Los Angeles Daily News
Mosley is no match for welterweight champ, who dominates on way to decision.
LAS VEGAS - One of Manny Pacquiao's ever-present goals is to make fans happy when they watch one of his fights. He has done that by providing incredible action nearly every time he steps into the ring.
But his welterweight world title defense against "Sugar" Shane Mosley on Saturday resembled more of a glorified sparring session.
They touched gloves before rounds, and after. They did that with the slightest bumping of heads. Very friendly stuff.
Never have so many boos been doled out at a Pacquiao fight. Since most of the 16,412 at MGM Grand were rooting for Pacquiao, that's saying a lot.
Pacquiao did drop Mosley in the third round with a right-left combination, and Mosley got credit for a knockdown that was obviously a push in the 10th.
But it was the only two times the fans had a chance to really go bonkers, although the Pacquiao faithful did go a bit wild when an angry Pacquiao went after Mosley after the bogus knockdown in the 10th.
It all added up to a rather unpleasing fight, but Pacquiao did retain his championship with a unanimous decision. He won by scores of 120-107, 120-108 and 119-108.
Pacquiao followers did cheer when the decision was announced, but not all that heartily.
Afterward came the excuses.
"I got a blood blister on my right foot in the sixth round," Mosley said.
Pacquiao did him one better.
"My leg tightened up," said Pacquiao, who is now 54-3-2. "It was the same thing that happened against (Juan Manuel) Marquez (in one of their two fights). I couldn't move because my leg got tight. They tried massaging it between rounds. It's a problem I've been having."
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said Pacquiao came back after the fourth round and told him about the condition of his leg.
"He had no leverage to move after that," Roach said. "It was a very gutty performance in my mind because of the problem with his leg."
Bottom line is, the times when the respective fighters threw more than one or two punches in a sequence were few and far between. Aside from the excuses for the dull nature of the fight, the fighters discussed the specifics.
"I just fought the best fighter in the world," said Mosley, who will be 40 in September and looked it; he had a bump on the right side of his face. "I've never been hit like that before. He has exceptional power, power that I have never been hit with before."
Mosley (46-7-1) also said Pacquiao is the fastest fighter he has ever faced.
When asked why he didn't take more chances, Mosley intimated it was out or respect for Pacquiao.
"I wasn't going to take those kinds of risks," he said. "I was looking to land my shot."
Mosley said his age had nothing to do with anything that happened.
"I don't blame my age," he said. "Manny is exceptional. He is so fast and powerful. He is cut from the same cloth that I am, so I had to box today."
Naazim Richardson, Mosley's trainer, said that his fighter just "started too late."
Mosley said he didn't know if he would retire.
"I don't even want to think about that right now," he said.
Pacquiao wasn't thrilled about what transpired Saturday, either.
"I did not expect this result," he said.
Pacquiao, 32, was asked if he still would like to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. Their two camps have twice negotiated for a fight, with nothing coming of either discussion.
"If I could fight him, it would be a great fight," he said. "I leave that to my promoter. If it never happens, I won't lose a minute's sleep over it. I want to fight Mayweather because the people want it."
Pacquiao was involved in a fender-bender a few hours before the fight, as his car tapped bumpers with another in the pound-for-pound champion's caravan.
Pacquiao wasn't hurt in the minor car accident Saturday on the way back to the MGM Grand from the nearby Mandalay Bay casino, where he attended Mass, according to The Associated Press.
Pacquiao's publicist Fred Sternburg told the AP that a security car lightly tapped the back bumper of Pacquiao's car at a stoplight. Nobody was injured, and no police report was filed.
On the undercard, Jorge Arce of Mexico stopped super bantamweight world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. at 55 seconds of the 12th and final round to win the belt.
In his first fight in nearly 13months because of two alcohol rehabilitation stints, former middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (37-2) appeared rusty and tired easily during his 10-round super middleweight fight against Alfonso Lopez (21-1). Pavlik won a majority decision, however, making his return somewhat successful.
One judge, Adalaide Byrd, scored it 95-95. Dick Houck and C.J. Ross gave it to Pavlik by respective scores of 98-92 and 92-91.
Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield stopped Brian Nielsen on a technical knockout in the 10th round in Copenhagen, Denmark. ... Daniel Geale (25-1) took the International Boxing Federation middleweight title from Sebastian Sylvester (34-4-1), winning a split decision in Neubrandenburg, Germany.
Associated Press contributed
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