2.5.15 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas USA, 16 000 capacity crowd witnessed the fight which took years to bring to the squared circle. With millions watching around the world, it was the highest grossing fight ever.
Floyd Mayweather Jr 38 year old, orthodox style, undefeated World Champion, from Grand Rapids, Michigan USA took on Manny Pacquiao 36 year old Southpaw from the Philippines.
Both made the weigh in at 147 lbs, for the 12 round contest.
Floyd (5ft 8in tall) has won all 47 of his fights, with 26 knockout wins. He has 5 division World championships. 10 World titles in total. Holder of the WBA, WBC, The Ring welterweight and light welterweight champion. He is rated the best pound for pound boxer in the world.
Manny (5ft 6in tall) has a total of 64 fights, 57 wins, 38 by knockout, 5 losses and 2 draws. 8 division World championships, winning a total of 10 World titles. Has the WBO welterweight championships.
Manny is also an elected House of Representatives member in Philippines, a singer, actor, basketball coach and player. He is also a Lt Col. Of the Philippines reserve Army.
Before the fight Manny said ‘I’m ready physically, mentally and spiritually. God is good.’
Floyd said ‘This is the biggest fight in history’.
Both fighters have a huge amount of respect for each other.
Once the fight began, Manny was quicker and initially landed some good combination punches.
Floyd was agile, showing an effective defence. Manny was the busier fighter but his punches were mostly out of range and not connecting.
Floyd the veteran ring technician stayed out of the way of the offensive, with quick foot movements.
A few of the early rounds went Manny’s way but as the fight continued Floyd dominated.
Floyd remained in control, dodging the punches and replying with counters. He played a tactical game, by nullifying Manny’s attack.
Before the start of the 12th round both fighters hugged, clearly showing respect for each other.
Floyd was confident that he had won and raised his hand towards the end of round 12.
The fans were expecting a more exciting fight with possibly a knockout ending, but that wasn’t to be.
The judges confirmed Floyd Mayweather as the unanimous winner on points. The judges scored the fight 118-110, 116-112, 116-112.
He now has an undefeated record of 48-0. He is the undisputed welterweight champion. He thanked God for the win and all his fans for supporting him.
Manny said he thought he had done enough to win, but acknowledged that Floyd was very difficult to hit.
Floyd remains the world’s best pound for pound boxer. Floyd said he would fight once more in September before retiring.
