WRIGHT DEFEATS MOSLEY AGAIN
WINS BY DECISION

Round by Round Commentary - by Anne Vitello

ROUND 1
Moments after the opening bell, Shane darts in behind a flicking double jab. Winky defends, of course; his jab as much a deterrent as a weapon. Shane keeps busy. There's a four punch combination, to the body and finishing upstairs. With steady movement in between combinations, Mosley sets the pace with aggression and bunches of punches. Winky Wright is not flustered, quite the contrary. He is not only jabbing effectively, he is demonstrating classic ring generalship. At least partially neutralizing the Shane offensive, Winky then closes the round with a show of strength: A stiff right follow-up to a long jab, backing Shane into the ropes.

ROUND 2
Now Wright goes to the body. Winky manages to penetrate, and knows how to use his reach & height, making it harder for Mosley to do the same. His jab is landing pretty consistently over Shane's left eye. Shane retaliates, and then Wright comes back with a couple of potent rights. But Mosley is not going anywhere. Shane goes to the body again with some success Wright has better results tagging to the head. This is interesting: two technicians square off, flat-footed. Nobody is throwing knockout punches, but they do slug it out before regrouping at arms' length - which is where they end the round.

ROUND 3
Mosley is bringing the fight to Wright, and Winky is bringing it right back. This is a tough fight! Constantly working, both men slug away. Wright plows forward behind an armor of defense, and occasionally uses his left with increasingly good results. Shane is showing lots of heart, and keeping very busy. And he does land some stiff punches. But Winky really does seem to have the edge. He connects more consistently, and he pushes Shane around the ring. Even though Shane is making visible efforts to keep the action up, it's Wright who is more successful as an aggressor.

ROUND 4
Mosley does not look happy. But he does look resolved. Winky continues to move forward. He taps away with the jab and is looking very loose and confident. Sugar Shane looks frustrated but not demoralized. He charges at Wright too, but is deflected, and sometimes backed up. Shane plants a punch right on Winky's chest. Wright is relentlessly unfazed. It could be anybody's fight, but only if Mosley can rack up a couple of definitive rounds. This is a close one.

ROUND 5
There's a nice left hook by Mosley! And then another hook, make that a pair of hooks! Winky Wright stands stock still and drops his hands. Shane is no fool, he jumps at the opportunity and pounds to the body, finishing with a fierce pair of hooks to the jaw. Winky Wright is pulling a Rocky. Just taking it and clearly very confident and now here he comes. Who would have expected this kind of a war from these two guys? Wright lands some crashing blows to the head and Shane hangs on! Now Mosley comes back again. It's give and take down the backstretch of an exciting round.

ROUND 6
Wright reasserts himself. He sticks the jab, and his left finds the mark as well. Shane lands a widely angled left hook. Wright deflects a lot of punches and enjoys quite a reach advantage. Bouncing off the ropes and turning around Wright, Shane reaches way in with a jab to the body. Winky has unfurled his right hook several times in this round: very effective. Shane is game, and he is not giving up. This may not have been his round; Winky is hard to score against.

ROUND 7
Shane is having to work very hard to stay in the picture here. Winky just keeps managing to outreach him, and to outmuscle him. Shane keeps working away - and he does connect, with a couple of rights to the body in particular. But Wright's punches do seem to blast through Mosley's defenses. Though many punches have been exchanged, nobody has been in trouble, nor are the fighters very marked up. Nevertheless, it's time for Shane to make a bid!

ROUND 8
Mosley's punches rain down, often bouncing off Winky's head and forearms. When Wright comes back, the retaliation is fierce. Sugar Shane Mosley has as much heart as he does ability. And there's Shane's best punch of the fight thus far, a big, big right hook upstairs. Winky Wright's chin is practically an offensive weapon (and that relentless jab does a good job, too). Perhaps Mosley sacrifices quite a bit of punching power at this weight.

ROUND 9
A very engaging battle tonight. Trading right hooks, Wright gets in a body shot and Mosley returns with a combination. Largely head-hunting, Winky Wright still appears to be the one more in charge. But Shane is coming in, repeatedly. He has to work for it, but then lands a clean right to the body. And he pays for it, taking a hard left in the head. Again, nobody's in trouble. Shane not only survives, but punctuates the round with a final big punch of his own.

ROUND 10
Shane's enthusiasm is admirable, but carries him right past Wright. He spins out of the missed punch, and follows up by landing the left quite nicely. Now Winky is lunging in, more aggressive than ever, but more open too. Sugar Shane is looking tired. Winky lands a right hook, and lands his jab repeatedly. Mosley does not give up, but nor does he seem to keep up on the connect percentage. Winky Wright is boxing in a way that justifies his position as the favorite tonight.

ROUND 11
Both men stagger from time to time, more from fatigue and lack of balance than from punches. And both men have fought quite admirably. It's a sloppy round, with lots of clinching, lots of work for the ref. Shane tees off, to the best of his ability, but with only partial penetration. Wright is consistently retaliating with a left straight to Shane's face. Mosley gets another good body shot in, and Wright shakes it off, again.

ROUND 12
It would be beyond surprising if Shane were to knock out Winky Wright. And without a kayo, Mosley most likely will lose. But it is inspirational to see him tangle with Wright, again with spotty success. Both men are at their limit, finishing with more commitment than they started. What a fine performance on both counts. Shane ends the bout chasing Winky Wright, who is ever elusive. Wright is just too comfortable at 154, and too hard to beat.

POST-FIGHT COMMENTS:
Its been a tough season for the stars of the square ring. Sugar Shane joins the ranks of Roy Jones and Oscar De La Hoya, as men who have moved up in weight and in doing so have met with defeat. And tonight, even though the judges and Mosley believed it was closer, there is just no denying that Winky Wright man-handled him. Nevertheless, Shane seemed undaunted, his pride mercifully intact. And he has good reason to stay optimistic. Though this was a telling, pivotal moment for Shane, he really need not fear losing his star power in the fight game.

As unfair as it is to well-deserving champions such as Wright, he would stand to lose more in terms of bookings and paydays had he not prevailed tonight. And so, though he has been an extraordinary consistent and steady player, it only makes sense that he fight like a man for whom tomorrow is not guaranteed. First calling out Felix Trinidad ("I want Tito Trinidad"), he also named De La Hoya and Hopkins; Wright is all business about getting down to business as the unified champ. Both men put on first rate performances, and ended the evening with respectful positive attitudes.