Photo By Tom Casino
LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao’s list of victims expands every time he enters the ring. It’s now reached 14 consecutive victories, with the lastest being Shane Mosley, who for much of their 12-round welterweight clash last Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena wasn’t willing to mix it up.
With the World Boxing Organization championship belt at stake, Pacquiao was all business, as he earned a unanimous decision.
“Tonight I did my best,” said the 32-year-old Pacquiao, who improved to 53-3-2 with 38 knockouts. “Because my opponent didn’t want to fight toe-to-toe, what could I do? That’s part of the game. You can’t force him.”
Beginning in the sixth round, and running until the final bell, many of the 16,412 fans in attendance that numbered Tyrese, Paris Hilton, L.L. Cool J, David Foster, and Cal Ripken Jr., booed lustily.
Because Mosley is taller by 3 1/2 inches at 5-10, broader at the shoulders, and a natural at the 147-pound weight limit, many hoped he would give Pacquiao a run for his money.
This never developed, and for the third straight bout, Mosley, a three-division world title holder from Pomona, California, fizzled.
Afterward, many suggested at 39 years old, Mosley, who was knocked down in the third round, should call it a career.
Once dominant and the only man to have defeated Oscar De La Hoya twice, Mosley hasn’t looked sharp over his last three fights. He battled Sergio Mora to a draw at the Staples Center last September, and suffered a one-sided loss to undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Nevada May of 2010.
Thankfully, Mosley didn’t adopt Joshua Clottey’s horrible strategy when he met Pacquiao in March 2010. In that fight, Clottey just stood there for a dozen rounds with his hands raised in front of his face, and refused to engage. But one had the sense Mosley’s goal was to survive.
Even so, Bob Arum, President of Top Rank, which co-promoted the event, said Pacquiao is always tough to figure out.
“Manny doesn’t allow any fighter to fight his fight,” he said. “He’ll take every fighter out of his game-plan.”
Arum, who has been in boxing since 1966 when he first promoted Muhammad Ali, feels Pacquiao is the best.
“Manny’s the greatest fighter I’ve seen,” he said. “I didn’t see Sugar Ray Robinson, and I didn’t see the fighters before him. People want to see greatness. When Tiger Woods was winning, they wanted to see him because he was great. Now they want to see Manny because he’s great.”
Pacquiao, who landed 33 percent of his total punches (182 of 552) to 31.5 percent (82 of 260) for Mosley, was deliberate in the first round. Pacquiao said in the post-fight press conference that he heard Mosley was looking for an early knockout.
The Pac-Man connected with two combinations and a straight right in the round, before Mosley (46-7-1 with 39 KO’s) found the mark with a long right late.
In the early and latter portion of the second round, Pacquiao found the zone with two more combos, and then lowered the boom in the next round.
“The shot I took, I was hurt,” said Mosley. “I was stunned. The impact was very strong. Manny has the type of power I have to watch out for.”
Mosley was generous in his praise of Pacquiao. “Manny’s the pound-for-pound king,” he said. “Manny won the fight. He’s very, very fast.”
At that point, it seemed like a done deal for the eight-division world champion and Filipino congressman. “After the first knockdown, I felt I was stronger than him,” he said.
Pacquiao went to the canvas in the 10th round, but it came about when Mosley accidentally stepped on his foot, and pushed him as he was slipping.
In the end, it was the same old Pacquiao. For Mosley, it was a case of being too old.
Born in Odessa, Ukraine in 1962, Igor Frank,
Socalboxing's Blog 