On November 14, 1998 Mosley faced his toughest defense to date when he fought 32 year old former WBC super featherweight champion Jesse James Leija (37-3-2, 15 KOs) at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut. This was Mosley's sixth defense of his IBF world title. As the fight progressed, Leija was knocked down in rounds 6, 7 and 9. The fight was stopped when Leija couldn't answer the bell for round 10, rewarding Mosley with a deserved victory. Mosley was leading by scores of 89-78, 89-78 and 88-79 at the time of the stoppage. Leija took the fight with 3 weeks notice.