Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines retained his WBO welterweight title by recording an unanimous points victory over a lacklustre Shane Mosley at the MGM Garden Arena on Saturday. The 32-year-old southpaw, despite being hampered by cramp in his left leg midway through the bout, dominated all 12 rounds against his defense-minded American opponent to improve his career record to 53-3-2 with 38 knockouts.
It was Pacquiao's 14th consecutive win since his loss to Erik Morales in Las Vegas in March 2005, and enhanced his status as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.
Fighting for the second time since winning a seat in his country's national congress last year, Pacquiao gained one-sided verdicts from all three judges - 119-108, 120-108 and 120-107. "It wasn't my best performance but I did my best," Pacquiao said ringside. "My leg tightened up in the middle rounds and I couldn't move.
"This is the same problem I had when I fought (Juan Manuel) Marquez so we are going to have to work on this." Pacquiao sent Mosley crashing to the canvas in the third round with a searing straight left but, despite pressing for the rest of the fight, he was unable to stop an opponent seemingly more interested in survival.
"I got him with a lucky shot," Pacquiao said of the knockdown. "Mosley is not slow. He is fast. He was waiting for me to make a mistake and he wanted to counter. I was careful with that. "I think he felt my power. I want to fight toe-to-toe but this is boxing. It depends on the style of the opponent."