De La Hoya Preparing Possible Excuse?

Oscar De La Hoya has had to take off several days during preparations for his Sept. 13 rematch with Shane Mosley to rest his surgically repaired left hand. Not what fight fans want to hear before laying out hard earned money for an expensive pay-per-view bout. De La Hoya has proven himself to be a warrior in the ring but it's hard not to wonder whether he might be entering the ring at less tha 100%. The following quotes from De La Hoya only add to the confusion: "I just felt one little pinch and I stopped everything." "Taking those days off helped me to rest my body and relax." "I guarantee the hand is 100 percent." "There's no hiding the fact that I have a bad hand. I've had a bad hand since fighting Dorsey [in 1993]." Expect to hear more about this should De La Hoya lose to Mosley for a second time ...