The last thing anyone envisioned was Mosley, a three-division champion, basically running away from Pacquiao for most of the 12-round welterweight championship. But that's what happened after Pacquiao dropped Mosley with a straight left hand in the third round. Mosley spent the rest of the fight trying not to get clocked again.
"It didn't seem like a big shot when he threw it," Mosley said of the knockdown punch. "But the impact of it was strong."
Mosley barely survived the third round, but made sure he'd survive the rest of the fight, staying in constant retreat with gloves up and seldom engaging the pursuing Pacquiao. Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) complained a blister on the sole of his right foot was a distraction and limited his ability to be aggressive. "I was at a disadvantage," he said.
Mosley's safety-first approach frustrated a sellout crowd of 16,412 as well as Pacquiao, who wanted to earn his $20 million purse.
"The people want to see exchanging punches," Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) said. "They want to see a good fight. That's what I want. But Mosley doesn't want to fight toe-to-toe. He's always running. Every time I want to throw a lot of punches, he goes away.
"I was expecting him to fight with me at least five rounds of the 12 rounds, to fight toe-to-toe with me so we can give a good fight; we can test our power and stamina. But what am I going to do when my opponent doesn't want to fight toe-to-toe? It's not my fault."
Judges awarded Pacquiao 34 of the 36 rounds scored. Mosley, who earned $5 million, won the 10th round on one judge's card and a 10-10 draw on another when he was credited for a knockdown. Replays showed he clearly pushed Pacquiao, who dominated the rest of the round.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said it's time for Mosley to consider retirement.
"I don't think he tried to win the fight," Roach said. "He just tried to survive and when you get to that point in boxing, it's time to call it a day."
Mosley said he'll contemplate his future during a long vacation. He's 0-2-1 over his last three fights, including one-sided defeats to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and now Pacquiao. He looked his age in both fights.
"At 39 I still feel young, but I guess Father Time catches up with you," Mosley said.
Mannymania is only going to build, but just who his next opponent will be is a complicated issue. Top Rank boss Bob Arum said it will be Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley or Zab Judah.
Top Rank will be sending a contract proposal today to Marquez, but Golden Boy Promotions has the right of first refusal on Marquez. That means if Golden Boy wants to keep Marquez, it'll have to guarantee him the same money he'd make in a Pacquiao fight against another opponent.
Pacquiao won't fight a Golden Boy fighter until his defamation suit against the company is settled. Pacquiao is suing Golden Boy over comments made suggesting Pacquiao might have used performance-enhancing drugs.
A third fight with Marquez only takes place if he's no longer under contract to Golden Boy Promotions. Otherwise it's Bradley or Judah in November.
Mayweather has been inactive for a year and has two legal cases pending.
Mayweather already indicated he would want a tune-up bout before fighting Pacquiao. So don't look for Pacquiao-Mayweather until 2012 at the earliest.
george.willis@nypost.com
Source: nypost.com
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