Mayweather defeats Pacquiao as skill prevails over will

Ryan Songalia

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Mayweather defeats Pacquiao as skill prevails over will
Floyd Mayweather Jr outboxed Manny Pacquiao en route to a unanimous decision victory

LAS VEGAS, USA (UPDATED) – Forty-eight and zero.

Floyd Mayweather was too fast and too skillful for Manny Pacquiao as he boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory on Saturday, May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The scores were 118-110 on Dave Moretti’s card and 116-112 on the cards of Burt Clements and Glenn Feldman.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 knockouts) who unified the WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight titles, came out aggressively in the first three rounds as Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) struggled to break through the defense and jab of the Grand Rapids, Mich. native.

Pacquiao finally broke through in the fourth round with a straight left cross to Mayweather’s chin that pushed Mayweather into the ropes. Pacquiao unleashed a barrage that elicited a spirited response from the pro-Pacquiao crowd.

“He’s a hell of a fighter, I take my hat off to him,” Mayweather said of Pacquiao. “He’s at the pinnacle of boxing. He had his moments, but I’m smart. I outboxed him, he never figured out my left jab or my right hand.

Mayweather regained his composure in the fifth and returned to landing his counter right hands whenever Pacquiao would lead with his right jab.

Pacquiao had another strong round in the sixth stanza, as his feints kept Mayweather on the ropes for extended periods, allowing Pacquiao to throw his straight left hand in combinations.

“I knew he was going to push it and win some rounds,” said Mayweather. “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 in the pocket, that’s when he would land a lot of shots.”

But as the rounds progressed, Mayweather’s counter right hand crosses found the mark with increasing regularity as Pacquiao was unable to cut off the ring effectively.

Punch stat numbers favored Mayweather as he threw 6 more at 435 to 429 and outlanded Pacquiao 148 (34%) to 81 (19%). Pacquiao had the edge in power punches thrown at 236 to 168, but was only credited with landed 63 (27%) while Mayweather landed 81 (48%).

Pacquiao, who was a +240 underdog while the MGM sports book had Mayweather as a -200 favorite when the first bell rang, said he was never hurt by Mayweather’s punches and felt he deserved the victory.

“I thought I won the fight, he didn’t do nothing,” said Pacquiao. “I got him with solid punches and I thought I won the fight.

“I got him many times; I saw his punches.”

Mayweather, 38, says he intends to retire after his next fight in September, when his six-fight deal with Showtime expires.  

“It’s time for me to hang it up. I’m almost 40 years old now. I’ve been blessed in the sport 19 years and have been a champion for 18 years, I’m truly blessed,” said Mayweather.  – Rappler.com

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