Mosley Can’t Fight Feelings for N.Y.

NEW YORK —  Pomona’s Shane Mosley has seen the bright lights of Broadway and wants to return for another look--and another defense of his World Boxing Council welterweight title.

Mosley, who won the title from Oscar De La Hoya in June at Staples Center, retained it Saturday with a sixth-round TKO of Antonio Diaz of Coachella at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Mosley immediately declared the Big Apple “My home away from home,” and promoter Cedric Kushner said he hopes to stage Mosley’s next bout here, possibly against Arturo Gatti.

“Feb. 24, we’re going to fight whoever wants to fight Sugar Shane Mosley, and we want to fight him at Madison Square Garden,” Kushner said. “This is where you get the notoriety and this is where history is made.”

History was made in one sense: the sellout crowd of 5,149 was the first full house for boxing at the Theater. But tickets were available until shortly before the bout, and it’s questionable whether Mosley--though undeniably on the rise--can sell out a bigger arena.

Mosley (36-0, 33 knockouts) said he enjoyed the rowdy fans and the atmosphere.

“On the East Coast, they tune into boxing more than fans on the West Coast. There’s a variety of fans--blacks, Italians, Puerto Ricans, everybody tunes in to boxing,” he said. “L.A. was electrifying, with 20,000 people. You had some Latinos going for me and some for De La Hoya. I told reporters there were guys from East L.A. rooting for me, but some guys from Pomona were rooting for De La Hoya.

“I love the New York flavor and the New York press. Without you [reporters] I wouldn’t have gotten this far. With all the publicity and hype I’m getting, Oscar might want to come back and claim the hype. He may come back to the ring.”

A rematch with De La Hoya might still happen, but Mosley said he hasn’t heard from De La Hoya.

“He’s possibly still in Miami, cutting his record,” Mosley said, referring to De La Hoya’s new music career. “He knows if he’s hungry or not. I tend to think he wants to pursue another career, and that’s more of a long-term goal than boxing.”

And if Mosley doesn’t get a rematch, he won’t mind.

“I won’t be disappointed at all,” he said. “I beat De La Hoya, so I won. Why would I be disappointed?”

Mosley also said he wants a few more fights at 147 pounds before he considers moving up. He’d like to face Vernon Forrest, who defeated him in a semifinal match at the 1992 Olympic trials, and maybe James Page.

“I’m willing to fight anybody out there,” Mosley said. “I won’t step back from anyone.”