Boxing: With Mosley and Mayweather Done, Marquez Is Next for Manny Pacquiao

Pound-for-pound royalty Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao earned a lopsided unanimous decision victory over former three-division champion “Sugar” Shane Mosley on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs), who was justifiably installed as an overwhelming 8-to-1 favorite, utterly outclassed the spent Mosley (46-7-1-1, 39 KOs) to win his 14th consecutive bout  easily.

Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach told SportsIllustrated.CNN.com that he urged his fighter to knock out Mosley.

"I told him in the last round, 'You've got to knock this guy out, because it's embarrassing,’" said Roach, 50, a native of Dedham (Mass.) who has been honored on four occasions as the Trainer of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America. "He told me, 'Coach, I'm trying, I'm trying."'

Mosley constantly backpedaled and somehow ultimately survived being knocked onto Queer Street for the first time in his professional career.

Roach believes Pacquiao intentionally lacked the killer instinct to finish “Sugar Shane” and he noted with disgust the way the two prizefighters touched gloves before every round like they were engaging in a glorified sparring session.

"Why are you touching gloves? Is he your friend?" Roach said he asked his fighter. "I hate that. You're supposed to be trying to knock this guy out."

“Pac-Man” could have permanently floored Mosley had he truly pressed the action and fought with more ferocity.

Pacquiao is one of the preeminent boxers in history and he is currently at the zenith of his abilities.

Conversely, Mosley is pushing 40 and is categorically spent without the juice that likely triggered many of his triumphs in the ring.

“Sugar Shane” now couldn’t hold “The Fighting Pride of the Philippines’” jock strap and he was wrongly granted this opportunity strictly out of name recognition.

Mosley was manhandled by Floyd Mayweather last May and he lagged through a pathetically uninspired draw against “The Latin Snake” Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KOs) in September.

It is critical that the admitted BALCO conspirator soon hangs up his gloves before he is badly injured in the squared circle.

"He backpedaled the whole night," Roach said. "He never took one step forward to try to press the action. His jab is in mothballs. I never saw it. His legs are gone. It wasn't shocking, but I expected more. I like Shane, he's a nice guy, but he'd better quit before he gets hurt."

The atmosphere probably won't be so cordial in Pacquiao's next fight.

The three fighters mentioned as potential upcoming opponents for Pacquiao are Zab Judah, “Dinamita” Juan Manual Marquez and, yes, Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

Pacquiao would categorically annihilate the slightly above-average Judah (41-6-0-2, 28 KOs) and Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) has avoided the savage congressman like anthrax for almost two years.

The cowardly clown pocket known as “Money” has actually only fought twice in approximately four years.

Pacquiao, the first pugilist to win 10 world crowns in eight different weight classes, can only scrap a fighter who is willing to battle him.

"There isn't a day in my life that goes by that somebody doesn't ask me about that fight," Roach said. "People say, 'Make that fight.' I wish I could."

Therefore, expect Pacquiao to face current WBA, WBO and The Ring lightweight titlist Marquez for a third time sometime this autumn.

In May 2004, Marquez (52-5-1, 38 KOs), a Mexican-born boxer who captured eight world crowns in three different weight classes, fought Pacquiao to a draw to retain his WBA and IBF featherweight titles.

Nearly four years later in March 2008, Pacquiao narrowly emerged victorious over Marquez by a split decision to win the WBC super featherweight crown.

Marquez, rated by Ring Magazine as the No. 5 pound-for-pound pugilist in the world, is still a worthy adversary at the relatively advanced age of 37.

“Dinamita” retained his belts with a decisive ninth-round TKO conquest over Michael Katsidis last November.

Unfortunately for Marquez, he can no longer physically compete with Pacquiao.

“Pac-Man” has greatly refined his fight game since he began working with Roach and he is a far superior boxer than he was only three years ago.

"All I hear from him and Nacho (Beristain, Marquez's trainer) is how they got robbed," Roach said. "I'd like that fight one more time, see how much they've both changed since that time. I think we've gotten a lot better."

If Marquez is ultimately chosen to be Pacquiao’s next opponent, expect a brief and bloody affair.

Juan Manuel Marquez is an aging legend.

Conversely, Manny Pacquiao is a thriving icon.

In 2011, Pacquiao would easily floor and finish Marquez within five rounds.