Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Manny Pacquiao to win the 'Fight of the Century'
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 03 May 2015
LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. exhibited his superb defensive skills and excellent countering ability against a rampaging Manny Pacquiao, to win their much anticipated fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Mayweather Jr. won by a Unanimous Decision victory with scores of 118 - 110, 116 - 112 and 116 - 112.
Pacquiao started strong, attacking Mayweather Jr. to the body and head and he attempted to trap his opponent in the corner and the ropes so he can unload his punches.
But Mayweather Jr. was brilliant in evading the encroachment of his foe. He jabbed, he countered with his right hand, he never stood still in one spot and held when Pacquiao was relentlessly attacking him with rapid punches.
His holding prevented Pacquiao from hitting him squarely in his head, but it was not appreciated by a sold-out crowd who shelled thousands of dollars to witness this highly anticipated welterweight unification match.
Mayweather won eight of the twelve rounds except Rounds 4 and 6 in all of three judges cards at ringside.
Rounds 9 and 10 in two of the judges cards ( Glenn Feldman and Burt Clemens), were scored in favor of Pacquiao. The other judge was Dave Moretti.
"He is a hell of a fighter. I take my hat off to him. Now I see why he's one of the guys that are at the pinnacle of the sport of boxing," Mayweather Jr. said of his defeated foe.
"I knew he was going to push it and win some rounds. He had some moments in the fight, but I kept him on the outside. I was a smart fighter. I wasn't getting hit with a lot of shots until I sat on the pocket, that's when he would land a lot of shots."
The still undefeated (48-0) and now unified welterweight champion of the world, made Pacquiao miss 348 of his 429 total punches.
Pacquiao only connected 81 shots in their 12 round bout, a mere 19 percent of his output.
In contrast, Mayweather Jr. landed 34 percent of his total punches. He connected 148 of the 435 punches that he attempted.
Pacquiao after the 12 round fight, believed that he won his match against Mayweather Jr.
"It was a good fight. I thought I won the fight," stated the Filipino star.
"He didn't do anything. He was always moving outside. He was moving around too much," explained Pacquiao.
"I was cutting him and countering. I wanted to fight."
But Mayweather Jr. knew better than to obliged to Pacquiao's brawling tactics. His defense and ring smarts preserved his unblemished record, his standing as the best fighter in the world and now a unified champion of the welterweight division against a rival that many thought would give him his first loss.
"All 47 fights before I got this fight played a major key in my career. We did what we had to do tonight and I'm truly blessed," said Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is truly blessed. He is blessed with career - defining win, a fight that will preserve his legacy as one of his generation's best.
He will also be blessed with an enormous purse - an estimated amount between 100 to 200 million dollars - the biggest in boxing history, making him once again- the highest paid athlete in the world.
Pacquiao suffered the 6th loss (57-6-2, 38 KOs) of his illustrious career against a fighter that he wanted so bad to fight and defeat.
But Pacquiao did not necessarily lost in the 'numbers game'.
He will also earn an enormous amount of money from this fight, between 50 to 100 million dollars, once everything is accounted for.
Manny Pacquiao also did not lose the support of his countrymen and fans who cheered him before, during and after the fight.
In comparison, Mayweather Jr. was booed all night by fans who did not appreciate his fighting style.
"You're still a winner Manny," shouted someone in the audience when he was on his way out of the arena.
Pacquiao smiled and waved back at the crowd.
That, and his upcoming large paycheck may be enough consolation for him.
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com and @Freemazon910 on Twitter.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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