how it feels when a promoter is on your back and in your face all the time. You have to let the fighter train and do his job and let the trainer do his job.

``During fight week, I can talk to Mosley and give him a few tips here and there. A little helping hand, not that he needs it.''

Vargas, 28, is 26-2 with 22 knockouts.

--Interesting undercard: The two undercard bouts Saturday will be Jhonny Gonzalez in a defense of his World Boxing Organization bantamweight belt against Mark ``Too Sharp'' Johnson, and heavyweight contender Calvin Brock going against Zuri Lawrence.

Lawrence, of Wappinger Falls, N.Y., is 20-10-4. But he has zero knockouts. The only reason Lawrence got a fight with Brock - who is a top 10 contender - is because he won a 10-round decision over former contender Jameel McCline in October.

``He did beat Jameel McCline and he beat the guy (Paolo Vidoz) that I lost to in the Olympics,'' Brock, who boxed for the U.S. in the 2000 Sydney Games, said of Lawrence. ``He is not an opponent I can take for granted.

``It is a big show on pay-per-view. If I want to become heavyweight champion this year, I have to beat Zuri Lawrence. I will show the world I am deserving of a title shot and I am the one that is going to be king of the heavyweight division.''

Brock, of Charlotte, N.C., is 27-0 with 21 knockouts. He is a good fighter and might one day be a world champion. He is ranked No. 6 by the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association and No. 7 by the WBO.

But Zuri Lawrence? This does nothing for Brock except get him some television exposure.

As for Gonzalez-Johnson, it's hard to tell what to expect from this fight. Gonzalez, 24, of Mexico, is 31-4 with 27 knockouts. He won the WBO bantamweight belt with a seventh-round technical knockout of Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in October.

Johnson is a former flyweight and super-flyweight champion who used to terrorize fighters while competing out of the Forum in the 1990s. But at 34, Johnson (44-4, 28 KOs), is old for a small fighter, and he's 4-3 in his past seven fights.

``Of course, it will be my last chance at a world title shot,'' said Johnson, who was a fan favorite at the Forum. ``You know what they say - out with the old and in with the new.''

--Margarito, Viloria defend: Antonio Margarito defended his WBO welterweight belt with a first-round knockout of Manuel Gomez on Saturday at the Aladdin in Las Vegas. If all goes as planned, he will fight the winner of the April 8 IBF welterweight title fight between champion Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Brian Viloria, who is trained by Freddie Roach out of the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, made the first successful defense of his WBC light flyweight belt with a 12-round decision over Jose Antonio Aguirre in the main undercard bout.

--Friends hold a luncheon: The Friends of California Boxing will hold a luncheon Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Honey Baked Ham restaurant in Toluca Lake. The guest of honor will be promoter Deborah Sable, whose next event will be March 9 at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills.

Fans are encouraged to attend. Cost is whatever one eats and drinks, and there are usually a few well-known ex-fighters on hand.

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