Shane Mosley vs. Manny Pacquiao: Lopsided Fight Could Have Ended in TKO

Instead of a unanimous decision verdict, Manny Pacquiao could have ended his recent fight with Shane Mosley via TKO and emerged as the first boxer to knock out the Pomona slugger in his 18-year professional boxing career.

Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley faced each other in the ring last May 7 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao won the 12-round boring fight via a lopsided unanimous decision but failed to score a knockout.

Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach wanted no less than a TKO or a full clean knockout win as it will be a record-breaking victory for Pacquiao given Mosley's no KO loss record.

A KO victory could have given Pacquiao a psychological advantage if Floyd Mayweather Jr later decides to face him next year. In his most recent fight with Shane Mosley, the unbeaten champion failed to score a knock out against Mosley.

In a featured Showtime video, Mosley was caught on camera almost begging his coach and trainer Naazim Richardson to call for a stoppage of the fight saying, "You've got to stop the fight," and "I can't move."

Despite Mosley's pleading, Richardson answered, "Shane, you're cut from a different cloth baby."

Examiner com's Chris Robinson, who was one of the few writers who uploaded the Showtime video in his article wrote:

"The video is a bit shocking to see, considering Mosley's history of always going out on his shield, and I personally can't jump on the wagon by calling Mosley a quitter. It's obvious he was a fighter well past his prime that night and while the circumstances were made uncomfortable because of Pacquiao, it very well could be true that Shane had some kind of foot injury."

Aside from the reported foot injury, Mosley was knocked down by Pacquiao in the third round which could have led to his decision to quit. Mosley may have felt Pacquiao's awesome power and thought it would be futile to go on.

However, Richardson prevailed over his pleadings, knowing his foot injury was not life-threatening. But Richardson may have forgotten that Mosley's stoppage request came after the devastating third round knockdown and Mosley probably knew at that moment how it weaken him.

Boxing critics are saying Richardson should have heeded  Mosley's request (demand?) for fight stoppage or at least call for the referee to request the ring physician to examine Mosley and then decide from there. They also feel Richardson may have compromised Mosley's life with his refusal to comply with the boxer's fight stoppage request.

On the other hand, other critics and fans believe Richardson would never do something to compromise his fighter, knowing his impressive record as a professional trainer and coach. In that particular situation, they said, Richardson knew Mosley was not badly injured to warrant a fight stoppage.

Still, others are saying otherwise. What do you say?