Las Vegas Sun

Currently: 70° | Complete forecast |

boxing:

Live Blog: Floyd Mayweather stays unbeaten, wins decision over Shane Mosley

After a shaky start, Mayweather dominates Mosley in unanimous decision win

Mayweather Mosley

Steve Marcus

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (R) punches on Shane Mosley during their welterweight fight Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Updated Saturday, May 1, 2010 | 9:11 p.m.

Mayweather Remains Undefeated

Floyd Mayweather improves to 41-0 after securing a unanimous decision victory over Shane Mosley, Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Mayweather Mosley

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (L) takes a punch from Shane Mosley during their welterweight fight Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launch slideshow »

Mayweather Mosley undercard

Daniel Ponce de Leon of Mexico (L) and Cornelius Lock of the U.S. exchange blows during a featherweight fight Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launch slideshow »

Celebrity boxing spectators

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, center, is introduced before the welterweight fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Shane Mosley Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2, 2010. Launch slideshow »

Reader poll

Should Mayweather be considered as best of all time?

View results

Shane Mosley made a lot of noise in the second round of his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

He was pretty silent, however, the rest of the way.

Mosley got off to a hot start in the welterweight bout, landing a big straight right and then a right hook that buckled the knees of the undefeated Mayweather and brought the crowd at the arena to its feet.

But Mayweather (41-0, 25 KO) survived the round and went on to deliver a dominant performance, defeating Mosley (46-6, 39 KO) in every single round the rest of the way for a unanimous decision win.

"Look, it's a contact sport," said Mayweather, on the punches he took in the second round. "When you get hit, you suck it up and keep on fighting. That's what I did."

Mayweather stuck mostly to the jab and his elusive defense to frustrate Mosley and avoid another kind of shot that could change the fight. There were times he did let his hands go, landing big right hands in the later rounds that seemed to hurt Mosley but never truly threatened to end the fight.

Mayweather, who is known for his defensive style, said that he tried to push the tempo later on for the benefit of his fans.

"I did what the fans came here to see — a toe-to-toe battle," Mayweather said. "That's not my style, but I wanted to give them that kind of fight. I went over the game plan with my dad and uncle Roger. They watched the tapes of Shane and told me to box him and then lay on the attack."

Most fans will again be clamoring for Mayweather to take on fellow top pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao's last fight was a unanimous decision win over Joshua Clottey in March.

Talks between the two fighters broke down late last year when Pacquiao refused to submit himself to random blood testing, a demand Mayweather made during contract negotiations. when Pacquiao refused, Mayweather moved on to Mosley, who accepted to take the tests.

When asked about Pacquiao immediately after the fight, Mayweather said he's still willing to fight the Filipino but only if he submits to the Olympic-style drug testing.

"If (Pacquiao) wants to fight me, I'm not that hard to find," Mayweather said. "We tried to make it happen, it didn't work and we moved on. Mosley is a warrior and he did what I asked him to do. If every athlete in this sport is clean, they should be willing to take the test. If Manny takes the test we can make a fight happen. If he doesn't, we don't have a fight."

Round One: Fighters come out and meet in the middle of the ring. Mayweather fires a jab, Mosley ducks under and looks to work the body. Good jab lands for Mayweather. Mosley fires off two left hooks but Mayweather ducks away. Mosley slips on a punch and touches the mat with his glove. Referee Kenny Bayless rules it a slip, no knockdown awarded. Jab lands for Mosley. Mayweather lands a counter left when Mosley looks to hit him low.

Round Two: Mosley comes forward to start round and Mayweather ties him up and they kind of stumble three steps into the ropes. Mosley fires a combination that Mayweather eludes. Mosley lands a big straight right set up by a jab. Crowd goes wild. It was a big punch but Mayweather smiles. Mayweather ties him up and Mosley lands a right hook off the break. Mosley lands another big right hook that buckles Mayweather's knees. Mayweather ties him up. They break and Mayweather throws a desperate right hook that misses. Mayweather still smiling while crowd starts to chant Mosley's name. Good right hook lands for Mayweather as he becomes more aggressive. Mayweather lands a one-two near the end of the round.

Round Three: Mayweather chastised by Bayless for throwing a left hook late off the break. Good left hook lands for Mayweather. Another straight counter right by Mayweather. Mayweather the aggressor here in the third round. Mosley lands the jab. Mayweather lands a right hook on the back end of a combination.

Round Four: Mayweather fires off two big right hands but Mosley makes him miss. Two good jabs for Mayweather. Mayweather with the counter left. Mosley catches a straight right from Mayweather as he was looking to tie him up. Mayweather comes forward again with the left, right hook combination. Mosley trying to move around but Mayweather catches him with another jab. Mosley tries to get something going at end of round but Mayweather counters effectively, things really starting to go his way.

Round Five: Mayweather throws an overhand right, Mosley ducks under and they again stumble awkwardly to the ropes while tied up. Classic Mayweather right now, eluding punches and countering effectively. He lands a right hook after getting Mosley to protect his right side with the jab. Mosley throws two hard overhand punches, Mayweather ducks them both. Mayweather misses with a big right hand near the end of the round but find Mosley on a second attempt as round ends.

Round Six: Mayweather touches Mosley with the jab to start off the round. Mosley trying to find Mayweather but just can't catch up. Mayweather lands a straight right hand that echoes through the arena. Another overhand right for Mayweather on after a double jab. Mosley catches Mayweather under the chin with a left hook and Mayweather retreats for first time in the round. Both fighters throw a jab and Mayweather beats Mosley to the punch.

Round Seven: Mayweather throws a jab then right uppercut that finds its mark. Mosley swings hard on an overhand right, Mayweather ducks under. Mosley's cornerman stands up and yells at him he's the better fighter. Mosley lands a right hook on the break but Mayweather responds with a combination that knocks Mosley ack. Another big right hook for Mayweather and the crowd gets to their feet as he falls back against the ropes. Mosley ties Mayweather up and gets his feet back under him and pushes Mayweather's back to the ring. They tie up and Bayless breaks them apart. Mayweather lands a solid jab in final moments.

Round Eight: Another crisp jab for Mayweather immediately to start the round. Mosley is chastised now for throwing what looked like an elbow at the break. Mosley talking to Mayweather, Mayweather talking back and lands a big right hook. Mosley made a mistake there, he basically dropped his hands for a moment while the two chatted back and forth. Mosley pushes Mayweather's ack to the ring but Mayweather lands the straight punch. He's owning the fight right now. Mayweather lands a right and then two left jabs.

Round Nine: Mayweather leans back to avoid Mosley's offense and then bursts in with a jab. Mosley throwing a lot of punches here but he hasn't landed one this round. Mayweather makes him pay for leaning in there with a counter right uppercut. Another one-two lands for Mayweather. Mayweather lands a right hook off the break and he gets in another one just before the round ends.

Round Ten: Mosley still pushing forward here in the tenth but he can't seem to land punches together. Mayweather lands an uppercut as the two are clinched together. Another left hook lands for Mayweather while the two are tied up. Mosley looking very frustrated. Mayweather lands a good jab and then a hard straight right. Just dominating performance right now from Mayweather.

Round Eleven: Good jab lands for Mayweather and he ties up Mosley's left arm until Bayless makes them break. Little inactivity here as Mayweather hangs back, looking to counter but Mosley's attempts have slowed. Mosley finally lands a jab and Mayweather misses on an overhand right. Mayweather comes back with a right hook though. Another round for Mayweather ends.

Final Round: Mosley looks for any opening he can but it's playing perfectly into Mayweather's counters. Mayweather lands a hard counter right that gets a response from the crowd. Counter left lands under the chin of Mosley. Another counter right as Mosley leans in. Mayweather, with his back to the ring, puts together another combination ending with a left hook. The final bell sounds and that's the end of what will be a unanimous decision win for Mayweather.

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy