Manny Pacquiao beats Shane Mosley to retain WBO belt

Pacquiao made Mosley look every one of his 39 years

Manny Pacquiao dominated from the first bell to the last to score a unanimous points decision over Shane Mosley and retain his WBO welterweight title.

A huge odds-on pre-fight favourite, Pacquiao had 39-year-old Mosley down in the third round and came close to being the first boxer to stop the American.

And although Mosley bravely hung on the Filipino was handed a 119-108, 120-108, 120-107 verdict in Las Vegas.

"He felt my power," Pacquiao said. "I did my best to give a good fight."

Going into the fight, Mosley had promised the contest would show off two warriors but after the initial sparring the American spent almost the entirety of the fight in retreat.

Filipino Pacquiao floored Mosley with a straight left in the third and continued the assault through the middle rounds, with a Mosley right hook in the sixth one of the few notable ripostes.

And by the eighth round the 32-year-old Pacquiao had forced Mosley into a full defensive mode, the American's tactics prompting boos from sections of the 16,000 crowd at the MGM Grand Hotel.

With Mosley determined to retain a proud record of never being stopped in 54 fights (46-7-1) the latter rounds followed a predictable pattern, Pacquiao attacking, Mosley doing just enough to stay competitive in referee Kenny Bayless' mind.

There was one moment of concern for six-weight world champion Pacquiao when he was adjudged to have been put down in the 10th although his journey to the canvas appeared to have been aided by a slip.

Either way, the incident did nothing to stop the champion's dominance and he finished the fight with Mosley up against the ropes, hanging on for the final bell against a fighter he admitted was the best he had faced.

"You can't blame age," Mosley said.

"Manny is an exceptional fighter. He truly is the pound-for-pound king. He has speed and power that I have never felt before.

"He surprised me with that power with the knockdown. That's the most legitimate knockdown on me in a long time."

Pacquiao, who improved his record to 53-3-2 in winning his 14th straight bout, added: "Mosley is not slow," Pacquiao said. "He's fast and I had to be cautious of his counter-punch."

And asked about the prospect of a fight against unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather to finally determine the world's greatest pound-for-pound boxer he said: "I don't care about that fight.

"I am satisfied with everything that I have done in boxing."