Floyd Mayweather (Jr) beat Manny Pacquiao on points in their welterweight face-off in Las Vegas, United States of America (USA) on Saturday night.
The American had to use all his skills and a telling reach advantage to remain undefeated after 48 professional bouts.
He won the “Fight of the Century” by 116-112 on two cards and 118-110 on the third, proving himself to be the world’s best boxer of his era.
“When the history books are written, it was worth the wait,” Mayweather said in the ring after a four-belt unification bout that was more than five years in the making.
He is now the WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight champion.
Mayweather opened the scoring with a couple of rights to win the opening round, using his reach advantage well.
This prompted Pacquiao to try to force the pace from the second and by the third, the spectators were getting their money’s worth.
“Manny Pacquiao is a hell of a fighter, I see now why he is at the pinnacle of boxing,” the 38-year-old Mayweather said after an emotional embrace with Pacquiao. “I’m a smart fighter, I outboxed him.
“We knew what we had to do. He’s a tough competitor… a very awkward fighter and I had to take my time and watch him closely.”
Pacquiao, on the other hand, stunned Mayweather with a telling left in the fourth, forcing the American to cover up.
The Filipino said after the fight that he thought he had won it but not many observers agreed.
Both boxers had their moments as the fight turned into everything the experts had predicted.
The fight between the duo, however, was one that appeared never to happen as Pacquiao resisted Mayweather’s demands for blood-testing for five years.
