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For 12 rounds Saturday night at the Las Vegas Hilton, trainer Teddy Atlas implored International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion Michael Moorer to fight as if he cared.
After the first round against lightly regarded challenger Vaughn Bean: "Don't let Bean get any confidence. Go after him."
After the third: "He didn't believe he belonged here when he stepped into the ring. You're starting to let him think he belongs here."
After the fifth: "Jab your way in. Don't let him counterpunch out."
After the sixth: "Stop being lazy!"
After the seventh: "You're just looking at him. Start fighting! ... Michael, you will have to live with what happens here."
After the ninth -- holding a cellular phone in Moorer's face, claiming the fighter's young son was on the line: "Mike, (your son is) crying, and he's embarrassed. He's asking, `How come Daddy doesn't want to be champion anymore?' "
After the 10th: "I just got the scores. It's the 11th round, and you're behind by four."
After the 11th: "When you do get inside, you let him tie you up because you don't want to fight!"
Plea after plea, chide after chide, scream after scream, Atlas did his best to get Moorer to fight. Each time, the 29-year-old champion -- and I use that term loosely -- responded by throwing only cursory punches.
But that apparently was enough.
Moorer, a fighter known for occasionally turning lackadaisical in the ring, managed to keep his title in less-than-convincing fashion with a majority decision before 8,018 disgruntled in-house fans -- and many, many more watching on pay-per-view. Las Vegas judges Bill Graham and Jerry Roth scored the fight 116-113 and 115-113, respectively, while fellow Las Vegan Dave Moretti ruled it a 114-114 yawner -- er, draw.
What was expected to end in a quick, furious flurry -- with the more-seasoned Moorer pancaking Bean in the first couple of rounds -- had less contact than a Strauss waltz. Square dances have more contact.
Moorer, who improved to 39-1 and picked up $3.64 million for the victory, lamely blamed his approach on Bean's boxing "style."
"I guess it was his style. I'm not going to take anything away from him," Moorer said, being ever so gracious. "But his style ... All I can say is that I won the fight. I don't score the fight."
Most would argue he doesn't fight, either.
At least not this night.
Rarely did Moorer do more than offer a teasing right or left jab. Instead of taking advantage of Bean's step up in competition by following those jabs with steady combinations, Moorer would punch and step back.
He looked as if he cared to be anywhere but in the ring. A pay-per-view spokesman said late Saturday night that Moorer's mother had suffered a stroke earlier in the day, but it was not believed Moorer knew about the stroke before the fight.
Still, give credit to Bean, who lost his first fight in 28 pro outings. Although most of his prior bouts had come against weak opponents -- a collective 109-247-3 (.306) -- at the time he faced them, he went hard at Moorer, but just didn't have the staying power.
By the middle rounds, he too was punching once and stepping back -- but that was from fatigue, not apathy. Ranked as the No. 5 IBF contender, Bean never had gone more than seven rounds as a pro. Going 12 rounds truly tested his stamina.
Although there were enough excuses for why Bean didn't win, there may not be enough excuses for why Moorer refused to fight.
Perhaps the better fighter won this night. Unfortunately, it's not always the more deserving.
Joe Hawk's column is published Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. He can be reached by e-mail at Joe--Hawk@lvrj.com.
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