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Mosley lifts WBC welterweight belt

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LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Shane Mosley eased to a comfortable points victory over Luis Collazo to lift the interim World Boxing Council welterweight title on Saturday.

Judges scored the 12-round bout 118-109, 118-109 and 119-108 in favor of the 35-year-old American, who knocked down his opponent in the 11th round.

Mosley, who previously held the WBC welterweight crown from 2000-02 and also held titles at lightweight and junior middleweight, improved his record to 44-4, with 37 KOs.

New York-born Collazo, a former World Boxing Association welterweight champion, fell to 27-3, with 13 KOs.

Fighting primarily as a junior middleweight since 2002, Mosley told reporters that he would probably continue to ply his trade in the welterweight division.

"It feels good to be a welterweight again. I felt light on my feet," he said.

Mosley's hand speed and reflexes were the difference in the bout. He landed 200 of 601 punches, whereas Collazo connected with just 87 of 639.

Collazo landed more than nine punches in just two of the twelve rounds and the only one he won on all three scorecards was the second.

After that second round, in which Collazo caught Mosley with some solid left hands, Mosley steadily seized control of the contest, peppering Collazo with fast flurries that were punctuated by heavier blows to head and body.

A Mosley barrage in the eighth had Collazo covering up along the ropes. In the 11th, a right hand to the temple sent Collazo stumbling backward and onto his haunches.

"I hurt my hand in the third round and I wasn't able to fight the way I wanted to," Collazo said. "I hurt it in training camp. I wish I could have been more effective. That was the best I could do. Shane came to fight. He did his job tonight."

Mosley will progress from interim champion to full title holder when the incumbent Floyd Mayweather Jr. steps up to fight Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC junior middleweight crown in Las Vegas on May 5.

On the undercard, Vivian Harris of Guyana (22-2-1, 18 KOs) became the number one contender for the WBC junior welterweight championship with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Juan Lazcano (37-4-1, 27 KOs).


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Mosley celebrates taking the welterweight crown after a unanimous points decision.

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