Mosley vs. Mora: Judges disagree and fight ends in a draw

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Shane Mosley and Sergio Mora staged a dull bout Saturday night at Staples Center, packed with holding, hugging and inside fighting where it appeared there were more missed punches than those landed.

The deserved winner was neither.

A draw was declared, with judge Lou Moret scoring the bout 114-114 afterpeers Kermit Bayless scored it 115-113 for Mora and David Denkin had it 116-112 for Mosley.

The bout featured no knockdowns, minimal blood (only a slight cut from a head butt near Mora’s right eyebrow) and no compelling exchanges.

Te mostly tentative Mora fell to 22-1-2 and Mosley, looking all of 39, suffered his first draw and is now 46-6-1.

Here’s a round-by-round recap by The Times’ John Cherwa:

Round 2: The second round started as a carbon copy of the first, with Mora’s corner coaxing him to come forward and attack Mosley. About a minute into the round the crowd started to get restless with the ever-present chorus of “boos” in a fight that so far has delivered little action. Mora came out of a clinch late in the round with a flurry that missed but Mosley, once again, prevailed as the aggressor. Mosley wins round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 20-18.

Round 3: Mosley started to push the action early in the round, at one point chasing Mora several steps into a corner. Mosley had a soft connect with a right midway through the round and his years of experience were showing. The crowd again expressed their displeasure with the lack of significant action in the fight. Mosley wins round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 30-27.

Round 4: Mora came out a little more aggressive but that only allowed Mosley to land a few punches inside, neither of which did any damage. There was an extended clinch midway through the round where the fighters exchanged some body blows but it wasn’t until about a minute left when Mosley landed a solid right. Mora suffered a cut over the outside corner of his right eye. It did not appear to hinder his vision. Mosley wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 40-36.

Round 5: Mora seems to be getting more comfortable in the ring and more willing to square off with Mosley. Mora’s corner did a good job to stop the bleeding of the cut until the end of the round. Mora’s mocking of Mosley got the crowd excited but the round proved to have little action. Mosley win the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 50-45.

Round 6: Mosley’s dominance in the fight so far has been due to him being the aggressor rather than any series of significant punches. The biggest ovation was before this round when Magic Johnson was shown on the video board. Mora landed his first good right to Mosley’s chin with about a minute left. Mosley wasn’t hurt and chased him to the corner, but Mora seemed bolstered by the punch. Mora wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 59-55.

Round 7: Mora came out with a bit more confidence and Mosley seemed to be slowing down a little. Still, Mosley was able to land a flick to the face but Mora came back strong with some non-damaging counters. Both fighters slowed the fight down in the final minute with Mora becoming the aggressor. But is it too late? Mora wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 68-65.

Round 8: Mosley, perhaps sensing the tide was turning, came out stronger at the start of the round, continually backing Mora onto the ropes. Both fighters, certainly not punched out, were starting to show some fatigue. Mosley was able to regain control of the pace in this round and won it by being more active. Mosley wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 78-74.

Round 9: Mosley was able to show a brief flurry early in the round when he had Mora backed into a corner, but no real damage was done. Later in the round Mosley repeated the flurry as Mora spent more time on the ropes. It’s looking like Mora will need a knockout to come back and win this fight. But, to do that, he’s got to land some punches. Mosley wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 88-83.

Round 10: Midway through the round Mora connected on a nice combination but Mosley answered with his own shot. Most of the action has been reserved for the ropes where Mosley landed several jabs that lacked velocity. It was the first good round as the fighters tiring led to more punches being landed. Mosley wins the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 98-92.

Round 11: About 45 seconds into the round there was a nice exchange between the fighters, both clearly tiring and letting their guard down. Neither fighter is really the aggressor at this point as it just seems easier to fight near the ropes. The last 30 seconds of the round the fighters were exchanging punches as the cheering rose to its loudest volume. Mosley perhaps had the most damaging shot, a right to the face. Neither fighter has really been hurt, just rendered exhausted. Mosley win the round, 10-9. Mosley leads, 108-101.

Round 12: If there was desperation in Mora it was quickly snuffed as Mosley continued to drive his opponent toward the ropes, where they would exchange non-damaging punches. Mora was able to land a few short jabs but Mosley continued to be the aggressor. By the end Mora was clearly spent as Mosley was throwing twice as many punches. Mosley wins the round, 10-9. The Times’ final score: Mosley 118, Mora 110.

The judges however surprised everyone tonight at Staples Center, seeing it as a draw with one judge having Mosley winning, 116-112, another saw it Mora winning, 115-113, and the final judge calling it a 114-114 draw. The decision seemed to shock the crowd, who thought they watched a very different fight than the one scored by the judges.