It's a risk to be tempted to take on 'Latin Snake'

a close decision loss. Nobody gave a (crap) about Cory Spinks. I wouldn't have got a fair shake.

"I would've won that fight. But even if it was close, I would've been pushed to fight. I want to fight to win, not just to get a pat on the back. I made the right decision."

One would be hard-pressed to question a decision Mora announced on the set of "The Contender" before he won its championship. He said if he emerged victorious, he'd buy his mother a house and have her quit her job as a warehouse worker.

Mora kept his promise.

"The day of 'The Contender' finale, she stopped work," said Mora, who is also still seeing Sheryl Williams, his girlfriend when the series was being taped. "It was great. She'd been doing it all her life. To stop it was great. She stays busy. She still has to do something, so she's baby-sitting."

While he's kept stored most of his Contender memorabilia, Mora gave his brother the truck he won against Manfredo and traded in the Tacoma he claimed during one of the show's contests.

Mora, who on the show proved to be extremely well-read and announced his intentions to be a writer, said things are coming together well in his literary pursuits.

"I'm getting closer and closer to having something to write about," he said. "It's going to be an autobiography. I haven't got it when it comes to fiction. We'll see."

If he eventually meets De La Hoya in the ring, chances are Mora will be reading about himself in some boxing publications.

"We're in negotiations," Mora said of the possible battle of East L.A. "Nobody can tell Oscar what to do. I wouldn't say we're tight, but I shake his hand and smile."

While it remains to be seen if he faces the "Golden Boy," who recently penned his own autobiography ("American Son"), Mora will pursue some other goals.

"I want to win titles at middleweight and super middleweight," he said. "I want to be as successful as possible, stay healthy and write a book about it."

As for prospective opponents who doubt Mora, they'd be best advised to crack open some books and read what has been written about those who don't study history. The often underestimated "Latin Snake" would be only too happy if it repeated itself at their expense.