Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao in the "Fight of the Century" on Saturday night in Las Vegas (Sunday morning UAE time), a unanimous decision winner after 12 rounds in the welterweight title unification bout.
The scores read 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 as the still-undefeated Mayweather ran his career record to 48-0.
Pacquiao aggressively challenged Mayweather throughout the fight, but was unable to pierce Mayweather’s defensive skills.
The 38-year-old American made a surprisingly strong start, then withstood some aggressive counter-punching by the Filipino left-hander in the middle rounds.
Though Pacquiao repeatedly forced Mayweather to back-pedal, the wily American blunted his opponent’s best efforts with his renowned defensive skills while getting in several telling jabs and punches of his own.
The showdown between the two best boxers of their generation had been more than five years in the making and is expected to be the biggest-grossing prize bout of all time, with as much as US$300 million (Dh1.1 billion) going to the fighters.
In his post-fight interview Pacquiao said he thought he had defeated Mayweather.
“I thought I won the fight. He didn’t do nothing,” Pacquaio said in a ring interview. “I got him many times. I saw the punches. I believe I won the fight.”
The American said “I take my hat off” to Pacquaio. “Now I see why he’s one of the guys at the pinnacle of boxing.” But he added: “He had moments in the fight but I was a smart fighter. I avoided a lot of shots. We knew what we had to do.”
Most judges and experts had Mayweather a comfortable points victor. The National had it 117-113 for Mayweather.
To read back through the The National's live reaction and analysis, visit our blog.
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