Floyd Mayweather beats Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jr beats Manny Pacquaio. 

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision on Saturday in their long-awaited welterweight world title showdown.

In a bout branded boxing's latest "Fight of the Century" Mayweather took his unblemished record to 48-0 adding the Filipino great's World Boxing Organisation title to his World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council crowns.

Pacquiao fell to 57-6 with two drawn, never able to mount the kind of sustained aggressive attack he needed to earn the decision.

Even so, Pacquiao said he thought he did enough to earn the victory.

"I thought I won the fight," he said. "He didn't do nothing." In fact, Mayweather did what he does best, skilfully thwarting Pacquiao's offence.

Although his punches didn't come in the bunches that Pacquiao's did, there were plenty of telling blows.

Ringside judge Dave Moretti scored the bout 118-110 for Mayweather, while judges Glenn Feldman and Bert Clements both scored it 116-112 for the American.

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05.54

Here's Manny Pacquiao:

It was a good fight. I got him many times I saw the punches. I thought I won the fight. He is moving around, it is not easy to throw a lot of punches. I can handle his power. He is not strong like some others. He's not bigger than me, the size doesn't matter, I have fought bigger guys.

05.51

Here's Floyd Mayweather speaking, to a solid chorus of boos:

First off, I want to thank God. I want to think all the fans around the world. This was a hell of a fight. I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao, now I see why he is one of the guys at the pinacle of boxing. I am truly blessed. Manny Pacquaio is truly blessed. I am a calculating fighter. He is a tough competitor. I had to take my time with him. My last fight is in September.

05.50

Unanimous decision for Floyd Mayweather

Manny accepts it with grace and class.

05.48

Warm words and hugs between the fighters at the end. Cheers for Manny, boos for Floyd.

05.46

Results as soon as! Carl Froch: "If you understand boxing, you will say that Mayweather totally nullified Pacquiao. That wasn't a spectacle but there was so much technique there." Here's how TV's Jim Watt scored it:

ROUND 12

They're out for the last round. The fighters hug at the start of it. Perhaps Floyd's feeling well disposed because he's thinking about the rematch payday. Well, now or never.... or maybe we'll come back in a year's time, who knows. There's a straight left from Manny, but Floyd is dancing out of the way, he's enjoying this, and why not, he's got Pac right where he wants him, this is a gentle cruise home barring disasters. Manny's corner not looking too happy. Manny gamely coming forward. And that's it! Both men celebrating at the end.

Gareth: MP needs a big round. Look at Mayweather take the centre of the ring and flick out the jab. Great left by Floyd. Manny grins after they clinch. How can you not love the guy. Look at Mayweather again. Boxer beating cultured brawler. But Pacquiao went after Floyd there and chased him down to the wire. All the support for Pacman, but Mayweather toyed there. And booed afterwards. Both men with hands in the air. Both champions. I have Mayweather winning this fight. Mayweather 10-9.

ROUND 11

Floyd tags Manny right from the bell! He's caught Manny there. But soon the fight resumes its pattern: Manny lunging forward, Floyd dancing out of the way. Manny not throwing enough. One punch attacks aren't going to do it against this counterpunching defensive genius. Left right combo from Mayweather.

Gareth says: "That's interesting. Floyd coming out at the start of the winging right hand. They land. It's to get the judges' attention. He knows it is quite close Mayweather's use of the jab in this fight, to measure his right hand, has been brilliant. Pacquiao still attacking, landing, still disciplined, which he needs to be. He's often much more aggressive than this. Brilliant defence again from FM. Mayweather winning the round with movement and single shots. Mayweather may toy with Pacquiao now - MP has to go for it. Mayweather 10-9

ROUND 10

Come on Manny, up that rate. First minute of this round is pretty quiet, but Manny has barrelled Floyd into the corner. But Floyd is out of there like an otter slithering out of a pot of melted Nutella. "He needs to give the judges something to like," says Jim Watt. Manny having a good round though, he is making the running in this one. "I don't think he has got the strength or the fitness to do it. Mayweather has nullified him." CArl Froch makes a harsh assessment.

Gareth disagrees with the commentators: "That left of Pacquiao is thrilling. It brings the fight - and Floyd - very much alive., See that beautiful movement and defence from Floyd on the ropes. So hard to do, so brilliant. Manny the aggressor, Floyd now in winning on points mode. Not lot of punches landed This is going to be very close. Controversy brewing... Pacquiao 10-9

ROUND 9

Nice lunging left from Manny gets through. But apart from that hard-charging spell in round four, Manny's been one shot at a time. not able to put enoguh combos together. Think we could get a fishy decision here though, maybe. Floyd not exactly looking to knock his man out. It's classy, it's composed - is it a bit bloodless? Will the judges judge it harshly?

Gareth says: "Floyd with the right hand. Great right from Floyd over the jab - great whiskers from MP. This is a great fight. The puncher/brawler against the stylist. Savour it - they will go down as greats. Great assasault from MP again. Close round but Pacquiao going for it and very much the aggressor. Floyd landed only a few single shots. Pacquiao 10-9"

ROUND 8

Manny taking some more risks now. Lands a left, swings wildly and misses now. Jim Watt says: "you have to take risks against FM. You cannot beat him at his own game." Couple of flurries. Pac chasing it in this round but he's not really finding Floyd. Floyd dropping the hands now, starting to large it up a bit, Manny looking the more tired of the two I would say. It's been engaging and Mayeather's defence has been super, but there have only been sporadic squalls of real excitement. Floyd back in calm control in this round.

Gareth: "Winging left, then left uppercut from Pacman but Floyd still setting traps. Notice that straight right land from the ropes ? MP cannot afford to get reckless. Floyd could knock Manny out as he falls in. Couple of great left hooks from Floyd, That's new in this fight. Pacquiao 10-9"

ROUND 7

Floyd electric defence again, darting away from Manny. He's keeping Manny at distance in this round. Tags him with three jabs. That's money. A slower round. Carl Froch: "Manny needs to sustain the punch rate and I cannot see him doing that."

Gareth: "Mayweather attacks, uncharacteristically clumsy throwing the right. FM has come out looking to dominate and change pattern again. Lands good right hand. Pacman hunting bobbing looking for left handed attack again. Great left from MP inside the final minute sends Floyd backwards, but he wore it well. Then a left body shot with 12 seconds remaining from Pacman. Another close rd. Mayweather 10-9"

ROUND 6

Manny ups the tempo again, as he must. And he manages to trap Floyd in the corner and unloads a flurry. Now he's got him on the ropes, pounding away at the body. Floyd shake his head! Saying, nah mate, not bothered. Floyd gets back out in the centre of the ring and has sort of taken control again, but until he can actually hurt Pacquaio, he is not going to shut him down. And who knows how the judges are scoring all this? I reckon it's 4-2 roughly to Floyd in round at the halfway mark.

Gareth: "We are witnessing the ageing of Floyd Mayweather here. Serious left-handed assault by Pacquioa, hard, hard shots. Mayweather reactions are slowing. He's still dangerous with that right hand and right check hook. Pacquiao 10-9"

ROUND 5

Floyd needs, and gets, a quieter round. He's inviting Pac onto him. Manny cannot let the blood get up too much, get knocked out as he charges forward. Manny looking to "box" more in this round rather than the fourth round when he just went at him hard and whaling. Floyd's supporters will have enjoyed that round much more. At the end of the round, the ref tells Mayweather to keep his punches up.

Gareth A Davies: "This is becoming an awesome fight. That assault in the fourth by MP has got Floyd's attention. That round could have gone either way. Floyd early, Manny late. Floyd back in shell. FM warned for holding and hitting. Closest round so far. Mayweather 10-9"

ROUND 4

More promising start to this round. Manny is throwing at an incredible rate and he has landed a couple at the start of round four. And now here's a flurry of blows from Manny! pings him with a left, he's into this now and he has hurt Floyd, who is covering up on the ropes. And now he's caught him with a right in the cenre of the ring, this is Manny's best few monents yet. This is more like it for Manny, he's whaling punches on him but Mayweather's defence is very, very good. A huge number of blows but how many of them actually hurt is harder to say. He was working the body good and hard. That's Manny's round no doubt.

Gareth A Davies' verdict: There it is. The power of Pacquiao. The left finally lands from Manny. Floyd is rocked. And again. This place has come alive. Mayweather covers up. Now we have a fight. This is just amazing. PacMan must not get reckless. Pacquiao 10-9.

ROUND 3

Off and running again. Manny has barely landed one. Fight settling into a pattern. Pac charges... but Floyd is not there. There's a shot from Manny though, lunging right that glances. Floyd throws a couple towards the end of the round. Mayweather stuck Manny with a low blow in that round, it glanced off Manny's glove.

Gareth A Davies' verdict: This is a slightly more aggressive Floyd than we are used to seeing. It is working veruy effectively. Great jabs, the occasional right hand. Low blow from FM on MP. Come on Kenny, stronger warning needed. Good right to the body from FM. Pacman needs to start landing. Needs a clean combo to change pattern of fight. For me, FM winning this easily. Mayweather 10-9

ROUND 2

Manny lunges and Floyd tags him. Slight slip from Floyd, but that was just a footing thing. Manny bringing great energy, but swinging wildly. Manny grabs Floyd. He's managed to back him into the corner but it's more by wrestling than fighting. Pac like a little bull, head down charging. Mayweather defence looking impeccable. Crowd are roaring Manny forward but it's like trying to thump a shadow at the moment. The bell goes and I would say that round was a tie, Floyd didn't really throw that many. Manny threw a lot, but just didn't land. Latoya writes:

"First comment from a lady??? Manny is humble and has promised to do good with all his winnings so I'm cheering and praying with the whole of the Philippines that he wins. Buttttt it's likely that Floyd will take it. I hate it. But Floyd to win.

Gareth A Davies' verdict: Apart from one combination, Pacquiao is being out moved and that right hand of Floyd's looks so dangerous. They are calling for Pacman but this is all FM. Already 5/6 long straight rights. Mayweather really in the mood. Beautiful to watch. Mayweather 10-9

ROUND 1

We're off! Finally! Manny coming forward. Floyd looking to counter, to stick. Floyd looks sharp. Floyd lands his first straight right, bit of snap in that, now back to the jap, Floyd is finding his range really well here. Two minutes minute in, Floyd looking the more assured. Another straight right from Floyd. Hmm, I am giving that round squarely to Floyd Mayweather.

Gareth A Davies: "Brilliant first round by Mayweather. Controlled everything: centre of the ring, landed that dangerous right hand twice - the second time just buckling Pacman's legs a little, and ALSO was even setting traps to land a big right by drawing Manny in." Mayweather 10-9

04.59

Lot of late money coming in for a Pac knockout. And we're about to fight.

04.58

Fighter introductions. Nice mention for Roach. Passionate applause for Manny. Huge roar for Floyd too though. The ref has got them together. "This is the fight that the world has been waiting for. You are both world champions. Good luck and god bless."

04.54

The fighters are in the ring. Here's yer man.... LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!

04.52

You wouldn't think that Floyd, the American, was at home.

04.50

And here comes Floyd Money Mayweather. Remarkable jacket. Loads of zips on it. In case he needs some pin money on the way into the ring? He is flanked by guards, there are quite a lot of boos in among the cheers. He snakes into the ring, this is great fun theatre, proper black hat-white hat stuff.

04.49

And here come the fighters. Manny first. Fantastic ring walk. Soaking up the adulation. Stops to take a selfie! Smiles, a man in his element. Into the ring. Down on his knees, head against the post, praying.

Gareth A Davies: "Unreal. Manny Pacquiao pausing for a selfie. That is fitting too. This is, don't forget, the first megafight of the social media era. That's why for me it's one of the most significant fights of all time for me. Manny in the ring. Then the music and the mood darkens. Mayweather is coming..."

04.48

A brilliant gallery of all the celeb atendees.

Gareth A Davies: "These are the Japanese TV guys sitting directly to the left of me -occasionally they are unhappy that I am in their shot in my red paisley shirt. Animated Japanese voices are awesome. I genuinely have never seen so many different nationalities at a fight here working media. Even Mongolia have come for Manny. But I can see that. You ? For the record over 1000 accredited media here. I'm one of the lucky ones bring in here, so close to almost feel the sweat blood and snarls and smells.

04.47

News on the PPV thang.

The stunning demand for pay-per-view telecasts of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather mega-fight has caused a 45-minute delay of the main event, as broadcasters struggle to get back on air.

Millions of boxing fans in the US who paid as much $100 to watch the fight were experiencing blackouts due to the record demand.

Viewers trying to tune in on cable TV are complaining that they are stuck watching a black screen during the undercard fight - just minutes from what has been dubbed the fight of the century. There are reports the start of the bout has been delayed as technicians try to rectify the problem.

Time Warner, Optimum, DirecTV, Charter, Comcast and AT&T customers all complained of experiencing the same issues - ranging from pixilated screens to screens going to black after the broadcast had started.

The scale of the problem was enough to have telecasters Showtime and HBO hold up the main fight for about 45 minutes.

Many missed some, or all, of the undercard fight, which saw Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko defend his WBO featherweight title against Gamalier Rodriguez of Puerto Rico.

MORE ON THAT PPV STORY

04.46

Anyhoo, enough of that madness. Here come the fighters.

04.45

Wow. Jamie Foxx. "Why use one note when four will do?" says picture editor Alex. He's absolutely pestering that final note, giving it the full Mariah Carey. Feller me lad on the organ is also going beserk, he'll need a bucket of ice for those fingers later.

04.42

Philippines national anthem next. And now Jamie Foxx to sing the USA one, accompanied by solo barrel organ, by the sound of it. This is totally amazing and fitting indeed of this enormous spectacle.

04.49

And that action is happening in the form of national anthems. We are starting with the Mexican national anthem! Erm ok. It's Cinco De Mayo soon, says MC Michael Buffer.

Hope we're not going to get a selection of national anthems. Somebody alert David Luiz!

Oliver Brown says: "The only fathomable reason why the Mexican national anthem was just played is that this fight is sponsored by Tecate, a Mexican beer. Utterly bizarre."

04.37

I mean, yeah... The longer they leave it, the more people might buy it. We could be hear for ages! Hang on though. Action is happening!

04.35

They're saying that estimated three million people have bought this. It's a hundred dollars a pop. you, as they say, do the math.

04.33

04.32

Okay. So it's delayed. No shocks there. But by how long?

04.31

McCrory makes the good point that one of the excellent things about this fight is that, as far as we know, both camps went really well, so we should be seeing the best of both men.

04.29

04.27

04.23

Word from Gareth A Davies:

 Here's view from my seat. Editor Mike Adamson asked me if I'm excited, I played it cool. The truth is I am buzzing. I love fight sports and I respect what it can - and cannot - do. This is an amazing match up not just of boxers - because Mayweather is a much greater stylist - but a clash of stories cultures, and race. Could not be bigger. Or more diverse. These are the primeval moments the readiness off the ring walk. Let's not rush this...

This fight really has crossed over into the mainstream. My wife has just texted me from the UK: "My prediction - Pacquiao to get a help from the hand of God in round 5 and KO Mayweather." Love ya, babe.

04.22

Glenn McCrory says: "Mayweather looks ready. He's warmed up but not sweating. He looks calm. Manny looks pensive."

04.19

Manny P has not put his gloves on yet.

04.17

"Both of us, Floyd and I, are working hard to put our name in boxing history," Manny said at the final press conference. How will history juge the winner of this? What about the loser? Where do you rate these men in the pantheon of the sport's greats?

04.11

Paul Edwards writes:

Alan - greetings from Dhaka where am sat in a traffic jam "watching" the fight here... Heart says Manny - but expecting the head to win through.. Keep up the good work!

04.10

Three-way tie between Bieber, Paris Hilton and gridiron smuggins Tom Brady for most annoying celeb attendee so far.

04.07

Stirring video package now, one of those things that the BBC do so brilliantly, and... well... this one isn't quite on the money. VICTORY WILL STIR IN ETERNITY or something. Okay. Never mind that, what does Paris Hilton think about it all?

04.06

04.04

Right then. So, the support acts have done their okayish thing. Now for the main event.

04.02

Blimey, Bob Dylan's in!

04.00

Santa Cruz wins it, takes every round on the scorecards, and rightly so.

03.58

Ambitions of a 4am start have proved, well, ambitious. The fighters from this undercard bout are still in the ring as the judges sort out the scorecards.

03.57

Meanwhile, the main man prepares.