Paquiao, Mosley review

Everything was in place for an exciting finish to a solid night of boxing. Everything, that is, except for a willing challenge from Shane Mosley.

In the nights main event, Pacquiao delivered a win to his millions of fans. It was not the most exciting, or entertaining win in his Hall of Fame career. Both fighters looked extremely tight in the beginning. Neither wanted to engage the other, showing a lot of respect for each other. Pacquiao picked up the pace a little in the 2nd, while Mosley was still willing to paw with his jab and try to find his range. The 3rd round started with a bit more fire than the previous two. Mosley looked like he was finally ready to start fighting. Then, it happened. As Mosley was leaning forward after throwing a left, Pacquiao unleashed a straight left of his own, landing it on the left side of Mosley's face and dropping him to the canvas. Mosley had a very shocked, and nervous look in his eye as he got back to his feet. Later he would say he couldn't remember the last time he felt power like that. The knockdown turned Mosley from a fighter looking for a way to get to Pacquiao, to a fighter looking for a way out of the ring. The next several rounds were filled with accidental head-butts, Pacquiao combinations, and several touches of the gloves by the two combatants. By the 7th round, it obvious that Mosley was only looking to not get knocked out. In the 10th, Mosley was credited with a knock down after pushing Pacquiao with his right hand while standing on his foot. Kenny Bayless, who was the referee, mistakenly called it a knock down. For Pacquiao fans, it may have been the best part of the fight. The bad call lit a fire under Pacquiao, and he began to pummel Mosley with combo after combo. The last two rounds were nothing more than a Pacquiao showcase of hand speed and punching power, as Mosley back peddled and did all he could to make it to a decision. Pacquiao won a UD, 119-108, 120-108, 120-107.

The nights other 12 round title fight was exactly what you would expect from a Mexico vs Puerto Rico bout. Undefeated WBO Jr Featherweight Champion, Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. (Puerto Rico) put his title on the line versus former champion, Jorge Arce (Mexico). Arce came out looking fast, and strong against the younger champion. Vasquez landed some hard shots in the 2nd, but Arce just smiled and continued to press forward. Arce dominated the 4th round for 1:59. That's when the two simultaneously threw left hooks that both landed. Arce received the worse of the two punches, dropping to the mat at the bell. He quickly got back to his feet, and returned to his corner. The two traded shots through out the middle rounds. Vasquez hit the canvas in the 10th and 11th rounds, both were called slips. It was the 3rd and 4th time he went down on a slip, evidence of Arce's relentless pressure. As the 12th round started, the decision seemed to be up in the air. The winner of the 12th would more than likely be the winner of the fight. Both men looked to finish strong throwing punch after punch. Arce backed Vasquez in into the ropes landing several punches. Just as it looked as though Vasquez was going to get out of trouble, his father threw in the towel from his corner, giving Arce the TKO victory, and the WBO belt.

Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik made his return to the ring after a 13 month layoff, part of which he spent in rehab for alcoholism. His opponent was undefeated WBC Continental Americas Champ, Alfonso Lopez. Pavlik looked every bit like a fighter who hadn't fought in a year in the early rounds. Threw the first three rounds, Pavlik threw one punch at a time, while Lopez threw combinations. Heads collided early in the fourth round opening a cut on Pavlik. The cut was not above the eye, and didn't seem to bother Pavlik too much. It did seem to wake him up, though. Pavlik began to land harder shots with more regularity. Lopez looked as though he was tiring as his pace slowed in to the 7th round. Midway through the 7th, the action was stopped to warn Pavlik for hitting below the belt. The rest seemed to revive Lopez. Through the 8th & 9th rounds, Lopez looked like he did in the first three landing combinations, and controlling tempo. I had Lopez ahead by one round going into the 10th. Pavlik must have the same score, because he came out on a mission in the final three minutes. Pavlik assaulted Lopez with power shots in bunches. The fight went to the scorecards. One judge had it the same as me, 95-95. The other two saw a very different fight, and had Pavlik winning easily 99-91, 98-92 for the majority decision, and the WBCCA title.

The fourth fight featured two knockout artists, Mike Alvarado (29-0, 21 KO's), and Ray Narh (25-1, 21 KO's). Both men fired power shots at each other right from the beginning. Though neither seemed to be hurt, the shots from Alvarado landed with great regularity. Everything he threw connected with Narh's face. After the 3rd round, Narh walked back to his corner with a very dejected look on his face. When the bell rang to start the 4th, Narh refused to get off his stool, effectively saying "No mas", ala Duran, and quitting, giving Alvarado the vacant WBCCA Super Lightweight Championship.