Philippines, 03 Oct 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


Pacquiao-Mayweather By The Numbers: Did Floyd Really Win the Fight of the Century?


PhilBoxing.com




Tagbilaran City, Bohol ? The encounter dubbed as the fight of the century is already history. Majority of the fans, particularly those inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, thought Manny Pacquiao should have been awarded the victory? or were they only booing Floyd Mayweather, Jr. for staying true to his style of boxing, keeping a safe distance with all the occasional elbows, clinches and head locks? Unfortunately for Pacquiao and his legions of fans (yours truly, included), Manny Pacquiao simply got outfoxed. As a result, Mayweather stayed undefeated and won in all judges? scorecards for a convincing, yet close unanimous decision victory. Here in this piece, we shall discuss a few aspects of pugilistic judgment and some factors that may or may not affect how a judge scores a bout.

Boxing aficionados already know this stuff, but for the benefit of those new to the sport, please read on. Judging boxing matches are highly technical in nature and judges are expected to be as objective as possible ? ideally taking one?s emotion out of the task at hand. Bouts are scored on a per-round basis, on a 10-point-must system. Each fighter is given 10 points at the start of every round. The winner of each round, as perceived by the judge, gets 10 points while the other fighter loses 1 point and thus gets 9 points, unless there are knockdowns. In such case, the fighter that hit the deck loses a point for every knockdown in that particular round, apart from the point taken for losing the round.

A judge may also score a 10-8 round in favor of the fighter that clearly dominated the round, even if he didn?t score a knockdown. For this fight in particular, however, there weren?t any knockdowns and no fighter really dominated a round as much to merit a 10-8 nod from any of the judges.

All points awarded to each fighter are then respectively added up at the end of the bout. If a fighter wins in all judges? scorecards, as in the case of Pacquiao-Mayweather, he wins via unanimous decision. Had one of the judges scored the bout in favor of Pacquiao, it would have been a split decision, but still a victory for Mayweather. If one judge scored a draw, it would have been a majority decision for Mayweather and majority draw had two of them had the fight even.

Punch stats of the Pacquiao-Mayweather encounter support the judges? scorecards. While it may seem that Pacquiao was the busier pug since he was the one pressing the fight, Mayweather, in fact, threw more punches ? 435 to Pacquiao?s 429. ?Money May? also connected in 148 of those punches for a 34% connect rate, whereas Pac-Man could only manage to connect a meager 19% of his thrown punches for a total of 81.

Mayweather?s 5-inch reach advantage was in full display Saturday night. As expected, he dominated Pacquiao in the jabs department, connecting 67 of his 267 jabs, while only 18 of the Pinoy Pride?s 193 jabs found its mark.

Now let?s go to the power punches department. Here is where some who thought Pacquiao won the bout may have missed the mark. Manny threw considerably more power punches ? 236 to Floyd?s 168. There?s no question that Manny threw a lot of haymakers. The only question is, did they find their mark? Compubox scores suggest otherwise. Mayweather was again more efficient, connecting on 81 power punches, while Pacquiao, for his part, landed only 63 of his own. One might argue, though, that Manny connected the more telling blows. It again boils down to what the judges valued more ? either frequency and efficiency or power and effect or varied levels of both recipes.

I had it 116-112 in favor of Mayweather, similar to two of the three judges that officially scored the bout. This means that I thought Floyd won 8 rounds to Pacquiao?s 4. Then again, it is all about perception. Judges don?t see everything and a judge?s inclinations also significantly affect his scoring, most especially in ?close? rounds. A judge may favor aggression over ring generalship or the other way around. There are still a lot more aspects to consider, but it once again boils down to how a judge sees and perceives each round. Their verdict might indicate that Pacquiao?s efforts weren?t as convincing as advocates of the Pacquiao-won-the-fight claim them to be. Floyd occasionally got hit but so did Manny ? even more often as the numbers suggest. Simply put, Floyd made the right adjustments that corresponded to the judges? personal biases. Manny had a very nice game plan, only that the execution left a lot to be desired. What was most glaring, though, was that Team Pacquiao only had one game plan? and that?s a big no-no if you?re facing Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the master of adjustments, himself.

Comments are highly appreciated. You may email them to reylanloberternos@yahoo.com.ph. Follow me on twitter reylan_l


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Reylan Loberternos.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Allan Villanueva vs. Jyl Wright Headlines Peter Maniatis Event in Melbourne Oct. 3
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • BUSTAMANTE AND JONES NAMED CAPTAINS FOR REYES CUP 2025
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • Mike Tyson Joins BoltBetz as Strategic Investor and Promotional Partner to Usher in a New Era of Cashless Gaming
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • BOXING LEGEND MANNY PACQUIAO LAUNCHES “MANNY PACQUIAO PROMOTIONS” IN THE UNITED STATES
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • BOOTS HUNTING THE BIG FISH AT 154LBS
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • IBA Unveils Historic 2025 IBA Men’s Elite World Championships as Part of a Spectacular Two-Week ‘Festival of Boxing’ in Dubai with Unprecedented $8 Million Prize Pool
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • Final Bell for 2025 USA Boxing National Open Event National Open Event Concludes with 1,870 Registered Participants in Tulsa, Oklahoma
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • THRILLA IN MANILA GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 15: JOE FRAZIER’S PROFESSIONAL CAREER
    By Maloney L. Samaco, , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • World Boxing relocates Congress 2025 to Rome
    , Thu, 02 Oct 2025
  • Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaiman: Behind the WBC Boxing Grand Prix
    By Mauricio Sulaimán, , Wed, 01 Oct 2025
  • JOHANN CHUA BEGINS TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST IVICA PUTNIK AS DRAW CONFIRMED FOR 2025 HANOI OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIP
    , Wed, 01 Oct 2025
  • CUBAN FUTURE CHAMPIONS YOENLI HERNANDEZ, ARMANDO MARTINEZ RABI & GUSTAVO TRUJILLO HEADLINE ‘FISTS OF FURY 8’
    , Wed, 01 Oct 2025
  • USA Boxing Finishes Canada Duel Undefeated
    , Wed, 01 Oct 2025
  • Dana White Seeks to Make Significant Changes in the World Boxing
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Wed, 01 Oct 2025
  • THE PAST WEEK IN ACTION 29 September 2025: Ferreira Retains IBF 135 Belt by Outpointing Moneo; Clavel Dethrones IBF 105 Champ Cudos
    By Eric Armit, , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • Canelo Alvarez Facing Extended Layoff After Crawford Loss; Surgery Confirms Injury Rumors
    By Dong Secuya, , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • Dante Stone is last American standing in Inaugural WBC Grand Prix
    , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • Age Defying Triumph: At Age 50 Toshihiko Era Wins World Title
    By Carlos Costa, , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • TKO and Zuffa Boxing sign streaming agreement with Paramount
    By Gabriel F. Cordero, , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • Boxing Ephemera, Pacquiao’s Mouthguard, and the Meaning of It All
    By Emmanuel Rivera, RRT, , Tue, 30 Sep 2025
  • A turning point for global sport: IBA President Umar Kremlev and Donald Trump Jr join forces
    , Mon, 29 Sep 2025
  • Rosia captures PBF super fly title
    , Mon, 29 Sep 2025
  • Tancontians starred 2025 Sports Heroes Night
    , Mon, 29 Sep 2025
  • “Thrilla” guest list
    By Joaquin Henson, , Sun, 28 Sep 2025
  • Why Do So Many Boxers Play eGames?
    , Sun, 28 Sep 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.