On Saturday, May 1, 2010, Floyd Mayweather remained undefeated the same way he usually does--by slowing his fight with Shane Mosley down to a pace he favors and demonstrating why ring generalship exists as a scoring criterion. Two judges' scores of 119-109 and one of 118-110 dropped Mosley's record to 46-6 (39) and bumped Mayweather to a glossy 41-0 (25). Which isn't to say that Mayweather had nothing to overcome.
In round one Mosley, 38, beat Mayweather, 33, to the punch with a stiff jab and in round two landed a hard right to Mayweather's jaw, then during an exchange buckled the younger man's knees with a right hand bomb to the temple. Mayweather held on, literally and figuratively, to survive the round. There was the sense among some observers that Mosley was too strong for Mayweather. Then Mayweather adjusted.
Never again would Mosley land a hard right on Mayweather, not because Floyd ran, he stood his ground and lit Mosley up with two punch combinations, but he never let Shane lock his right on target if he was in range and froze Mosley with his superior speed. From round three to the final bell, Mayweather never again faced a serious threat from Mosley. Instead, Mosley slowed, unable to get off without tasting Mayweather leather. Mayweather rarely backed up, but stood his ground with precision counters and right hands that must have seemed like roman candles to a tiring Mosley, a Mosley who, by round eight, had the body language of a defeated fighter.
Mosley showed his frustration in round eight by hooking Mayweather's arm during a clinch and trying to leverage him off his feet. It was an uncharacteristic move by a man of his typically placid temperament.
Though never in real danger of being knocked out, by the second half of the fight, Mosley was never in any real danger of winning, either.
Will Mayweather Fight Pacquiao?
The question on every fight fan's mind, now that Mayweather dispatched Mosley so easily, is if the Pacquiao fight will ever happen. Tonight's big surprise wasn't that Mayweather won, but that his strength matched Mosley's, that isn't good news for Pacquiao. Mayweather is likely too big and too strong for Manny.
Saul Alvarez vs Jose Miguel Cotto
Saul Alvarez defeated Jose Cotto by TKO at 2:51 of round nine by landing a barrage of unanswered punches to the head of a still standing, but overwhelmed Cotto. Cotto, 32, looked ready to upset the 19-year old GoldenBoy prospect after landing a left hook that started from his knees and nearly landed on Flamingo Boulevard. Impressively, Alvarez, kept his wits and turned the fight into a sharpshooting contest that Cotto had no chance of winning.
Alvarez improved his record to 32-0-1 (24). Cotto slid to 31-2-1 (23)
Bill Scherer - Bill Scherer has written for RingSports.com and TigerBoxing.com, enjoyed a stint as the Managing Editor for FightTube.tv and is a United ...
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