Pound4Pound kingpin Manny Pacquiao walked to, through and over Sugar Shane Mosley in a one sided affair that drew the ire of a crowd that deserved more. So too did Pacquiao. The eight division champion chased Mosley around the ring looking to fight but Mosley refused to engage and seemingly retired in the ring. Mosley won one round on two scorecards and none on the third in a fight that was never was. “What am I going to do if my opponent doesn’t want to fight toe to toe with me?” asked Pacquiao following the fight.

Coming into the fight the odds were long for Mosley to defeat the world’s best boxer; and for good reason. Mosley turns forty in the fall and the past few years haven’t been kind. Mosley has two wins, two losses and a draw in his last five fights, including a one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and a draw with the unremarkable Sergio Mora. Nevertheless, Mosley lobbied hard for a fight with Pacquiao. He had to part ways with Golden Boy Promotions knowing Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum refuses to work with his former pugilist and pupil, Oscar De La Hoya. But for a shot at the title and a reported $5 million purse, Mosley did what he must to secure his shot at glory.

One benefit of the fight being on SHOWTIME rather than rival HBO is the perspective SHOWTIME aired on Fight Camp 360. SHOWTIME portrayed a relaxed and ready Pacquiao confident of success in the ring (Pacquiao scheduled a performance with his band at his post fight party following the fight). HBO: 24/7 made every effort to persuade the audience Pacquiao was distracted, ill prepared, or both. At this stage of his life Pacquiao has many interests in addition to boxing (he’s a Congressman, actor and recording artist) but the eight division champion is the best in the business and is being trained by the top trainer in boxing.

In the first, Pacquiao stood in front of Mosley, albeit at a distance, in a round that was remarkable only for a lack of punches landed. Pacquiao closed the distance a bit in the second and secured the round with a blistering three punch combination. In the opening moments of the third Mosley landed a crisp right hand on the button. It was his only moment of the round. A few moments later Pacquiao dropped Mosley with a quick one-two that put the former champion on the seat of his pants. Mosley hung on and survived to the bell; barely.

Finally warmed up and on his toes, Pacquiao upped his work rate in the fourth and peppered Mosley with left hands. Mosley backed his way around the ring looking tentative and confused. In the fifth Mosley found some success as a counter puncher and landed an occasional right hand. Still, he wasn’t doing enough to win rounds. “Manny Pacquiao had the type of power I had to look out for”, explained Mosley.

Pacquiao lunged and looked amateurish at times because Mosley backed peddled from danger. Mosley refused to engage, let alone exchange with Pacquiao, and the crowd voiced their displeasure with the future hall-of-famer. If Mosley’s game plan was to survive twelve rounds with Pacquiao he was on his way to mission accomplished. But if he had any intentions of winning the fight it appeared the third round knockdown changed his mind. Mosley ceased being competitive in a fight that was turning into a land slide.

Thank goodness Pacquiao was trying to win the fight. Attacking to end the fight by KO, Pacquiao fired long left hands in an effort to reach Mosley. Because he had to extend, Pacquiao was open to the counter. Still, the only intrigue in the fight happened when referee Kenny Bayless mistakenly ruled a push a Pacquiao knockdown in the tenth. The miscue served to enrage Pacquiao who battered Mosley over the remainder of the tenth and throughout the eleventh. The crowd chanted for the knockout as the fight mercifully drew to a close. Judge Glenn Trowbridge scored the fight 119-108. Judge Dave Moretti saw it 120-108 and Judge Duane Ford’s scorecard tallied 120-107.
 

Add Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. v. Jorge Arce to the long list of memorable Puerto Rico v. Mexico ring wars. The young Puerto Rican champion entered the ring with a 20-0-1 record and the will to defend his WBO Super Bantamweight title. The former five-time world champion from Los Mochis, MX climbed between the ropes certain he would capture his sixth world title.

In the opener, Arce (57-6-2) plastered Vazquez with left hooks when Vazquez mistakenly lay against the ropes. The right hand was Arce’s weapon of choice in the second and he wobbled the champion from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Not that Vazquez wasn’t in the fight. The champion landed his own right hand mid way through the round and earned Arce’s respect.

Vazquez drew a line in the sand in the third and finally backed up Arce. Arce remained the aggressor through three but was eating right hands as he attacked. Vazquez countered Arce’s aggression with pinpoint accuracy that ripped into Arce’s face. With a second to go in the fourth Arce and Vazquez traded hooks and Arce hit the deck. When the fifth commenced Arce raced after Vazquez as though it was Vazquez who went down a minute earlier.

The Mexican icon slowed in the sixth and gave Vazquez the time, and space, to operate. Vazquez landed rights over Arce’s lowered left glove in a round dictated by the champion. In the middle rounds Vazquez turned hunter. Vazquez pursued Arce to the ropes where heavy artillery fire fights erupted. Not that Arce wilted, but he definitely slowed. Huffing and puffing in the eighth, Arce lost his legs but remained determined to dethrone Vazquez. But the young legs and fast hands of Vazquez enabled him to repeatedly beat Arce to the punch in the eighth and again in the ninth.

Dead tired, Arce surged in the championship rounds and nearly put Vazquez on the mat with a jab in the eleventh. The wily veteran dug deep and exploded in the twelfth. A left hook wobbled Vazquez and Arce went wild. Arce piled punches on Vazquez until the Vazquez corner stepped on the apron and threw a water bottle into the ring to halt the contest. Referee Joe Cortez acknowledged the Vazquez corner and called off the contest with just over two minutes remaining in the contest.
 

A refocused Kelly Pavlik took a grueling ten round majority decision from Alfonso Lopez in a fight that was much closer than the official scorecards tallied. Coming off a year long layoff, Pavlik (36-3) looked rusty in the first, getting hit by hooks and right hands over the first three minutes of the fight. But Pavlik grew sharper as the fight wore on and he settled into a better offensive rhythm.

Lopez, the WBC Continental Americas Champion, continued to land in combination but not with the ease he experienced in the opener. Not because Pavlik’s defense improved, but because Pavlik’s offense was his best defense. Half way through the bout it appeared Pavlik’s heavy hands began taking a toll on Lopez. Lopez (21-1) engaged with less enthusiasm and less zip on his punches. And just when Lopez appeared done, a foul induced break in the action gave Lopez a new will to win.

Lopez increased his work rate over the second half of the seventh and sustained the pressure into the eighth. Lopez raked Pavlik with combinations though none of them seemed to faze the former middleweight world champion. Both combatants connected at will in a blistering ninth round that may have been won by Lopez. But the fighter from Youngstown, OH wasn’t done. Pavlik bombed Lopez with left hooks in the final stanza and nearly put Lopez on the deck. Judge Adalaide Byrd scored the bout a 95-95 draw, but judges Dick Houck (98-92) and CJ Ross (99-91) favored Pavlik by wide margin.


Sugar Ray Narh raised the white flag in surrender to Mike Alvarado following the third round of their super lightweight bout. Alvarado (30-0) began tattooing Narh with right hands leads and counters in the second round. Narh (25-2) did his best to stay out of reach but found himself on the end of Alvarado’s right hand altogether too often. Alvarado threw caution to the wind and pursued Narh with (w)reckless aggression in the third. Following the frame Narh informed referee Robert Byrd he would not continue. Apparently Narh was ill prepared to deal with the pressure Alvarado put on him during their three rounds of work. Narh took the fight on three week’s notice. With the TKO victory, Alvarado has 22 stoppages in 30 wins.

Off-air undercard results:

Rodel Mayol (28-5-2) beat Javier Gallo (17-4-1) by majority decision over ten flyweight rounds. Two judges scored the bout 98-92 for Mayol. The third judge saw a different fight and scored it a 95-95 draw.

Jose Benavidez Jr. (11-0) bested James Hope (6-8-1) to win their super lightweight bout by TKO at 1:43 of the fifth. Benavidez had earned all four rounds on all three scorecards leading into the fight ending fifth.

Pier Cote (15-0) stopped Aristeo Ambriz (15-2-1) 46 seconds into the fourth frame of a scheduled eight round featherweight bout. Cote was in total control of the fight to that point, having dropped Ambriz in the third.

Karl Dargan (9-0) defeated Randy Arrellin (8-5) by unanimous decision over six lightweight rounds. Dargan won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 & 60-54.