IT WAS a fight that boxing fans around the world had been waiting for five years. The "Battle for Greatness" was hyped up by five years of failed negotiations and trash talking by the camps of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Yesterday (May 3 in Philippines) was the culmination of all those five years, with two of the greatest fighters of their generation finally agreeing to step into a ring against each other.
Being dubbed "The Fight of the Century" by various media outlets, many had hoped that the event would produce the fireworks expected when two of the sports' top stars step into the ring.
What they got, however, was an underwhelming bout that never really took off like people hoped it would. Although Manny Pacquiao had his moments in the fight, the audience was largely treated to a display of Mayweather's slick, defensive boxing style, which has seen him through victory in his previous 47 professional bouts, and would carry him to success in the 48th.
The first four rounds were a back and forth affair, with fighters seemingly trading rounds.
In the first round, the two boxers felt each other out, with neither overreaching or overcommitting on their punches.
Pacquiao opened up a little in the second round. Although he was clocked by Mayweather a few times coming in, Pacman pushed the action more. The fighting congressman saw more success in the fourth frame, catching the "Pretty Boy" with a left hand that sent Mayweather to the ropes while covering up.
Round six was arguably Pacman's best round, as he was able to keep Floyd on the ropes and pummel him with various combinations. Mayweather, however, appeared to merely shrug off the punches and and shake his head while mouthing "nope" towards Manny. Floyd Mayweather Sr. would later be seen scolding his son in the corner afterwards for seemingly giving up the round.
The WBC and WBA champion, however, quickly bounced back and took control of the fight from that point, putting on a defensive boxing clinic. Mayweather kept Pacquiao at bay with the jab throughout round seven, effectively keeping the Filipino fighter from engaging and scoring. Floyd continued to employ his jab and eventually had Manny's timing down, being able to pepper Pacman with the jab while he was on the outside and clocking him with check hooks when he tried to step inside.
Pacquiao had his moment again in the tenth round, as Mayweather seemed to take his foot off the gas and Manny pushed the action once again. Neither of them, however, were able to land any big shots.
By the last two rounds Mayweather resumed fighting Pacquiao from the outside and landing clean right hands and lead hooks whenever the Sarangani representative tried to mount an offensive. Mayweather raised his fist in a premature celebration in the dying seconds of the fight, drawing boos from various members of the 16,000-strong crowd in the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Mayweather's confidence was not misplaced, however, as the scorecards later came in, with one judge scoring it 118-110 and the other two scoring it 116-112 in favor of Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a unanimous decision and his 48th straight victory in his professional career.
Compubox stats later showed that the two threw an identical number of punches, with Mayweather throwing 435, only six more than Pacquiao's 429.
Mayweather was also more accurate than Pacquiao, who landed 148 of his punches for 34 percent accuracy, over Pacquiao's 19% accuracy after landing only 81 shots.
The biggest disparity, however, was in the use of the jab. Floyd threw a total of 267 jabs and landed 67 for a 25% accuracy, while Manny threw 193 and landed just 18 for a paltry 9% accuracy with the jab.
The two put up closer numbers with power punches, with Mayweather landing 81 and Pacquiao landing 63, albeit at 48% and 27% accuracy, respectively.
In an interview after the fight, Pacquiao told Max Kellerman that he thought he won the fight, saying "he (Mayweather) didn't do nothing."
In the post-fight press conference, it was revealed that Pacquiao fought on despite a shoulder injury, and that the Nevada State Athletic Commission did not allow him to take an anti-inflammatory drug right before the megafight took place.
While Mayweather seems set on seeing the last fight on his contract as the last in his career, Pacquiao's future in the sport is unclear. (With AP)