DE LA HOYA, MOSLEY EAGER TO FIX THEIR REPS.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

LAS VEGAS - Never will two fighters have a better opportunity than tonight to experience profound gratification.

This is what Oscar De La Hoya has been craving since June 17, 2000, at Staples Center, the night Shane Mosley handed him his only true defeat. De La Hoya would feel incomplete if he didn't correct his mistake.

For Mosley, this is a chance to erase in one night a miserable past two years, during which he lost twice to Vernon Forrest and hasn't won a fight. If he beats De La Hoya again, he's back on top.

Those will be the stakes when the two L.A.-area fighters step into the ring for a fight that seems to have captured the fancy of boxing fans: The MGM Grand Arena was sold out a month ago, tickets are being scalped for thousands of dollars and organizers are expecting big pay-per-view numbers.

And no one is more excited than the fighters.

``The only thing I care about is getting revenge,'' De La Hoya said. ``I've waited a long time.''

De La Hoya's goals are clear: He wants to avenge his two defeats - to Mosley and Felix Trinidad, although most experts believe De La Hoya won the latter fight - and win a title in a sixth weight class.

Trinidad is retired and no one knows whether a championship at 160 pounds is feasible. Thus, at least for the moment, this is as big as it gets for the junior middleweight champ from East L.A.

Many believe De La Hoya, a 2 1/2-1 favorite, will win this time in part because much has changed in three years.

De La Hoya (36-2, with 29 knockouts) has discarded the myriad distractions in his life and seems to be devoted to training. He'll have a different trainer this time, Floyd Mayweather, in whom he believes passionately. And he's as hungry as a kid making his pro debut.

The results seem to speak for themselves. After losing to Mosley, De La Hoya quickly regained a junior middleweight title and turned in his defining performance: an 11th-round knockout of rival Fernando Vargas in September.

And, perhaps most important, he's clear about what he did wrong in the first fight with Mosley, who won a split decision. He fought Mosley toe- to-toe, which isn't De La Hoya at his best.

This time, he promises to box, to use his exceptional jab, to move his feet, to use his height advantage rather than hunch down to Mosley's level. In other words, he'll fight as he did when he stopped Vargas.

``I fought like a robot,'' said De La Hoya, referring to the first fight with Mosley. ``I tried to knock him out. As the rounds went by, I told myself, `I'll get him next round, I'll get him next round.' And it never happened.

``I'm not thinking knockout this time. I'm going to take the win round by round.''

Mosley (38-2, 35 KOs) wasn't happy with the way earnings have been divided for the fight - De La Hoya is guaranteed $17 million, Mosley $4.5 million - but said he's pushed that aside and is focused on the most pivotal moment in his fine career.

Forrest beat Mosley convincingly in their first meeting and then did it again six months later, although the latter fight was closer. Then Mosley's first fight at 154 pounds, against Raul Marquez in February, was declared no contest when Marquez was cut badly.

Mosley, who hasn't won a fight in two years and two months, admitted he strayed from the style that brought him his greatest success.

``Before I was known as a great knockout puncher, I was known as a great boxer,'' he said. ``I could do it all. I have to revert back to that so people can see the pound-for-pound fighter in there, not a flat-footed fighter just throwing hard shots.

``You'll see a different fighter.''

And a confident one, he swears. He believes strongly he won the second fight with Forrest and insists he's able to put the past in the past. Even if he has any doubts in himself, as Forrest suggested, Mosley will have a distinct advantage once he and De La Hoya are in the ring.

``What better way to regain your confidence than look across the ring and see a guy you've already beaten,'' Forrest said.

If Mosley loses, he says, he'll go back to the gym and keep trying. Not so for De La Hoya, who insists he'll never fight again if Mosley's hand is raised in victory a second time.

De La Hoya said he'd have no choice.

``The reason I say that is I've trained so hard, like never before,'' he said. ``If I lose the way I am now, why am I in the sport? If I train so hard and know in my mind I can't lose and he beats me, I'll have to retire.''

Michael Rosenthal, [phone]

michael.rosenthal(at)dailynews.com

DE LA HOYA vs. MOSLEY

Who: Oscar De La Hoya (36-2, 29 knockouts) defends his junior middleweight championship against Shane Mosley (38-2, 35 KOs)

When: About 8:15 p.m.

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas

TV: Pay-per-view (first fight at 6 p.m.)

Weights: Both fighters weighed in at 154 pounds Friday