Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley: 10 Things We Learned from This Fight
Manny Pacquiao's WBO welterweight title defense against Shane Mosley on Saturday night was an unexpected bore.
Other than Pacquiao's flash knockdown of Mosley in the third round, there was little action. In fact, only one man came to fight in this one and his name was most definitely NOT Shane Mosley.
Mosley spent the night dancing and back-pedaling away from the Pac-Man after he realized a round or two into the fight that he wasn't going to solve the world's current pound-for-pound champion.
It wasn't the sport's best night, that's for sure. The crowd of nearly 17,000 at the MGM Grand Arena booed in the late rounds and booed when the final bell rang. The pay-per-view crowd that shelled out $54.95 to watch this debacle are likely going to demand their money back on Monday morning when their local cable outlet opens for business.
Still, we learned a few thingsabout Manny Pacquiao, about Shane Mosley, about boxing in general. Hey, maybe even about Floyd Mayweather.
What We Learned: Shane Mosley's Girl Bella Gonzalez Just Got a Career Boost
1 of 10Shane Mosley's girlfriend, Bella Gonzalez, got plenty of air time on the Showtime PPV broadcast of the fight. Yup, that IS indeed the girl in the Buzzin' video, a question that has vexed many since it came out.
Ms. Gonzalez is scorching, to say the least, and you can bet that once people start to put together the fact that she's Mosley's girlfriend, was in the video, and did some hot photo shoots, you can bet her phone is going to start ringing more often.
She also got plenty of air time on the pre-fight documentary Fight Camp 360.
What We Learned: Boxing Fans Are Sophisticated and Smart
2 of 10
They booed.
They booed loud and they booed lustily.
It probably wasn't directed so much at Manny Pacquiao, who forced the issue throughout the 12-round fight, as it was cascading down on Sugar Shane Mosley, who simply didn't want to fight on this night.
And boxing fans knew it, whether they were sitting on the ring apron or in the nosebleed seats at the MGM Grand Arena.
As huge as the build-up was as the first big megafight of 2011, this was a total disappointment and not a good night for boxing.
What We Learned: Pacquiao Is a Pretty Good Fighter Even on One Leg
3 of 10
Manny Pacquiao continued to move forward throughout the entire fight with Shane Mosley, a pretty darn good effort for somebody who basically fought the last eight rounds with one good leg.
Pacquiao didn't take many chances, which trainer Freddie Roach said was because of a muscle cramp in his leg.
Pacquiao, who already fights from many odd angles, couldn't get comfortable and put enough strength behind the one leg.
“He had no leverage to move after that,” Roach said. “It was a very gutty performance in my mind.”
What We Learned: This Girl Is a Pretty Good Singer
4 of 10
That's Charice Pempengco, a native of the Philippines who was personally chosen by Manny Pacquiao to sing the national anthem of their country.
And she did a real nice job. A nice, soft voice that hit every note and thrilled the largely pro-Pacquiao crowd.
What We Learned: This Guy Isn't
5 of 10
That's Tyrese Gibson. He sang the U.S. National Anthem. He was awful.
What We Learned: Everybody but Kenny Bayless Knew That Wasn't a Knockdown
6 of 10
See that picture?
That's Manny Pacquiao, laughing, as referee Kenny Bayless gives him a standing eight count.
Bayless ruled that Pacquiao was knocked down in the round, when in fact you didn't even need the super slo-mo instant replay to realize that Shane Mosley pushed Pacquiao to the canvas.
It was so obvious that even most people scoring the fight—including the judges, journalists and those doing it for fun—declined to give Mosley the traditional 10-8 win for the round for scoring a knockdown.
Instead, most observers, such as Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, had it as a 9-9 round.
What We Learned: There's a Chink in Manny Pacquiao's Armor
7 of 10
Despite giving praise—and rightfully so—to Manny Pacquiao for fighting through a muscle cramp in his leg that hampered him from the fourth round on, we see a chink in Pacquiao's armor.
Before realizing that Shane Mosley wasn't going to fight him back, Pacquiao initially appeared wary of Mosley's reach and strength. That turned out to be a misconception, of course, as Mosley had no thoughts of engaging Pacquiao.
Nonetheless, it makes you wonder how Pacquiao would plan to attack a similar fighter—only better—in Floyd Mayweather?
What We Learned: Shane Mosley Needs to Retire
8 of 10
Shane Mosley said after the fight that he no plans to retire.
He needs to re-think that position.
Mosley will turn 40 in four months, and while there are many others who have fought long beyond that—hell, Evander Holyfield is 48 and he just beat some Danish dude on Saturday night—there is compelling evidence that Sugar should hang 'em up.
For one, his performance against Pacquiao was pathetic.
Two, just take a look at his record. He's now 46-7-1. He began his career with a 38-0 mark, meaning he's 8-7-1 in his last 16 bouts and he's 5-7 in his last 12 fights that have gone 12 rounds.
Shane, you're awesome. A Hall of Famer. Go enjoy your money.
What We Learned: Boxing Owes Us One
9 of 10
After charging that kind of money for a ticket to the fight, after charging $54.95 for the pay per view telecast—and thank goodness two of the three undercard bouts were entertaining—the sport of boxing owes us one.
These last few so-called mega-fights have been anything but.
It's time for the sport's powers-that-be to do everything in their power to make the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight.
And speaking of Floyd ....
What We Learned: The Big Winner? Not Pacquiao, It's Floyd Mayweather
10 of 10
So, somewhere—whereever he happened to be on Saturday night watching Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley—Floyd Mayweather must have been having a good laugh.
Granted, Mayweather has his own issues to deal with. Last week he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of threatening to cause bodily injury to another person, related to an alleged verbal assault against two security guards working in the gated community where he lives.
The charges stem from an alleged incident last Oct. 4, and are separate from a Nov. 4 incident in which Mayweather also is charged with misdemeanor assault after apparently poking another security guard in the face with his finger.
All that aside, boxing will demand—no, scream for—a Mayweather-Pacquiao bout after the lackluster, boring affair between Pacquiao and Mosley.
.png?w=600 "Who Will Panthers Take at No. 9 ? 🤔")
