Rejuvenated Mosley pounds Collazo

LAS VEGAS — Shane Mosley didn't just take off a few pounds to fight Luis Collazo. It seemed as if he took a few years off the clock, too.

Looking a lot like the fighter he was when he ruled the lightweight division a decade ago, the 35-year-old Mosley dominated against a tough southpaw Saturday night on his way to a lopsided decision win.

Mosley knocked Collazo down in the 11th round of the welterweight title eliminator, but it was his quickness that won the fight much the way he won most of his fights before moving up in weight to 154 pounds.

"I knew I was faster than him and could hit him with the quick jabs," Mosley said. "By the third round I knew I would be able to hit him with different shots."

Mosley knocked Collazo down with a short right hand late in the 11th round, but Collazo got up at the count of four and the bell sounded to end the round. It was the only knockdown of the fight.

Collazo fought gamely, but Mosley's superior speed and experience proved too much in a fight that was interesting from the opening bell despite being relatively one-sided. Collazo was still fighting hard when the fight ended, as Mosley pursued him, trying for a final round knockout.

Two judges had Mosley winning 118-109, while the third had it 119-108. The Associated Press had Mosley winning 117-110.

Collazo said he hurt his left hand in training and again in the third round, and wasn't able to use it effectively.

"I wish I could have been more effective," he said. "But that was the best I could do."

Mosley, coming off of two wins over Fernando Vargas that seemed to re-energize his career, was a 3-1 favorite against the heavily tattooed Collazo, who held a piece of the welterweight title before losing it last May to Ricky Hatton.

Mosley moved down in weight to 147 pounds after spending much of the last five years fighting at 154. He predicted he would be quicker and he was, jumping inside Collazo's long reach to beat him to the punch with regularity.

"It feels good to be a welterweight again," Mosley said.

The win could make Mosley a welterweight champion once again because the WBC billed it as an eliminator to the title held by Floyd Mayweather Jr. When Mayweather vacates the title to fight Oscar De La Hoya on May 5, it will revert to Mosley.