David Avanesyan vs. Shane Mosley: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

David Avanesyan (22-1-1) retained his WBA interim welterweight title Saturday night in Glendale, Arizona. He scored a unanimous-decision victory over Sugar Shane Mosley (49-10-1) in a hard-fought bout.

ESPN.com's Dan Rafael shared the scorecards:

Avanesyan's victory guarantees him a shot at the winner of Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter's WBA "regular" title bout on June 25 in Brooklyn, New York.

Mosley has had his share of great moments in the ring, and he didn't embarrass himself Saturday night. But it's clear the 44-year-old should be hanging up the gloves soon. For most of the fight, he was beaten to the punch in exchanges and kept his head on a center line as he disengaged.

Both flaws were problematic.

Avanesyan was able to land the harder and cleaner shots. He snapped the future Hall of Famer's head back on multiple occasions as he landed left hooks and straight right hands.

Instead of responding with the blistering combinations that were once his calling card, Mosley often motioned as if he were going to throw a shot without offering. Other times, he'd fire but smother his own punches by closing the distance too much to land the shot.

It was a classic case of the poor timing and slower reflexes that over-the-hill fighters experience when they've fought too long. 

Mosley did show he still has his solid chin.

Avanesyan landed some good shots that might have wobbled or dropped lesser opponents. A left hook in the eighth round by the 27-year-old Russian was the punch of the night. It caught Mosley high on the head and grabbed the Pomona, California, native's attention.

It also snuffed out what was Mosley's last chance to steer the fight in his favor, as he had been having a good round up until that point.

While Avanesyan deserved to win the fight, the two cards that gave him a seven-point edge were a little off base. Even with Mosley being deducted a point in the 10th round for low blows, the fight was closer than those scores would indicate. In any case, as Rafael said, the "right guy won."

WBA headman Gilberto J. Mendoza Jr. congratulated the winner:

During his post-fight interview on the CBS Sports Network broadcast, Avanesyan was asked who he thought would win between Porter and Thurman, and he chose the latter. When asked if he could beat him, Avanesyan responded: "Yeah, yeah."

Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

It was strange that those were the only two questions he was asked, but the attention quickly turned to Mosley.

Any time a fighter in his mid-40s loses a bout, it's inevitable he'll be asked if he's retiring. Mosley didn't say he'd be walking away, but he didn't sound committed to another fight. He picked Porter to beat Thurman and said he thought he and Avanesyan would be a good match.

Whether it's Thurman or Porter, either would likely be the favorite over Avanesyan. With all due respect to Mosley, if a washed-up welterweight can have his moments against Avanesyan, it's hard to see how guys in their primes such as Thurman and Porter won't have success in the ring with him.

Fights aren't fought on paper, so we'll see if conventional logic stands up when the fight takes place.