Shane Mosley wants to fight until he's 40. The way he looked on Saturday night against Luis Collazo, he might consider extending his career even longer.
Fighting a tough southpaw 10 years his junior, the 35-year-old Mosley was both faster and stronger as he punched his way to a unanimous 12-round decision in a welterweight fight that was entertaining from the opening bell.
The win could make Mosley a welterweight champion once again because the WBC billed it as an eliminator to the title held by Floyd Mayweather Jr. When Mayweather vacates the title to fight Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, it will revert to Mosley.
Mayweather was at ringside, and grudgingly gave Mosley some praise.
"He's pretty good at what he does," Mayweather said. "I respect what he does."
Too quick
Mosley knocked Collazo down in the 11th round and used his superior speed against a fighter who didn't have nearly his experience but was game and still punching with everything he had when the fight ended.
"I knew I was faster than him and could hit him with the quick jabs," Mosley said. "By the third round I knew I would be able to hit him with different shots."
Mosley knocked Collazo down with a short right hand late in the 11th round, but Collazo got up at the count of four and the bell rang before action continued. It was the only knockdown of the fight, though both fighters landed some big shots.
Two judges had Mosley winning 118-109, while the third had it 119-108.
Hurt
Collazo said he hurt his left hand in training and again in the third round, and wasn't able to use it effectively.
"I wish I could have been more effective," he said. "But that was the best I could do."
Mosley moved down in weight to 147 pounds (67kg) after spending much of the last five years fighting at 154 pounds (70 kg). He predicted he would be quicker and he was, jumping inside Collazo's long reach to beat him to the punch with regularity.
"It feels good to be a welterweight again," Mosley said.
Ringside punch statistics showed Mosley landing 200 of 601 punches to 87 of 639 for Collazo.
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