Former world champion 'Sugar' Shane Mosley knocked out Ricardo Mayorga near the end of the 12th round of a non-title light middleweight bout in Carson, California.

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The 37-year-old connected with a flurry of punches to floor down his opponent. Mayorga climbed off the canvas but within seconds was flattened again, this time for a knockout confirmed at two minutes, 59 seconds of the final round.

After 11 rounds, the judges had four-times world champion Mosley (pictured left) winning in a split decision.

"I felt him getting weaker during the fight but he was trying to stay strong," said Mosley, whose record is now 45-5 with 38 knockouts.

Mosley landed far more punches, doing serious damage to his Nicaraguan opponent in the sixth round, although the effort appeared to take a lot out of the eventual winner.

Both fighters believed they were winning the fight going into the final round.

"I thought I was doing well and I came out to win in the 12th round and he caught me," said the chain-smoking Mayorga.

"I will tell you one thing -- he hit harder than I thought he would."

Mosley said: "He took some good shots but I wore him down. He was a lot heaver than me - he's put on at least 10 pounds."

Mosley wants to fight the winner of the rematch between WBA welterweight champion Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto but not before lining up another fight in between.

Mayorga, 35, is now 28-7-1 and may consider retirement.

Reuters