By SANTOS A. PEREZ, The Miami Herald
Shane Mosley found that one brief opening rarely seen in Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s spotless professional career. A solid right to Mayweather's head in the second round of their fight late Saturday suddenly left Mayweather vulnerable.
But for Mosley, the opening closed quickly and with it his bid to defeat Mayweather.
Blessed with the speed, accurate punching and tight defense that have defined his career, Mayweather frustrated Mosley for the remaining 10 rounds and won a lopsided decision at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
``That comes with the territory of boxing,'' Mayweather said of his second-round scare. ``Only the strong survive.
``Sometimes you are going to get hit with big shots. I can give it and take it.''
Only Mayweather has been the unusual recipient of such a punishing punch and reminded Mosley during the rest of the highly anticipated welterweight bout.
Mayweather (41-0) immediately recovered from the second-round slip and set the tone for his convincing performance in the next round. Mayweather frustrated Mosley with straight rights, lead left jabs and counter left hooks to the head.
MOSLEY'S BAD OMEN
A telling sign of Mayweather's dominance occurred as early as the third round. Mayweather already had established pace with combinations to the head and left hooks to the head in the closing seconds of the round. Mayweather stood within punching range in the middle of the ring, goading Mosley to throw punches.
Mosley (46-6) instead froze and allowed the remaining seconds to expire. Being unable to take advantage of a temporarily available target was a bad omen for Mosley.
Mayweather widened his punch-landing advantage, and Mosley had minimal offensive response. During the minute rest before the final two rounds, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, pleaded with his fighter to be aggressive and fight like a ``warrior'' in a last-ditch comeback effort. But it seemed as if Mosley's ammunition ran out early, especially after his second-round stunning right to Mayweather's head.
``I think after I caught him with that big right hand, I opened too much and played into his hands,'' Mosley said. ``I was too tight. He started to avoid the punches. Once I tried to get my timing back, I couldn't adjust, and he did.''
The three judges confirmed Mayweather's dominant performance with two scorecards of 119-109 and 118-110 on the third.
``After a while I think Mosley went into survival mode,'' Mayweather said. ``All he was trying to do was survive.
``Every fight is different; every fighter is different. Everyone was talking about how Mosley is stronger, how Mosley is faster. I rocked him more than he rocked me.''
Mosley, a three-division world champion, became an attractive opponent for Mayweather after Mayweather's fight against Manny Pacquiao in March was scrapped because of disagreements over prefight and postfight blood testing. Mayweather and Mosley underwent Olympic-style blood and urine tests for their fight.
``If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight, it is not hard to find me,'' Mayweather said. ``I just want everyone to be on an even playing field.
``If every athlete is clean in the sport of boxing, take the test. If Manny Pacquiao takes the blood and urine tests, we can fight. If he doesn't, we won't make the fight.''
GOLDEN GLOVES
Three Miami boxers will represent the Florida team that will compete in the National Golden Gloves Championships, Monday through Saturday in Little Rock, Ark.
Kabir Rodriguez (108 pounds), Daniel Molina (123) and Dariel Ramirez (141) advanced to the national tournament after winning state championships in their respective weight divisions last month. The Florida team also includes Boca Raton's Steve Geffrard (201) and West Palm Beach's Franky Gedeon (152).
sperez@MiamiHerald.com
Source: miamiherald.com
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