SPORTSCLOPEDIA 20: FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. VS. MANNY PACQUIAO REVISITED PART II
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 25 Jan 2023
Predictions were made that the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight would be the highest revenue generating bout in boxing history as early as 2009, but there were disagreements between the two professional boxers' camps on the terms for the fight which prevented the bout from its realization until 2015. The failure to make the Mayweather–Pacquiao fight happen was named the 2010 Event of the Year by The Ring.
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The two superstars attended the Miami Heat's game against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 27, 2015 and may have attracted more attention than the action that happened on the court at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. At the halftime intermission, Pacquiao approached Mayweather and both had a conversation. They exchanged phone numbers and later on met at a hotel. The fight was then realized after several failed negotiations.
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The pay-per-view (PPV) was initially estimated to be 4.4 million purchases and broke revenue records in the United States with $410 million making it the highest-grossing PPV in history. By September 2015, the figure had been raised to 4.6 million. The broadcast of the fight in the Philippines was watched by nearly half the country's households.
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Even if the fight was popularly seen by a vast worldwide audience, many fans felt disappointed with how the bout was being fought, primarily criticizing Mayweather's defensive tactics in the ring and Pacquiao's inability to connect punches on Mayweather because of the latter's mobility.
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Pacquiao later divulged after the fight that he had suffered an undisclosed injury to his right shoulder while training and it had been healed before the encounter, but he re-injured it during the fourth round of the fight.
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The controversy was further fueled by the information that before the fight, Mayweather had been administered IV fluids and it was cleared by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) through a retroactive "therapeutic use exemption" which is not authorized by the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC).
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After 12 rounds, when the result was announced, Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision, with the judges mostly agreeing on the winners round-by-round.
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The judges scored uniformly on the winner in 10 of 12 rounds. They differ only on the ninth and tenth rounds, as judge Dave Moretti scored both rounds in favor of Mayweather. Moretti scored the fight 118-110. Judges Burt Clements and Glenn Feldman gave both ninth and tenth rounds to Pacquiao. Clements and Feldman had the fight 116-112 still for Mayweather.
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Mayweather was more accurate connecting 34 percent of his total punches (148 of 435) and 25 percent of his jabs (67 of 267). His power shots were also effective, landing at 48 percent (81 of 168).
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Manny Pacquiao connected with just 19 percent of his total punches (81 of 429) and 27 percent of his power shots (63 of 236). His jab was lesser, landing just 9 percent (18 of 193).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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