Naazim almost stopped it

Not too many fans know that cornerman “Brother” Naazim Richardson almost called a halt to the recent Manny Pacquiao-Sugar Shane Mosley fight at the end of the 11th round as it appeared pointless to continue with the outcome a foregone conclusion.

In two of the three judges scorecards, Pacquiao was a perfect 10 entering the 12th round  despite referee Kenny Bayless giving the Filipino icon a mandatory eight count on a “phantom” or “bogus” knockdown in the 10th.

One judge scored that freakish round 10-9 for Mosley.

After taking a count, Pacquiao stepped up his attack. He later explained that he wanted to “recover” from what he thought would be a 10-8 round for Mosley because of the knockdown. With Pacquiao firing from all cylinders, Richardson wondered if it was worth pushing Mosley to the limit. There was never any animosity between the protagonists from the opening bell but Richardson probably feared something tragic might befall Mosley with Pacquiao blasting away.

Richardson couldn’t convince Mosley to surrender in his corner like Oscar de la Hoya did in his farewell fight against Pacquiao. Mosley’s face was bruised and battered. His body was banged up. But he wanted to finish the fight on his feet. He wanted to declare that he survived 12 rounds with the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter.

Pacquiao could’ve ended it in spectacular fashion. In the third round, Pacquiao landed a short left that struck Mosley’s ear and sent Sugar Shane stumbling to the canvas.

“For a few seconds, it looked like referee Bayless’ count was going to reach 10,” wrote Matt Christie in Boxing News. “Ringside hacks were rapidly writing about the sensational finish while Mosley scoured for his senses. But to Shane’s credit, he survived the punishment and the round.”

While Mosley sat on the canvas, images of his life must have flashed in his mind like what they say a dying man experiences just before departing. His eyes were glazed. Mosley probably thought of his $5 Million guaranteed paycheck and if he could ever enjoy it. That had to be a scary moment for Mosley because he was never the same after that knockdown. Mosley got up and fought defensively the rest of the way, like a frightened rabbit running away from a predator.

Pacquiao, however, backed off from bludgeoning Mosley into submission. Mosley hardly laid a glove on Pacquiao anymore, preferring to use his vaunted right as a shield rather than a weapon. He repeatedly touched gloves with Pacquiao  before and after a round  as if to remind the champion that he’s not an enemy, to spare him because he’s a friend.

Pacquiao later admitted Mosley is “a nice guy.”

In the Antonio Margarito fight, Pacquiao showed compassion by asking the Mexican if he was okay before the start of the final round. Pacquiao could’ve put Margarito away in the last three minutes but allowed him to finish the bout. Asked if he had lost his killer’s instinct, Pacquiao explained that boxing isn’t killing  it’s a sport and isn’t meant to maim or permanently injure anyone.

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Did Pacquiao show the same compassion in sparing Mosley? Pacquiao said his left leg tightened in the fourth round and prevented him from cutting the ring off on Mosley to trap his prey. Strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza said it wasn’t the back of the left calf muscle that pained Pacquiao but the front, eliminating the suspicion that cramps set in. Ariza said it could’ve been a hydration issue because of Las Vegas’ dry heat and low humidity. Whatever the reason, Pacquiao was clearly not as quick or mobile as he was in his previous fights. And if there was a problem with his leg, certainly that should’ve been addressed in training camp. If Pacquiao was in the ring with a tougher opponent like a Floyd Mayweather Jr., the leg problem would’ve been disastrous.

Christie described Pacquiao’s performance as “below-par” but how much more could he do to prove his superiority over Mosley, particularly as two judges scored it a shutout?

Mosley confessed to being scared. For him, it was nothing to be ashamed of. He’s only human. Anyone who enters the ring to face Pacquiao is in serious danger of getting hurt and Mosley didn’t want to get hurt. “There were shots that I saw and sometimes they could have been traps,” he said. “He was setting traps for me and his punching power was a little different in there so you never know what could happen. There were different punches that he threw that didn’t seem to be hard but they turned out to be hard. So I had to watch out.”

In a nutshell, that was the story of the fight.

Mosley was scared stiff of losing the way Ricky Hatton did to Pacquiao. He wanted to leave the ring with his faculties intact.

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Ariza said if Mosley has lost the heart to fight, he should retire from boxing. I couldn’t agree more. Mosley would’ve been a proud man if he engaged Pacquiao and went down fighting. As it turned out, he was a poor excuse for a three-division world champion ironically headed for the Hall of Fame.

A devout Muslim, Richardson began working with Mosley in the Margarito fight two years ago. It was Richardson who noticed traces of plaster of paris in Margarito’s wraps before the fight. It was also Richardson who found something wrong in the way Felix Trinidad’s hands were wrapped before the Bernard Hopkins fight. More than just a dressing room watchdog, Richardson is an astute trainer who loves boxing with a passion.

Richardson suffered a stroke in 2007 and asked Freddie Roach to work Hopkins’ corner in the fight against Joe Calzaghe in his place. There is mutual respect between the two trainers, the same respect that Pacquiao and Mosley showed each other in their fight.

Richardson said the fighter whom Pacquiao resembles in style is Aaron Pryor, the “Hawk” who stopped the legendary Alexis Arguello twice. “The last fighter I saw who fought like Pacquiao was Pryor,” said Richardson. “Pryor was an all-action fighter. He had a decent punch but he was all-action. His energy level was just extraordinary. Pacquiao brings the same level of energy into the ring. He’s so consistent. He’s fought bigger guys but his fights have gotten easier because the high-energy guys are usually in the lower weight classes. When he’s fought bigger guys, he’s actually had an easier time.”

Now that Pacquiao is penciled to face a smaller opponent in Juan Manuel Marquez on Nov. 12, will it be a difficult fight?