On Saturday night at a packed MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, we saw the rarest of fights involving Manny Pacquiao, who easily dispatched Shane Mosley over 12 rounds. It was a bout that was as one-sided as the odds reflected. From the very onset, Mosley was never in the fight. But while Pacquiao fights, for the most part, have been blowouts in recent years they were affairs that entertained the masses. This one here, well, was largely devoid of action for long stretches and you heard something that is rarely heard when the ?Pac-Man? performs- boos. Yes, this much-hyped mismatch was not just dull but (*Gasp!*) boring.
You know who agrees? A certain congressman from the Philippines.
“The people want to see an exchange of punches. They want a good fight, exchanging a lot of punches. That?s what I want,” said Pacquiao, whose unmarked face told the story of the inaction that took place. “Mosley didn?t want to fight toe-to-toe, was always running. Every time I want to throw a lot of punches, he goes away.” As for his clean visage, Pacquiao who usually wears the noticeable scars of battle even in his most dominant outings said, “I think it?s because my opponent; he gave a lot of respect to me. He felt my power and he didn?t want to fight toe-to-toe with me. He just tried to finish the 12 rounds.”
The usually gracious Pacquiao seemed agitated as the final bell sounded as he turned away from Mosley who offered his congratulations. He told the media, “I?ll tell you the truth; I was expecting him to fight me at least five rounds of the 12, to go toe-to-toe with me. So we can give a good fight; we can test our power, our stamina. But what am I going to do if my opponent doesn?t want to fight toe-to-toe? So it?s not my fault.”
Asked to judge this outing, Pacquiao stated, “I can?t rate it right now. Let the people rate this performance. People know I?m trying to do my best to make them satisfied.”
Going by the audience reaction, this was a critical failure. Yes, it takes two to tango but after Mosley was sent crashing to the canvas in the third from a Pacquiao thunderbolt left hand, the fight settled into a familiar pattern. Mosley would continuously circle to his left with Pacquiao in pursuit and then, invariably, a clash of heads would occur, followed by a touching of gloves. It was perhaps the first time a punch-count was ever needed for a tapping of the mitts in a fight. Mosley wanted to high-five about as much as Borat and even Pacquiao seemed a bit tired of the overkill of sportsmanship. At times, this fight looked like very well-paid sparring match.
For Mosley, this was really his version of the gold watch. One last big payday as he cashes in on what was a Hall of Fame career. Right now, he?s just a guy playing out the string and using whatever cache his name and reputation can still bring him. He?s got his r?sum? and nothing else. His last 36 rounds of boxing (against Floyd Mayweather, Sergio Mora and now Pacquiao) is reminiscent of Willie Mays? stumbling around centerfield in the ?73 World Series or Joe Namath hobbling around on a set of bad knees for the Los Angeles Rams.
Looking at his physique, Mosley still looks the part but like that classic old car with a new set of rims and a fresh coat of paint, it?s meant to be secured safely in the garage to be admired, not taken out onto the highway. It looks better than it performs but ultimately, as he steps on the gas, Mosley finds there is nothing there. Like many great fighters before him, he saw openings he could no longer exploit.
“I?m not sure if it was that,” said Mosley. “There were shots that I seen that sometimes; it could?ve been traps or setups and Manny, like I said, his punching power is a little different. So you never know what could happen.”
The way Mosley fought was as unsatisfying as the result. This was Joshua Clottey redux.
His trainer Naazim Richardson said of his fighter?s performance, “The only thing that frustrated me was that we had a game plan set and it wasn?t till we got into a little trouble we really started executing the game plan. By that time, we were in defensive mode and [Mosley] really couldn?t execute the way he wanted to. His foot was bothering him and that was a distraction to him the rest of the fight.”
While Pacquiao complained of cramping up, Mosley said a blister in his right foot hampered his efforts but it certainly didn?t curtail his incessant movement. From the time he touched the canvas till the end of the final round, Mosley was in full-blown survival mode. It never seemed as though he was making a conscious effort to actually win the fight (and what did Herm Edwards once say about why you play this game?). In fact, his only real positive moment was from a ?knockdown? of Pacquiao in the tenth frame that was really just a missed call by the normally accurate referee Kenny Bayless. Bayless is one of the game?s best; he just happened to get one wrong. However, he actually did the crowd a favor as the error in judgment spurred on Pacquiao in the 11th frame to press the attack.
“I?m surprised he was running and running,” said Pacquiao, who admitted to being disappointed that he simply could not give a performance that pleased his adoring public. His trainer, Freddie Roach, was much less diplomatic. “I don?t think he tried to win the fight. I think he just tried to survive. When you get to that point in boxing, it?s time to call it a day, I think.”
Promoter Bob Arum, who flip-flopped on Mosley like a seasoned politician in making this promotion, was in full spin mode.
“The problem is, that this is becoming a pattern. Manny doesn?t allow any opponent to fight his fight. He takes the opponent out of the fight because of his speed and because of his power. Shane had no answer but neither did [Oscar] De La Hoya; neither did Miguel Cotto. Neither did Margarito; neither did Clottey. Neither did anybody he fought. You gotta understand what you?re watching now. You?re watching a phenomenon. You?re watching- at least since I?ve been around, 45 years- the greatest fighter that I?ve ever seen. Nobody, nobody, can compete with him; nobody. He?ll take any fighter out of his game plan,” said the veteran promoter.
While all that might be true, you get the sense that the public would like to see Pacquiao at least face some boxers in their physical primes whose careers are on an upward trajectory. And yes, Floyd Mayweather?s name was brought up, to which Arum stated, “He would beat the crap out of Mayweather. I guarantee it. I guarantee you and the guy that knows that best is a real student of boxing named Floyd Mayweather Jr.” OK, this is classic grandstanding from Arum (which is his job, of course), knowing that Mayweather himself doesn?t seem to know if he?s coming or going right now.
But the boxing fans have had their fill of what they perceive as carefully handpicked foes for the world?s best prizefighter. They have witnessed his big events (which are just about any time he performs in the ring), now they?d like to see some legitimate prizefights. And if it isn?t Mayweather, it can?t or shouldn?t be another boxer whose best days are in the rearview mirror. Arum said that his company would be making a revised offer to Pacquiao?s rival Juan Manuel Marquez on Monday. If that falls through, then look for Tim Bradley and Zab Judah to get the call.
Pacquiao says he wants to be in good fights. Well, sometimes that means matching him with someone who is capable of giving him one.
UNDERCARD
To paraphrase Dennis Green (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_N1OjGhIFc), Jorge Arce is who we thought he was and now you can crown him. In winning the WBO 122-pound title from Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., ?Travieso? showed once again that he is among the toughest and ballsiest boxers of the past generation and why he has been such a fan favorite. What?s amazing is that after losses to Cristian Mijares and Vic Darchinyan, he was thought to be nothing more than a colorful old veteran who could still be in fun and entertaining fights. But in defeating the much younger Vazquez Jr., he proved he is still a world-class performer.
With this victory, where he captured a title in a fourth weight class- which has been so difficult for so many past Mexican greats- I think he sealed his induction into Canastota. Yeah, he?s a Hall-of-Famer in my book. Crown him.
As for Kelly Pavlik, who won a ten-round decision against Alfonso Lopez, perhaps it was the layoff and the expected ring rust but I get the sense that we?ll never see the guy that used to blow through opponents as a middleweight in 2007. His legs just don?t seem stout and his punches lack snap and leverage. The vintage Pavlik blows out Lopez in a few rounds. This version of Pavlik is just a ghost of ?The Ghost? we once knew.
Tough to take too much from Mike Alvarado?s stoppage of Ray Narh but I?ll say this; the way Narh fought and then eventually bowed out, I?d be very wary of putting him back on any televised spot.
RUMBLINGS
Here are a few things I was told over the weekend in Las Vegas…
– Peter Rivera tells me that he believes that the rematch between Juan Manuel Lopez and newly-minted WBO featherweight titlist Orlando Salido will take place in August (either the 20th or 27th), which is interesting because everyone on the Salido end of the table says that they are planning a optional defense in his hometown in Mexico and that the rematch will take place in November or December. We?ll see how this develops.
– Sergio Martinez?s adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz, made it clear to me that they want the winner of the June 4th bout between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Sebastian Zbik for the WBC middleweight crown. He says that while he believes Zbik will take on ?Maravilla,? Lewkowicz doubts that Top Rank would throw Chavez in there, should he win. He expects Martinez to return on October 1st.
– As for the situation regarding WBO flyweight champion Julio Cesar Miranda and who he might fight next, it seems that promoter Fernando Beltran is telling everyone a different story, from the camps of Brian Viloria and Giovani Segura and nobody is quite sure what is going to take place. First it was Segura, who would be vacating his junior flyweight title, that would face Miranda. Then it was Viloria who would get a crack at the title with Segura fighting on May 28th in Mexico in a stay-busy fight. Now, it seems that maybe Segura is back to fighting Miranda.
As for Viloria, his manager Gary Gittelsohn is now focusing in on his fighter just fighting anybody in June in the Philippines while this mess is sorted out.
FINAL FLURRIES
I?ll say this, with LL Cool J as his intro act, Mosley did edge Pacquiao in the ring walk department…Speaking of that, while the main event was certainly lackluster, the production of the event inside the arena was outstanding. That?s the way boxing at this level should be presented but again, that takes a company willing to invest in resources and money and not just take network welfare checks…Junior lightweight Diego Magdaleno, who just keeps on getting better, could be headlining a July 15th ?ShoBox? card…Roach will continue to be the busiest trainer in boxing as he will now help the U.S. Olympic team prepare for the 2012 Olympics…Arum mentioned that Pacquiao will return on eitherNovember 5th or the 12th…And yes, before anyone says it, I know Arce had a lot of ?interim? titles to his credit but still, it?s an amazing achievement for him to win a major title belt at 122 pounds…My fellow Lakers fans, was that disgusting or what? So moving forward, what moves do you make to supplement this team? Also, will Kobe start deferring a bit to Andrew Bynum (as he should?)…According to Mediatakeout.com, Rihanna is dating Reggie Bush. Interesting…I can be reached at [email protected] and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing. We also have a Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/MaxBoxing.
