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LAS VEGAS - Sugar Shane Mosley was even sweeter the second time around.
Mosley came on in the late rounds again Saturday night to beat Oscar De La Hoya for the second time in three years, winning a close but unanimous decision to take the WBC and WBA 154-pound titles.
In a fight almost as close as the first one, Mosley was the busier and faster boxer, beating De La Hoya to the punch and staying away from the left hook that De La Hoya used to knock out his last two opponents.
All three judges scored it 115-113 for Mosley. The Associated Press had Mosley winning 116-113.
The fight may have meant far more than a few gaudy belts for De La Hoya. He vowed before the bout to retire if he lost again to Mosley, who took a split decision from De La Hoya in June 2000.
Just like the first bout three years ago, Mosley was fresher and faster in the later rounds. De La Hoya looked weary and tried to win rounds by fighting in flurries in the final seconds.
WELTERWEIGHT: American Jose Rivera won the vacant WBA title in Berlin with a close decision over previously unbeaten Michael Trabant of Germany.
Rivera (37-3-1 with 25 knockouts) dropped Trabant in the second round with a right hook, absorbed some clean shots through the middle rounds, then took control when Trabant ran out of steam in the final three rounds.
Rivera beat Trabant 116-114 and 116-111 on two judges' scorecards. A third judge ruled it 114-114.
Trabant (38-1 with 18 knockouts) appeared to be winning when he rocked Rivera with lefts in the eighth and ninth rounds. But Trabant looked tired in the final rounds.
On the undercard, Germany's Felix Sturm won the WBO middleweight title with a split decision over Javier Velazco of Argentina.
FEATHERWEIGHT: Rocky Juarez knocked out David Murillo 26 seconds into the first round of their scheduled 10-rounder at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.
Juarez, 23, of Houston connected with a left hook to the chin, which put Murillo on his back. Referee Pat Russell counted to three, then stopped the bout.
Juarez, 23, won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is rated No. 7 by the World Boxing Council. He is 18-0 and has 14 knockouts in his three-year professional career.
Murillo, 21, a former Mexican featherweight champion, dropped to 19-6-1 with 12 knockouts.
In a co-featured super-bantamweight bout, Jorge Lacierva scored a first-round knockout over Harold Grey.