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David Avanesyan retained his WBA interim welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory (114-113, 117-110, 117-110) over Shane Mosley on Saturday night to set up a mandatory bout with the winner of the Shawn Porter-Keith Thurman WBA welterweight title bout that will take place in June.

Mosley controlled the pace of the action in the first two rounds with his jab, but never made the proper adjustments once Avanesyan began attacking his left jab with counter right hands over the top. Avanesyan did some excellent work in the middle rounds, picking up the pace of the fight and landing some effective body shots on Mosley.

There were a number of close rounds, but with the activity rates of both relatively equal, the more powerful puncher, Avanesyan, had the advantage in those rounds. Mosley closed the fight strong, with a flurry of activity in the 11th and 12th round, letting his right hand go, but it was too little too late. A point deduction in the 10th round for an accumulation of low blows set Mosley back and forced him to search for a knockout in the late rounds -- although the point did not cost him the fight on the cards as two judges had him losing significantly.

The loss puts Mosley's future in doubt. The 44-year-old was aiming for one more title run, but this loss takes away that opportunity. For Avanesyan, he'll face the winner of Thurman-Porter, but will need to be much sharper if he's going to be anything close to competitive against whoever wins that bout.

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Shane Mosley lost via decision on Saturday night. USATSI