Mosley’s Win Over Cruz Is Unanimous but Not Pretty

LAS VEGAS — Shane Mosley was anything but sweet. He was a winner, though, with his sights set on bigger things.

Mosley won his second straight fight since moving back down to welterweight Saturday night, beating Jose Luiz Cruz on a unanimous decision.

The fight was held just after a bout at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in which International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Leavander Johnson suffered a brain injury and underwent surgery at a local hospital to relieve pressure on his brain.

Also on the card, Marco Antonio Barrera defended his World Boxing Council super featherweight title with a decision win over IBF champion Robert Peden of Australia.

Mosley won his 10-round fight easily on all three scorecards but was unimpressive in beating Cruz. One judge had it 98-92, the second scored it 97-93 and the third 96-94.

Still, he said he was ready to take on the best in the 147-pound division.

“I wish I would have knocked him out but I’ll take the win,” Mosley said. “I feel like I’m definitely at the top now. I’ll fight anybody, [Antonio] Margarito, [Zab] Judah.”

Mosley, who moved down from 154 pounds after losing two decisions to Winky Wright, showed little of the speed that marked his early career and landed only one punch at a time.

But it was good enough to up his record to 41-4 and hand Cruz his first loss in 35 fights.

“I felt I was boxing pretty good,” Mosley said.

Mosley and Cruz entered the ring with no idea that Johnson had been injured.

Barrera, meanwhile, defended his 130-pound title and added the IBF version of the crown with a unanimous decision over Peden.

Barrera dominated the fight, winning 119-109 on one scorecard and 118-108 on two others. In the final round he hit Peden with a left hook that staggered the Australian and battered him about the ring before the final bell sounded.

Barrera improved to 61-4 while Peden fell to 25-3.