Pacquiao Defends WBO Welterweight Title in Boring Fashion

Well all those people who spent their mortgage to see Pacquiao fight Mosley last night in Las Vegas left disappointed. The match went the full 12 rounds with every round except the the 3rd and to a lesser extent the 10th to the 12th being something to vaguely listen to in the background while your trying to sleep.

We at Yell! Magazine predicted a Pacquiau win but not in this fashion. It seemed Manny took most of the night off and Mosley gave up on winning early. Mosley landed a good straight right to Manny’s face in the 1st which might have been the reason Pacquiao decided to fight cautiously for most of the match. This decision made the fight that we thought would happen, Manny knocking Mosley out within 7 rounds, never come about.

In the 3rd round we saw the real Manny show up, if only briefly, when he put Mosley on the canvas with a straight right combination. But Mosley recovered. When the 4th round started you expected Pacquiao to become more aggressive following up on the the advantage he gained in the 3rd but it never transpired.

Mosley, after his knockdown in the 3rd, seemed to give up trying to win the fight being content to back away from Pac-man’s advances and counter punch only when necessary. This made the 4th to 9th rounds embarrassing to watch. The Las Vegas crowd showed their disappointment in the two men by booing throughout these six middle rounds.

In the 10th, the boxers came together and while Manny was somewhat off balanced Mosley pushed the Filipino away from him. Pacquiao fell to the canvas and surprising to everyone the referee called it a knock down and gave Manny a standing eight count.

This mistake woke Pacquiao up and he proceeded to fight the way everyone expected him to until the final bell sounded in the 12th. But with Mosley’s decision to avoid Manny as much as possible, few blows hit flush to either boxer in the last two rounds. Mosley did seem to exchange more with Manny in the 12th but by then the fight had already been decided.

Pacquiao won by unanimous decision to no one’s surprise and the crowd left with a sour taste in their mouths. This fight seemed unimportant to both boxers. They showed up for the pay day but didn’t put their heart into the contest. The two had too much respect for each other, tapping gloves so often at the beginning and ending of each round as well as on every referee separation, that you thought they would just stop fighting and sit crossed legged in the ring and start playing Paddycake, Paddycake, Baker’s Man. It turned the fight into what looked like a sparring practice between two buddies at the local gym.

Chris Trotman – Getty Images

The only conclusion a fight fan can take away from this fight is that Mosley wanted a last pay day before he announces his retirement, and Pacquiao, with his new job in politics, is putting fighting lower on his list of priorities until perhaps he can face a worthy opponent like Mayweather. Let’s hope that fight transpires soon before Pacquiao gets it into his head to run for President of the Philippines and leaves boxing altogether.

Later,