LAS VEGAS _ Coming into tonight's mega-fight, there were legitimate fears that 39-year-old Shane Mosley just didn't have enough left in the tank to give Manny Pacquaio a real challenge. The promotion made a boatload of money and probably sold a ton of pay-per-views, but those fears were realized and some fight fans walked away disappointed with both sides.
Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) scored a knock down in the third and pressured Mosley the rest of the way, but couldn't finish him. On the other side, Mosley was helpless, barely averaged 20 punches per round. Pacquiao rolled to a less than thrilling� unanimous decision victory, 120-108, 120-107 and 119-108, in front of 16,412 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
"We did our best to put on a good fight. I tried to do my best," Pacquiao told Showtime's Jim Gray. "I want to move in the middle rounds, my legs just got tight. It was a problem before when I fought Marquez."
Pacquiao explained that the cramps arrived in the fourth and his left leg didn't loosen up again until the 10th round according to Arum.
Mosley (46-7-1, 39 KOs) never loosened up. He only threw 260 punches over the 12 rounds. The crowd got on him over the last three rounds when he threw virtually nothing (only landed 18 punches from rounds 10-12). He did get credit for knocking down Pacquiao, sort of.
With just over a minute left in the 10th, the fighters clashed and Mosley pushed Pacman to the ground. Referee Kenny Bayless called it a knockdown and started counting. Pacquiao laughed and fought angrily over the final 60 seconds of the round. After the fight, Mosley admitted that it was a slip. Bayless also told Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach that he made a mistake.{ysp: more}
Mosley landed 82 punches to Pacquiao's 182. This was title fight No. 21 for Mosley and the wear and tear from 54 fights was clear. Mosley simply couldn't catch the younger, faster Pacquiao. He landed five combinations the entire fight. Pacquiao, 32, also attempted 552 punches, but even that was down from his norm.
During the postfight press conference, Mosley said he was having trouble with his right foot. From the sixth round on, a blister on the foot served as a "distraction."
The issue of Floyd Mayweather was addressed after the fight by both Pacquiao and his promoter Bob Arum. Pacman said he won't lose any sleep if he never fights Mayweather, but he knows the fans want the match, so he'll take the fight if its made.
Arum said as soon as Mayweather wants the fight, he knows where to call. The 79-year-old promoter, who used to work with Floyd Jr.� said his relationship with the fighter is fine. It's just a matter of when and if Mayweather wants the fight. He pointed out that Mayweather has mentioned a tune-up fight before facing Pacquiao. That would push a possible matchup into 2012.
Meanwhile, the plan is for Pacquiao to fight some time in November, either on the 5th or 12th in Las Vegas. The MGM would host a Nov. 5 fight with the Thomas & Mack Center serving as the possible home on Nov. 12.
Arum listed the probable opponents as Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley or Zab Judah. Arum believes all three would make for a good promotion. Arum and Top Rank officials met with JuanMan on Saturday morning in Las Vegas where he was given a new offer for the fight. The offer included changes that Marquez requested. Arum believes Marquez will accept the fight if Golden Boy Promotions doesn't block the fight. Marquez has split from Golden Boy, but the promotion still has the first right of refusal on any fight. Marquez has also talked about fighting during the summer against David Diaz.
Marquez and Pacquiao have fought twice, with Pacman taking fight No. 2. The first ended in a draw.
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