Manny Pacquiao continues to jackhammer his way through the boxing ranks and his 12-round demolition of Shane Mosley may have sent another of the sport’s all-time greats into retirement. Pacquiao’s opponents are dropping like flies as heading into Saturday’s fight four of his last five foes have not fought since losing to him, and Mosley could very well likely continue that trend.
“He felt my power and that is why he didn’t want to fight toe-to-toe,” Pacquiao said. “Every time I wanted to throw a lot of punches he was running away.” The 32-year-old Filipino congressman pummelled challenger Mosley to earn a unanimous decision, defending his World Boxing Organization welterweight title with his 14th straight win.
Mosley’s hasty retreat made him look all of his 39 years and Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach urged the American challenger to join the growing list of elite boxers who have disappeared from the scene after losing to Pac-Man. “He (Mosley) didn’t try to win,” Roach said. “He just tried to survive and when you get to that point in boxing it is time to call it a day.”
Oscar de la Hoya retired after losing to the Pacquiao while Antonio Margarito, Ricky Hatton and Joshua Clottey haven’t been seen in the ring since. Margarito suffered a savage beating at the hands of Pacquiao in November and is still recovering from surgery to repair a fractured right eye socket. “I was expecting him to fight with me at least five of the 12 rounds so we can test our power,” Pacquiao said of Mosley, who lost for just the seventh time in his 18-year career.
“But my opponent just ran and ran.” Pacquiao knocked Mosley down in the third round and suffered a knockdown of his own in the 10th. The knockdown of Pacquiao appeared to be Mosley’s best moment in the fight but referee Kenny Bayless admitted later he had made a mistake and apologized after the fight, says Roach. Pacquiao has not lost a fight in six years, leaving many boxing observers to wonder what challenges there are out there for him.
A fight with Floyd Mayweather seems unlikely so the three names being thrown into a hat include Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Zab Judah. If something can’t be worked out with one of those three, Pacquiao could also engage in a rematch with Miguel Cotto. “Manny Pacquiao offers them the most opportunity from the standpoint of the biggest monetary factor,” said promoter Bob Arum.
With Mosley out of the way, Pacquiao expects to fight next in November and a third showdown with Marquez is the match-up most mentioned. Said Roach: “Marquez seems to have Manny’s number. He is a tough guy and he comes to fight. “I would like to shut him up because he keeps saying he got robbed. Marquez is still the best challenge out there for us and I think it would sell.”
