After decades of waiting, the super fight of the generation is over—Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr. has defeated Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao by unanimous decision in the MGM Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although Pacquiao had his moments, especially early, Mayweather really dominated the match by controlling the tempo and rolling away from everything Pacquiao could throw at him.
Mayweather established himself as one of the best defensive boxers of all time in this match, allowing under 20 percent of Pac’s punches to land. Pacquiao was able to energize the crowd early and often by getting Mayweather in a corner, but even then it was tough for him to connect.
About halfway through, it was pretty close. Mayweather was still in the lead. Pacquiao had created some big moments early, but only enough to win a pair of the first six according to the official judges.
Floyd Mayweather, Sr. was tough on his son in the corner, because he understood that although Mayweather was in the lead, he needed to make that more obvious to the judges. He had a pretty cocky attitude about himself for the majority of the match, having no doubt at any point that he was in the lead.
During the championship rounds (the last two or three), Pacquiao looked a little worn down; and Floyd become even more arrogant as he began to pull away. It was during these rounds that it went from a split decision to a unanimous one. In the last round, Pacquiao obviously needed a knockout to win, but he seemed drained. He made no serious effort to land a knock-out punch, leading to even more taunting from Mayweather.
At the end of the day, Mayweather did earn and deserve the victory. Saying that he “ran away all night” completely ignores his strategy as a general in the ring. Pacquiao is one of the fastest strikers in the sport, and Mayweather’s moves and shoulder rolls made it nearly impossible for Pac-Man to land any serious punches.
Mayweather is the best in the sport right now because he always figures out his opponents. It took him about six rounds in this one, but he figured out Pacquiao and adjusted his game plan accordingly.
Pacquiao simply didn’t look prepared to go against someone as experienced as Mayweather. Although he was able to land some good punches, they came few and far between. Even when he got him against the ropes, Pacquiao would lunge forward making it easy for Floyd to grab onto him.
The fight may have been closer than the score cards indicated, but at the end of the day Mayweather kept himself on top of the sport with a decisive victory. Pacquiao shouldn’t hold his head down, however—he put up a great fight, and he still stands to bring in a solid $100 million from the event.
The fight has been years in the making; and whether or not you think it lived up to the massive hype, it was a great one. It’s amazing to think about what could have happened just a few years ago when Pac was still in his prime. Five years ago, Manny would have beaten Mayweather, easy.
Maybe that’s why the fight was delayed so long. Or maybe it was just the hatred between Floyd and his former (and Pacquiao’s current) promoter Bob Arum. After all, Arum did say that Mayweather was finally “shamed” into this fight.
That’s all speculation at this point—Mayweather improves to 48-0, and rightfully so.