by Paul (Posted Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:00:24 +0000)
Shane shines in California
Sugar Shane Mosley stopped Ricardo Mayorga with one second left on the clock in the 12th round of their light middleweight fight.
Mosley led by a single point on judge Nelson Vasquez’s scorecard and five on Tony Crebs’ entering the 12th round. Mayorga actually had a one-point lead on judge Pat Russell’s card.
Antonio Margarito watched the fight from ringside. Mosley, a former four-time world champion, has lobbied for a shot at Margarito, who stopped Miguel Cotto on July 26 in Las Vegas to win the WBA welterweight championship. Cotto earned the title by scoring a close but unanimous 12-round decision over Mosley 10 1/2 months ago.
Mosley, 45-5 with 38 knockouts, hadn’t fought since losing a close but unanimous 12-round decision to Cotto for the WBA welterweight championship at Madison Square Garden 10 1/2 months ago. Mosley won his previous five fights — two over Fernando Vargas — and has beaten Oscar De La Hoya twice.
Mosley was supposed to return to action in May against Zab Judah, but the bout was cancelled when Judah injured himself by putting his hand through a glass shower door.
Mayorga, 28-7-1, hadn’t fought since winning a majority 12-round decision over Vargas 10 months ago. That was his first outing in more than 18 months; he was stopped by De La Hoya in the sixth round of their WBC junior middleweight title bout on May 6, 2006.
Mosley landed a solid right in the fourth round, snapping Mayorga’s head back and prompting the fans to begin another chant.
Midway through the fifth, Mayorga caught Mosley with a punch to the back of the head, and Mosley barked at his opponent before landing several solid punches. Then, as the round ended, the two barked at each other.
Mayorga, a three-time former world champion from Nicaragua, reacted like he had been poked in the eye in the sixth, and Mosley responded by rolling his eyes before going back on the attack.
The action slowed after that, and even the crowd had a difficult time getting into it, with some starting to boo late in the 10th round. Mosley landed a solid right midway through the 11th, but Mayorga responded by playing to the crowd, making it clear he wasn’t hurt.
Finally, the action picked up in the 12th.
Earlier Saturday night, unbeaten Andre Berto of Winter Haven, Fla., scored a unanimous 12-round decision over Steve Forbes of Las Vegas to retain his WBC welterweight title. Two judges scored the bout 118-109 and the other 116-111.
The 25-year-old Berto, who earned $300,000, raised his record to 23-0 with 19 knockouts. The 31-year-old Forbes, who earned $150,000, is 33-7 with nine knockouts. Berto weighed 145 1/2 pounds and Forbes the maximum 147 pounds. There were no knockdowns.
“I started to dominate in the fifth and sixth rounds, and it was my speed that won it,” Berto said.
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