?It has been along time since I heard boos during Manny Pacquaio fight? said my friend, a scribe from Glendale, Rick Assad:?Wait a minute; it has never happened before.? But that is exactly what took place on Saturday night in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as 16,412 in attendance, mostly pro Pacquiao fans observed their idol dominate Sugar Shane Mosley in a bout that was more of a boxing match than a slugfest that both fighters promised .Lopsided victory with the score cards: 120-107,120-108,119-108 all in favor Pacquiao did little to impress fans who started booing from 5th round and continued to do that intermittently.
Apparently pound for pound best Pacquaio has to adhere to different standards. It is not enough for him to just win a fight; he has to do it in spectacular fashion. He failed to do so on Saturday night. Despite winning every round and pressing the action throughout, boxing?s superstar, Pacquiao looked only a shadow of his explosive old self going forward and attacking Mosley as if he had cement in his shoes. ? My legs tightened up during the fight. I couldn?t move,? explained Pacquiao (53-3-2,38KO) at the post fight press conference:?It?s the same thing that happened to me against Juan Manuel Marquez.It?s been happening to me more lately.?
His opponent, former three division world champion, Sugar Shane Mosley could move.Thirty nine year old veteran from Pomona moved as if he was twenty five, trying to avoid contact at all costs, especially after he got dropped with a patented left from Pacquiao in the third round.? He surprised me with that power, with that knockdown,? said Mosley after the fight:? That is the most legitimate knock down on me in a long time.? Advertisement
Despite beating the count, glassy eyed Mosley looked bewildered, as if he thought:? What did I get myself into this time?? From this point forward Shane?s strategy changed from trying to win the fight to trying to survive. ?It?s amazing,? said Mosley (46-7-1,39KO) at the post fight press conference:?He is cut from my cloth so I had to box tonight.? Mosley, who was guaranteed to earn 5 million dollars for the fight, was credited with a knockdown in the eleventh by referee Kenny Bayless, but replays showed that Pacquiao went down from a push. The false knockdown woke up the explosive Manny Pacquaio that every one came to see. The eight division world champion closed the show with volatile flurries trying his best to stop veteran Mosley, who has never been stopped before. It was too little too late.
?We tried our best,? said congressman Pacquiao who retained his WBO welterweight throne:?We both gave it our best effort. Mosley is not slow. He is fast and I had to be cautious of his counter-punch.?
Talking about speed; what about the fight most every one wants, with Floyd Mayweather?
?I don?t care about that fight,? said Pacquiao:?I am satisfied with everything I have done in boxing. I want to fight because the people want the fight.? With Mayweather 34 and Pacquiao 32, time is ticking
