Boxing

Back at welterweight, Mosley beats Estrada

By wire services
Published April 24, 2005

LAS VEGAS - Shane Mosley was smaller and faster, just like he wanted to be. Something else was also different Saturday night for Mosley: He was a winner for the first time in his last three fights.

Returning to the ring as a welterweight after losing two straight 154-pound fights to St. Petersburg's Winky Wright, Mosley was impressive in spurts on his way to a unanimous 10-round decision over David Estrada.

"I wanted to feel myself out and move around a bit, see what was right," Mosley said. "I haven't fought (with) 8-ounce gloves in a while and I didn't know what to expect."

Mosley won easily on all three ringside scorecards, with one judge giving him nine of the 10 rounds. He hurt Estrada with left hooks to the body midway through the fight but was never able to put Estrada down.

"I thought I hurt him to the body but he did a great job of covering the body well," Mosley said. "He's a tough fighter and he had a strong will."

Mosley was visibly smaller than in his last fight in November against Wright despite weighing only 6 pounds fewer at 148 pounds.

The former three-time champion decided to move back to 147 pounds in hope of regaining some of the speed that won him titles at 135 and 147 pounds. He looked faster, though he threw combinations only sparingly.

Mosley (40-4) won his first 38 fights but is 2-4 since with one no-contest. He had far more experience and skills than Estrada (18-2), who had legendary trainer Angelo Dundee in his corner.

In a heavyweight fight on the undercard, Calvin Brock survived a seventh-round knockdown to win a unanimous decision over Jameel McCline, despite giving away 47 pounds to his opponent.

Brock, a 2000 Olympian, remained unbeaten in 25 fights by being the aggressor and taking the fight to McCline. He rocked McCline (31-5-3) on several occasions, and landed the crisper punches against his 6-foot-6, 265-pound opponent.

Brock, 218, said the performance should be enough to get him a shot at one of the heavyweight titles.

"I just beat the biggest heavyweight in the top 10," he said. "I'm deserving of a title shot. Who else do I need to beat, King Kong, Godzilla?"

KLITSCHKO WINS: Former WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko stopped Eliseo Castillo of Cuba in the fourth round at Dortmund, Germany. Klitschko knocked Castillo down with a jarring straight right with nine seconds left in the round. Castillo climbed to his feet but the referee stopped the fight.

The 6-foot-7 Ukrainian (44-3) was once regarded as more promising than his big brother, WBC champion Vitali, but his career took a big blow with two recent knockouts to Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster in WBO title losses.

Castillo dropped to 18-1-1.

WBO JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHT: Joan Guzman (23-0, 17 KOs) of the Dominican Republic defended his title, taking a 12-round unanimous decision over Mexico's Fernando Beltran (24-1-1, 17 KOs) on Friday night in Hidalgo, Texas.

On the undercard, undefeated lightweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., son of the former champion, knocked out Travis Hartman in the third round. Chavez improved to 18-0 with 13 KOs, and Hartman fell to 5-1-1.

[Last modified April 24, 2005, 01:03:20]