Manny is king, Shane concedes

LAS VEGAS—There’s no doubt in Shane Mosley’s mind now that Manny Pacquiao is truly the pound-for-pound king.

He was thoroughly beaten by Pacquiao Saturday night and was lucky to finish still standing and his pride intact.

Mosley was quick to shrug off the notion that his advancing age—39—was the reason behind one of his most lopsided defeats ever in a 31-year ring career that saw him emerge as four-time champion in three weight divisions.

He admitted that it was Pacquiao’s power that took the fight out of him.

“You can not blame age,” said Mosley. “Manny is an exceptional fighter. He truly is the pound-for-pound king. It was power more than the speed.”

Mosley, who has never been knocked out, said he was “pretty hurt” when Pacquiao nailed him with a left hook in the third round.

“Surprisingly, the impact was very strong,” said Mosley.

For now, however, Mosley shrugs off calls for his retirement.

“We’ll see what happens,” said the American icon who intends to go on vacation, relax and enjoy the rewards of his 12-round tussle with Pacquiao.

Mosley is guaranteed $5 million and stands to earn some more from pay-per-view and closed-circuit sales.

According to Mosley, he saw some possibilities to explore against Pacquiao.

Aware of Pacquiao’s bunches of punches that come in all angles, however, Mosley balked.

In the end, the man who has never been knocked out in his career remained standing as the final bell ended the fight.