Football
Associated Press 19y

Mosley aims higher after win; Barrera defends title

LAS VEGAS -- Shane Mosley was anything but sweet. He was a
winner, though, with his sights set on bigger things.
Mosley won his second straight fight since moving back down to
welterweight Saturday night, beating Jose Luiz Cruz on a unanimous
decision.
The fight was held just after a bout at the MGM Grand
hotel-casino in which IBF lightweight champion Leavander Johnson
suffered a brain injury and underwent surgery at a local hospital
to relieve pressure on his brain.
Also on the card, Marco Antonio Barrera defended his WBC super
featherweight title with a decision win over IBF champion Robert
Peden of Australia.
Mosley won his 10-round fight easily on all three scorecards but
was unimpressive in beating Cruz. One judge had it 98-92, the
second scored it 97-93 and the third 96-94.
Still, he said he was ready to take on the best in the 147-pound
division.
"I wish I would have knocked him out but I'll take the win,"
Mosley said. "I feel like I'm definitely at the top now. I'll
fight anybody, [Antonio] Margarito, [Zab] Judah."
Mosley, who moved down from 154 pounds after losing two
decisions to Winky Wright, showed little of the speed that marked
his early career and landed only one punch at a time.
But it was good enough to up his record to 41-4 and hand Cruz
his first loss in 35 fights.
"I felt I was boxing pretty good," Mosley said. "The one
thing about the Mexicans is they always come to give you a good
fight."
Mosley and Cruz entered the ring with no idea that Johnson had
been injured in the previous fight. Johnson walked from the ring
under his own power before collapsing in his dressing room and
being taken to University Medical Center.
His promoter, Lou DiBella, said the fighter was undergoing
surgery late Saturday night.
"He's not in good shape," DiBella said. "The brain started
swelling and they were inducing a coma."
Johnson took a beating in his fight with Jesus Chavez before the
bout was stopped 38 seconds into the 11th round. Johnson had taken
about two dozen unanswered punches to the head while on the ropes
before referee Tony Weeks finally stepped in to stop it.
Chavez dominated the fight, landing big punches to Johnson's
head from the opening bell. Punch stats showed him landing 409
punches to 148 for Johnson.
After the fight at the MGM Grand hotel-casino, Johnson said in
the ring that "I'm all right," but later collapsed in his
dressing room.
Barrera, meanwhile, defended his 130-pound title and added the
IBF version of the crown with a unanimous decision over Peden.
Barrera dominated the fight, winning 119-109 on one scorecard
and 118-108 on two others. In the final round he hit Peden with a
left hook that staggered the Australian and battered him about the
ring before the final bell sounded.
Barrera improved to 61-4 while Peden fell to 25-3.

^ Back to Top ^