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28 March 2024

Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Floyd 'Money' Mayweather (48-0) is undisputed world champion

Published
By Boxing Correspondent and Agencies

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was money once again in the richest fight ever.

Mayweather used his reach and his jab Saturday night to frustrate Manny Pacquiao, piling up enough points to win a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Mayweather remained unbeaten in 48 fights with a win that cemented his legacy as the best of his generation.

Pacquiao did what he wanted to do, chasing Mayweather around the ring most of the fight. But he was never able to land a sustained volume of punches, often looking frustrated as Mayweather worked his defensive wizardry once again.

Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112, while the third had it 118-110. The Associated Press had Mayweather ahead 115-113.

"I'm a calculated fighter, he is a tough competitor," Mayweather said. "My dad wanted me to do more but Pacquiao is an awkward fighter."

The richest fight in boxing history - a bout that made Mayweather at least $180 million - wasn't the best.

Far from it, with long periods where both fighters fought cautiously, looking for an edge.

There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at any time. Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round - a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes - but he wasn't able to consistently land against the elusive champion.

The fight was a chess match, with Mayweather using his jab to keep Pacquiao away most of the fight.

Pacquiao tried to force the action, but Mayweather was often out of his reach by the time he found his way inside.

"I thought I won the fight, he didn't do anything," Pacquiao said. "I got him many times with a lot of punches."

A sellout crowd at the MGM Grand arena roared every time Pacquaio threw a punch, but a good percentage of what he threw never landed. Mayweather often came back with straight right hands, then moved away before Pacquiao could respond.

Ringside punch stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429.

The volume of punches for Pacquiao was a lot lower than the 600-700 he usually throws in a fight as he tried to measure his aggression against an opponent who was hard to trap.

 


Floyd Mayweather Jr won a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, using his usual skill to remain unbeaten in the most anticipated fight in recent years.

Mayweather (48-0) won comfortably on all three judges' scorecards in his long-awaited showdown with Pacquiao (57-6-2).

Despite boos from a pro-Pacquiao crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mayweather counterpunched and jabbed his way to another win.

Two judges favoured Mayweather 116-112, while a third had it 118-110.

Mayweather danced, ducked and peppered Pacquiao with enough punches to take the decision, while Pacquiao rushed forward and attempted to land combinations and big shots.

Mayweather's jab and straight right hand mostly kept Pacquiao at bay, except in a few sensational exchanges along the ropes.

The crowd booed the final decision and booed Mayweather, who said he will fight in September and then retire.

The judges gave Mayweather a unanimous decision, with two of the three judges scoring the fight 116-112 and the third scoring it 118-110.

Pacquiao was surprised with the result but his trainer, Freddie Roach, didn't seem as surprised after watching his game plan for penetrating Mayweather's defense largely fail to unfold.

"Between rounds, I asked for more combinations from Manny," Roach said. "I thought he fought flat-footed a little too much."

"It was a good fight. I thought I won the fight. He didn't do nothing. I believe I won the fight. He always move (on the) outside. I got him many times," said Pacquiao who seemed at a loss to understand why he lost during a ringside interview.

Mayweather was gracious in victory.

"He is a helluva fighter. I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao. He is a tough competitor. Now I see why he's one of the guys at the pinnacle of the sport. I was a smart fighter, I was a boxer and I'm a calcuted fighter. My dad (Mayweather Sr) wanted me to do more. I took my time and watched him extremely close because he was a tough fighter," said Mayweather Jr at ringside.

Mayweather is the unbeaten welterweight champion extending his perfect record to 48-0 (26 knockouts) while Pacquiao suffered his sixth defeat.

The winner and still unbeaten Welterweight Champion of the World after 12 rounds of boxing by unanimous decision with the judges scoring 118-110 116-112 116-112 is Floyd 'Money' Mayweather.

Mayweather and Pacquiao hug each other before the verdict is announced.

Round 12: Manny has failed to land the big blows while Floyd waits to pull the trigger with his powerful right. Mayweather is leading with his left jabs. Manny tries to pin him on the ropes but Floyd dances out of trouble. The final 60 seconds is beiing fought in the centre of the ring with Floyd in command dancing and stinging like a bee. Manny sneaks in a couple of lefts but Mayweather is raising his fists.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 11: Mayweather lands two vicious rights early and is aggressor now. Manny lands a couple of body blows as Manny reverts to his classic counter attacking skills. Manny misses with a right cross before cornering Mayweather. Mayweather finishes stronlgy.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 10
: Manny pins Floyd on the ropes with a flurry aiming for the body. Manny finds his range but Floyd fights back with right counters. Manny keeps charging but Floyd keeps him at bay with his left jabs.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 9: Manny lands with a left jab while Floyd misses with a left hook. Manny is quick to the punch as Floyd decides to slug it out in the centre of the ring. Floyd jolts Manny with a left hook and then a right. Floyd is connecting with his rights.

Emirates 24|7
scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 8: Floyd is keeping Manny at bay with stiff jabs. Manny leaps to land body blows. Floyd counters with body blows and lands a right on the face. Manny is missing with right crosses and is finding difficulty cutting the distance. Mayweather is countering with his left crosses.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 7: Floyd lands with sharp right jabs almost chopping down Manny. Mayweather in control though Manny manages to sneak in a left jab.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 to Mayweather

Round 6
: Floyd decides to go toe to toe but has to back peddle after Manny fires a combination. Floyd dances his way out of trouble though Manny lands a body blow. Mayweather covers up as Manny tries to break his passive defence. Floyd lands with his right jabs.

Emirates 24|7
scores 10-9 to Mayweather

Round 5: Floyd catches Manny with a double right. Mayweather in command of this round connecting with a body blow and leading with his left jabs but nearly gets entangled in the ropes.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 for Mayweather

Round 4: Mayweather us content to fight on the ropes with Manny being the aggressor. Manny pummels Mayweather with a barrage of blows after landing a powerful left. Manny's best round by far as Mayweather fails to land his counter punches.

Emirates 24|7
scores 10-9 for Pacquiao

Round 3: Manny tries to cut the distance while Mayweather keeps circling and counter punching. Manny tries to pin Mayweather on the ropes. Mayweather clinches and leans on Manny who is frustrated by a low blow earlier in the round. Referee cautions Mayweather for holding. Manny finishes with a good rally.

Emirates 24|7
scores 10-9 to Mayweather

Round 2: Manny stumbles as Mayweather catches him with a left cross. Manny misses with a powerful right. Pacman is attacking, trying to bob and weave to catch the elusive Mayweather who finds himself trapped in the red corner. Chants of Manny resonates but Mayweather is spot on with this counter punches.

Emirates 24|7 scores 10-9 to Manny

Round 1:
Manny is leading with his right jab while Mayweather is countering with his right landing a solid jab midway through the round. There are chants of Manny while Mayweather is in control in the centre of the ring and lands another right on Manny who attemps to land a leaping right.

Emirates 24|7
scores 10-9 to Mayweather

This is the fight the world has been waiting for. Bayliss wants the boxers to keep it clean.

Rules: No standing 8 count, no 3 knockdown rule, only the referee can stop the fight while boxers cannot be saved by the bell.

Pound-for-pound king 'Money' makes his way to the ring.

Pacman begins trotting to the ring beaming all over his cherubic face accompanied by Jimmy Kimmel.

The wait is over and it's Showtime, says Lennon Jr.

Now the national anthems of Phillipines while the US national anthem is sung by Jamie Foxx.

Finally ring announcer Jimmy Lennon gets proceedings under way by requesting the audience to rise for the national anthem of Mexico.

We are hearing we have to wait for another five minutes before the pageantry begins for a fight which was five years in the making.

Pacman has finally gloved up and will be fighting from the red corner.

NBA great Magic Johnson and Paris Hilton are seen among the celebrity gathering.

Here is a reminder of the tale of the tape during the weigh-in on Friday.


Filipino legend 'Pacman' is keeping himself busy by shadow boxing showing off his fast hands.

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach keeps a close watch at Mayweather is wearing his gloves.

'Money' Mayweather will be coming out from his favourite blue corner, according to AP reports.

NBA legend Michael Jordan, 'Raging Bull' Robert de Niro and former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield enter the MGM Grand Arena.

 


WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz moving up to Featherweight outpointed tough Mexican 'brawler' Jose Cayetano in a thrilling 10-round slug fest earning a unanimous decision 110-90.

Mayweather and Pacquiao have their fighting taped and begin warming up for the Main Event.

Tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf along with British boxer Amir 'King' Khan are the top sports celebrities in attendance.

 


WBO Featherweight World Champion Vasyl Lomachenko has beaten Puerto Rico's Gamalier Rodriguez with the referee stopping the bout in round nine.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr are co-starring in the 'Fight of the Century' at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Mayweather has overcome a host of challengers to keep his unblemished record intact while Pacquiao has made a remarkable rise from poverty in the Philippines to become a world champion.

Public opinion favours the Filipino hero who is also a Congressman but Mayweather is a man people love to hate simply because he is unbeatable inside the ring.

Now that everyone from Hollywood A-listers, former champions, pundits and both fighters themselves, here are just five reasons why the odds are stacked in favour of Mayweather.

1. Mayweather's perfect 47-0 speaks for itself as against Pacquiao's record which includes two draws and five losses including a knockout to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. Mayweather by contrast has never been even knocked down in his entire career.

2. Mayweather's record includes eight victories over southpaws. That includes a 2006 victory over Zab Judah that showcased his ability to make mid-fight adjustments to turn the tide in his favour.

3. Mayweather has scored just one knockout since 2007, when he put down Victor Ortiz in a controversial quick-start in 2011. But Pacquiao hasn't knocked out an opponent since 2009.

4. Among the five common opponents the two had, Mayweather posted a 12-round unanimous decision over Marquez in September of 2009 whereas Pacquiao fought Marquez four times beginning with a disputed draw in 2004, winning decisions in 2008 and 2011 before being knocked out in 2012.

5. Mayweather known for his brilliant counter-punching skills has a significant reach advantage of five inches over the smaller Pacquiao who also weighed in one pound less for this fight.

It's the richest fight ever, with staggering paydays and ticket prices to match.

For one night, at least, boxing will be back centre stage, with the world waiting to see what unfolds.

The big question is this: Can Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao deliver the fight this kind of hype deserves?

History is a mixed bag when it comes to big fights. But here are three that lived up to their hype:

ALI-FRAZIER 1: This fight was so big, Frank Sinatra got a job as a ringside photographer at Madison Square Garden.

The original Fight of the Century in 1971 featured two unbeaten heavyweights getting record purses of $2.5 million, and the rich and famous gathered at the Garden to see if Muhammad Ali could overcome his three-year exile and regain the heavyweight title from Joe Frazier. Adding to the excitement was the fact the two fighters genuinely didn't like each other.

Ali fought well, flicking out his left jab and landing combinations. But Frazier was relentless, stalking Ali all night long, throwing vicious left hooks that caused Ali's face to swell. In the 15th round he landed one flush, sending Ali to the canvas and cementing a decision win. The two would fight a trilogy, with Ali winning the next two fights, including the infamous 'Thrilla in Manilla'

LEONARD-HEARNS: Sugar Ray Leonard had the gold medal and the smile everyone loved. Tommy Hearns was a fearsome puncher with a right hand that knocked opponents senseless. They met in their prime on Sept. 16, 1981, outdoors at Caesars Palace in a fight that will live in boxing lore.

It was a fight that had everything, including classic ebb and flow, but Hearns appeared heading to victory when he changed strategy and began boxing Leonard in the middle rounds instead of trying to knock him out. At the end of the 12th round, trainer Angelo Dundee screamed at Leonard "You're blowing it son, you're blowing it."

His face swollen and his chances fading, Leonard turned puncher, landing a series of vicious punches in the 13th round to stop Hearns and give him his first loss.

"I always felt the end results are what counts," Leonard said after.

LOUIS-SCHMELING: It was 1938, and storm clouds were gathering in Europe as Germany began pushing for world domination. Max Schmeling was touted as the perfect example of Arian superiority after having handed Joe Louis his first loss two years earlier, and from the beginning this heavyweight fight was seen as a showdown between the two most powerful countries on Earth.

Yankee Stadium was packed with 70,043 fans, and some 100 million people listened on their radios as the Brown Bomber defended his title for the fourth time. America didn't have to wait long to celebrate as Louis completely dominated Schmeling, finally stopping him at 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the first round.

In Germany, meanwhile, the broadcast was quickly taken off the air.

Opinion

"Public opinion is definitely Manny Pacquiao," said Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports books for MGM Resorts International.

But boxing opinion still gives the edge to Mayweather, most likely by 12-round decision.

The 38-year-old American is a supremely skilled boxer and potentially devastating counter-puncher, famed for his ability to hit without being hit.

Pacquiao who weighed in a pound lighter than Mayweather, will be in the unenviable position of the smaller fighter, taking more of the risks.

The aggressive southpaw, who owns a record of 57-5-2 with 38 knockouts, says he is content in his underdog role.

A winner of world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, Pacquiao noted that he's beaten plenty of big foes, among them Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.

"No one thought I could beat Oscar, and I was the underdog then," said Pacquiao, who moved up 12 pounds in weight to batter the 'Golden Boy' in a fight that sent him into retirement. "Maybe it's good for me."

Final countdown

After a night of New Year's Eve style partying, Las Vegas awoke ready to rumble on Saturday as the 'Fight of the Century' between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao entered the final countdown.

As the sun rose over the desert gambling resort, high-rollers, entertainment moguls and business tycoons continued to flood into town for what is expected to be the top grossing prize fight of all-time.

Only the fabulously rich and very famous will hold the golden tickets to the heavily secured 16,800 seat MGM Grand Garden Arena for the welterweight showdown that has been five years in the making.

The Las Vegas Sun reported on Saturday that airport traffic was reaching record volume levels, forcing hundreds of private jets to smaller area airports.

With tickets commanding six-figure sums on the resale market, even A-list celebrities were being forced to call in favours, and many were left waiting to hear if they had made the red carpet cut.

Fewer than 1,000 tickets were offered to the public and those vanished in seconds. The remainder were divided among the two fighters' promotion companies and MGM, who will make seats available to their best customers.

A Showtime official told Reuters the cable giant, which will share pay-per-view rights with rival HBO, had been fielding calls from anxious A-listers over the last 24 hours eager to confirm ringside reservations.

But with demand far out-stripping supply, some celebrities faced the humbling prospect of being shut out or bumped into the upper levels.

Seat or no seat, celebrity parties raged up and down the Las Vegas Strip on Friday night with something for nearly every taste and wallet.

For high-rollers, hip hot artist Jay Z offered a mega-expensive $50,000 a table VIP bash around the megafight while P. Diddy threw a poolside bash with a $10,000 a table cover complete with Sports Illustrated swimsuit models.

The souvenir black market was also doing brisk business with vendors reaching into plastic garbage bags and pulling out knockoff fight T-shirts at less than half the $35 price tag at officially lisenced kiosks inside the casinos.

Showtime confirmed to Reuters the fight will have an Oscars-worthy front row with Hollywood royalty like Clint Eastwood and Robert De Niro, squeezed in alongside celebrities from the sport world such as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the team's billionaire owner Robert Kraft.

Only a lucky few will get the chance to view the fight live while everyone else will have to watch on pay-per-view.

Climax

 

Years of debate and months of hype will reach a climax Saturday when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather step into the ring in Las Vegas for the most eagerly anticipated boxing match in recent memory.

The long-awaited bout, which has been more than five years in the making, has transcended the traditional boxing scene, catapulting the sport back into the public consciousness and promising to rewrite the record books as the most lucrative fight of all time.

Vegas was buzzing ahead of the welterweight world title showdown and the money men were rubbing their hands: total revenue for the bout could reach an eye-watering $400 million, fueled by as many as three million pay-per-view purchases.

The breathtaking figures - a possible $200 million payday for the unbeaten American Mayweather and an estimated $100 million bonanza for Philippine icon Pacquiao - have intensified the spotlight on a fight between two of the greatest fighters of their generation.

As a taster for the main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a raucous crowd of 11,500 turned out for Friday's weigh-in, as Pacquiao and Mayweather went nose-to-nose.

The few tickets that did go on sale for the bout itself were reportedly snapped up in one minute, with A-listers and high-rollers making up the vast majority of a 16,800 sell-out crowd, making the fight more akin to a night out at the Oscars than two men attempting to pound the other to the canvas.

And then there is the small issue of the fight itself, which even if it doesn't measure up to Mayweather's claim of the "biggest fight in boxing history," is an intriguing clash of styles between men of contrasting personalities.

Pacquiao, 36, a two-term congressman with a music and film career, credits the grace of God for lifting him from poverty in his youth and later guiding him away from a life of excess that his ring success made possible.

'Pacman', who undoubtedly had the crowd on his side at the weigh-in, will go into the ring with all of the Philippines in his corner.

Streets will be empty on fight night - Sunday morning in the Philippines - as the nation of 100 million cheers its "National Fist."

The brash Mayweather touts his status as a money-making machine and comes from a troubled past that includes jail time for one of a string of domestic violence incidents.

Mayweather, 47-0 with 26 knockouts, is a 2-1 favourite to add Pacquiao's World Boxing Organisation world title to his own World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council belts.

Once each had stepped off the scale on Friday, Mayweather and Pacquiao came eye-to-eye for a stare down - just their third face-to-face meeting since the bout was announced in February.

Their next will come Saturday night, when they step into the ring.

"I've dedicated myself to the sport of boxing for more than 20 years," Mayweather said. "I'm ready."

Facts and figures on Saturday's megabout

* A fight that was more than five years in the making, the clash between Mayweather and Pacquiao is projected to generate a record $300 million or more in pay-per-view revenue, according to Forbes, with at least three million customers paying to watch the action.

* Mayweather's defeat of Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 has the buy record of 2.48 million households, while his 2013 showdown with Canelo Alvarez has the revenue record of $152 million.

* Mayweather is likely to earn at least $180 million from the bout while Pacquiao, a 2-1 underdog, is expected to come away with more than $120 million.

* The MGM Grand in Las Vegas is expected to pack in close to 16,500 fans for the fight for a live-gate of $74 million.

* Las Vegas resident Mayweather, who has a perfect 47-0 record as professional, will be fighting his 11th consecutive bout at the MGM Grand.

* Kenny Bayless has been appointed as referee for the fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission while Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman were chosen as the three judges.