"Sugar" Shane Mosley failed to win back his WBA and WBC light middleweight titles after losing a majority decision to Ronald "Winky" Wright in Las Vegas. Mosley had lost the first meeting between the two in March on a unanimous points decision, and lost narrowly in the rematch.
The main difference on Saturday was the effective right jab of Wright, which continually caught out his opponent.
Wright could now face a lucrative bout against Felix Trinidad.
And the winner of that fight would almost certainly get a shot at Bernard Hopkins.
"He was a great fighter," said Wright after downing Mosley for a second time. "I caught him with more shots. He deserved the rematch, though. He came to fight."
Wright's victory was by no means guaranteed by the close. Judges Tom Zaczmarek and Duane Ford of had the bout in favour of Wright, 115-113, while Hubert Earle had the fight all square at 114-114.
And Mosley said: "I showed the fans tonight when I fight I give 100%. I banged with him, I boxed with him. I got the better, cleaner shots."
Wright dominated the fight until the fifth when a body blow and sharp right from Mosley caught him unawares.
The round seemed to bring Mosley to life and the pair were evenly match throughout, with Wright eventually getting the nod.