MANILA, Philippines – Former 3-time world champion "Sugar" Shane Mosley may have survived 12 long rounds under the hands of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao but he won no fans for a lackluster performance in the match.
Boxing analyst Ronnie Nathanielsz said Mosley acted "scared as hell" at the start of the fight and never quite recovered after being knocked down in the 3rd round.
“[Mosley's] good in terms of movement. He's pretty quick so he stayed out of trouble. I expected him to tire and slow down in the later rounds but I thought Pacquiao was to win by a TKO in the 6th to 7th rounds. But you can’t even TKO a guy who keeps running all night long. It's so hard to catch him,” Nathanielsz said in an interview with ANC’s Headlines on Sunday.
The analyst even compared Mosley to Joshua Clottey who was also criticized after covering up and not putting up much of a fight against Pacquiao.
“He was like (Joshua) Clottey who covered himself up and took the punches (on his arms), but this guy (Mosley) ran, ran all night long,” Nathanielsz said.
Nathanielsz said that the match was important for Mosley especially after his disappointing matches with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Sergio Mora. which ended in a loss and a draw.
“Some fighters want to end their career and say ‘I went 12 rounds with the greatest fighter of all time.’ He did knock me down but he didn’t knock me out,” Nathanielsz said.
Mosley may have failed to nab the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown from Pacquiao. But for Nathanielsz, the match has not only helped polish Mosley's record but has also entitled him a reported purse of $6 million in the process.
‘Ridiculous knockdown’
Nathanielsz said he felt frustrated when referee Kenny Bayless ruled a knockdown against Pacquiao in the 10th round. Mosley had apparently stepped on the Filipino pug’s foot and then pushed him to the mat.
“That was not a knockdown. That was ridiculous. He stepped on his foot and pushed him,” Nathanielsz said.
Pacquiao was irked by the referee's call but used it as fuel to further punish Mosley. The bout ended with a lopsided victory for Pacquiao, who won on all three judges' score cards.
Nathanielsz blamed the relatively unimpressive match on Mosley.
“This one was a one-sided fight and people don’t like one-sided fights. And Mosley is to blame 100 percent,” he said.
“It was disappointing for those who wanted Pacquiao to knock him out or stop the fight or cut him badly. But it takes two to tango. This guy was in a waltz and Pacquiao was trying to tango,” the analyst added.
Nathanielsz said that the “age factor” has finally hit Mosley. When asked if whether the “Sugar” has to end his career, Nathanielsz said: “I think he should.”
