WITH Manny Pacquiao victorious but failing to look a million dollars and ?Canderel? Shane Mosley (sugar-like in appearance but less dangerous to your health) hopefully contemplating retirement and his Hall of Fame induction speech, neither man emerged from Saturday?s Las Vegas main event either smelling of roses or emitting an altogether more pungent aroma. Both fighters did ok relative to pre-fight expectations so rather than focus on them, it seems appropriate to concentrate on some alternative winners and losers from the big MGM Grand bill.
Winner: Floyd Mayweather
Forgive the obvious nature of my first selection but, while watching this fight, ?Money? must have been simultaneously licking his lips and rubbing his hands ? not as easy as you might think but Mayweather is talented.
Not only did Pacquiao fail to dominate Mosley in the manner Floyd achieved last year ? aside from one second-round right hand ? but Shane?s tactics, negative as they often were, exposed flaws Mayweather will gladly exploit should the fight we all want to see ever happen. Faced with a rangy, smart, if unambitious veteran who moved well on his feet and has retained good handspeed, Pacquiao struggled to close the distance, was caught on the way in, lacked balance and poise and quickly became frustrated. So what will occur against a fresher, sharper, more positive rival with similar characteristics? Juan Manuel Marquez may have also grown confident watching the fight, but Mayweather is a better and bigger proposition.
Loser: Sergio Mora
Ironically, the ?Latin Snake? is on the wrong end of this list for many of the same reasons Mayweather adorns it as a winner. He too possesses many of the qualities Mosley showed on Saturday but while Mayweather bristles with happy anticipation, Mora is left to reflect moodily on what might have been. His draw with Mosley last year was seen as a play-off for a Pacquiao fight, the reason, some people believe, why Sergio was purportedly short-changed. Mosley-Pacman was certainly a bigger draw. But Mora lost any remaining glimmer of hope regarding his biggest payday when, crestfallen, he suffered an upset defeat last time out, against a fired-up Brian Vera. So Mora, taller, bigger, younger and more awkward than Mosley, may well have watched Pacquiao?s trials through clenched teeth.
Winner: Toshiaki Nishioka
When is Japan?s WBC super-bantamweight champion anything but a winner? No, he was not on the show, but with Wilfredo Vazquez Jnr becoming the third of the ?big four? 122lb belt-holders to drop his title in the last three-and-a-half months, Nishioka, who has retained four times, now stands tall as the sole survivor, his claim of being the best at the weight beyond any reasonable argument. Although, looked at in a more negative way, perhaps he will be the next victim of the super-bantam jinx which has recently claimed Steve Molitor, Ryol Li Lee and Vazquez Jnr. Though the old adage isn?t, ?Bad things come in fours?, now is it?
Loser: the WBC
Kelly Pavlik looked a lot of things in outscoring previously unbeaten Alfonso Lopez on Saturday ? shot at times, world-class on a few brief occasions ? but he certainly did not resemble a No. 1 super-middleweight contender, highlighting the sanctioning body?s folly in making him one. Pavlik displayed all the ring rust you would expect in his first appearance since losing to Sergio Martinez a year ago and having endured further problems outside the ring. Lopez, who was talented and game but tired in the contest?s second half, helped to remind everyone that Kelly finds mobility and speed awkward and challenging. Perhaps the WBC are hoping that with their 12st ruler Carl Froch tied up in the Super Six, Pavlik will have grown accustomed to the weight and regained his top form by the time he receives a title shot. That could happen but the Ohio man should never have been given the mandatory slot without competing at the weight and his lethargic showing against Lopez did nothing to vindicate the WBC?s unfair and illogical ruling.
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