Mayweather gives Mosley lopsided loss

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. was Money once again.

Almost dropped by a right hand in the second round, Mayweather rebounded to dominate Shane Mosley the rest of the way Saturday night to win an unanimous 12-round decision in their welterweight fight.

Boxing’s biggest box office draw remained undefeated in 41 fights, but not before giving his fans and his corner a scare when a right hand to the side of his head buckled his knees a minute into the second, and he had to grab Mosley to avoid going down. Mosley landed another right later in the round, but the rest of the night belonged to Mayweather.

Fighting before a star-studded crowd that included Muhammad Ali, Mayweather never came close to dropping Mosley, but he landed so many more punches that the outcome wasn’t in doubt past the middle rounds. He had an answer for everything Mosley tried to do, landing right hands to the head seemingly at will as the fight progressed.

By the end of the night, Mayweather had put so many rounds in the bank that the only question was whether he would stop Mosley or be content to win a lopsided decision. Mayweather kept moving forward and continued to press the issue in a fight that wasn’t in doubt.

“I wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see, a toe-to-toe battle,” said Mayweather, who has been criticized for fighting too defensively. “It wasn’t the same style for me, but I wanted to be aggressive and I knew I could do it.”

Two ringside judges scored it 119-109 for Mayweather, while the third had it 118-110. The Associated Press had him winning 117-110.

Mayweather made Mosley look every bit his 38 years as he landed sharp punches to his head, dominating a fighter who had vowed to turn the bout into the fight of the decade. Mosley tried his best but couldn’t match the speed of Mayweather, 33, who grew more comfortable with each passing round.

Mosley was a substitute for Manny Pacquiao, who was all but signed to meet Mayweather until a dispute over drug testing derailed the megafight.

Instead, Pacquiao beat Joshua Clottey on March 13 in Dallas and is now campaigning for a seat in congress in his native Philippines.