HOLLYWOOD—At the final bell, Shane Mosley tried to embrace Manny Pacquiao, but the pound-for-pound king turned his back at the American and proceeded to his corner.
Filipino trainer Buboy Fernandez tried to give him a victory lift, but Pacquiao curtly asked his bosom buddy to do away with it.
MANNY and Jinkee Pacquiao pose with celebrity Paris Hilton during the postfight press conference at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. KEATS LONDON (PDI-USA Correspondent)
Despite winning by a comprehensive unanimous decision Saturday night, Pacquiao clearly was not satisfied with the way his World Boxing Organization welterweight title defense turned out.
It was not because he failed to become the first man to knock out Mosley.
Rather, he knew that many from among the 16,412 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena were unhappy over the one-sidedness of the fight, its lack of fierce exchanges.
“It’s very unusual for Manny to do that (turn his back on a foe), but he doesn’t want to hear the boos,” explained trainer Freddie Roach.
“Manny is not really a fighter. He’s an entertainer. He wants the fans to be happy. And he was very disappointed. I don’t think Mosley tried to win.”
Pacquiao confirmed Roach’s statement later during the postfight press conference.
“I expected Shane Mosley to exchange toe-to-toe with me for at least five rounds,” the Filipino superstar said.
Pacquiao hounded his foe for 12 rounds but couldn’t loose decisive combinations because Mosley opted to run, rather than exchange punches.
Though he denied it during the press conference, the intermittent boos annoyed the very popular Pacquiao, according to Roach.
Mosley, the former four-time, three-division champion didn’t mind the boos, and Pacquiao said he knew why.
“I think he felt my power,” said Pacquiao, who did an after-fight concert with his MP Band at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, belting out 15 songs.
Mosley said Pacquiao stunned him with the knockdown.
“That’s the most legitimate knockdown I got hit with in a long time,” said Mosley, who was also decked by Vernon Forrest twice in the second round in a losing stand in 2002.
“We’ll, this guy [Pacquiao] must really have some power,” Mosley added.
Meanwhile, socialite Paris Hilton, an avid Pacman fan, said during the same postfight gathering that she’s looking forward to visiting the Philippines soon.
“I’m so excited for my trip to the Philippines,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to my newest business endeavor,” she added without elaborating.
NOTES: Following tradition, Manny and wife Jinkee, father Rogelio and brothers Roel and Bobby and their families rode in the customized Pacquiao bus from Las Vegas to Hollywood. Pacquiao and Mosley touched gloves 44 times in the course of the bout.