LAS VEGAS — After Floyd Mayweather remained unbeaten on Saturday by pulling away from Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Garden Arena by Las Vegas, winning a unanimous decision (118-110, 116-112 twice), here are five things that we learned:
1. Mayweather is the best of his era
You don?t have to like him — and the build up to Saturday?s ?Fight of the Century? spent a great deal of time focusing on that narrative — but Mayweather proved over 12 rounds why he?s the best boxer of his day. In a fight that would undoubtedly go a long way in putting a bonnet on the legacies of both, Mayweather showcased why he has no peers as a craftsman and technician of the sweet science. He controlled pace and distance throughout the second half of the fight and repeatedly caught Pacquiao on his way in with clean right hands. Mayweather also utilized a stiff jab strategically to reset himself and detour Pacquiao?s momentum.
2. The fight failed to live up to expectations Punch StatsPunches Mayweather Pacquiao Landed 148 81 Thrown 435 429 Pct. 34% 19% — Courtesy of CompuBox
But that?s by design. Let?s not forget, Mayweather is a boxer in the purest sense of the word and not a fighter. He has also proven to be boxing?s greatest businessman. But for the majority of his career — and one of the secrets to his longevity — he has mostly avoided having to be a fighter. For anyone expecting a fight against Pacquiao, they were soundly disappointed outside of a few brief skirmishes in the early rounds. Mayweather?s plan is to suck the excitement out of every fight with his brilliant defensive style and he executed his game plan to near perfection. As the fight rolled on, Pacquiao?s output decreased and it did so because Mayweather gave him every reason to by tagging him with accurate potshots.
3. Pacquiao had no plan B or C
The PacMan also never went for broke and put his foot on the gas pedal going for the knockout, which was surprising for anyone expecting a close fight or a Pacquiao victory. After the fight, Pacquiao explained his somewhat passive approach in the final two rounds by saying he believed that he was comfortably ahead. But the reason he wasn?t was because he never made an adjustment once Mayweather was able to disarm him of his overhand left in the middle rounds. Pacquiao did a good job cutting off the ring early and was able to corner Mayweather at times in the second half of the fight. But he was never able to keep there, and that proved to be the difference. Outside of a left hand that briefly staggered Mayweather into the ropes in Round 4, Floyd was never in visible trouble again. While most of that credit goes to Mayweather, we never saw an adjustment or variation to Pacquiao?s style of straight-ahead attacking.
4. Mayweather was not bothered by Pacquiao?s quick, southpaw style Manny Pacquiao, right, failed to make adjustments in the later rounds against Floyd Mayweather. Al Bello/Getty Images
For all of the talk of Pacquiao?s hand and foot speed, and the awkwardness to his style as a southpaw, Mayweather stood his ground well during Pacquiao?s moments of success early and had little trouble adjusting. Any issues Mayweather had in brief pockets earlier in his career against lefties DeMarcus Corley or Zab Judah (who both served as sparring partners, coincidentally) would not be duplicated on this night. Along with establishing his jab — which isn?t common for an orthodox fighter against a southpaw — Mayweather won the fight with efficiency. More than half of Mayweather?s punches were power shots and he landed 48 percent of them, according to CompuBox. He also limited Pacquiao to just 19 percent efficiency overall. Yet, despite Floyd?s incredible efficiency on this night, he also took away any avenue for Pacquiao — who drew loud cheers from the crowd for any flurry he missed or landed — to steer the judges? influence based on activity alone. In fact, Mayweather threw more punches than Pacquiao on this night (435 to 429), which very few would have expected.
5. Lomachenko is really, really, really good
Admittedly, this isn?t something we just learned tonight. Yet featherweight titlist and two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko used the incredible platform given to him on this undercard to showcase his breathtaking brilliance. Not only is Lomachenko a quick-fisted boxer who was able to toy with Gamalier Rodriguez at will by using his superior footwork to literally spin him around repeatedly, the native of Ukraine was destructive enough to floor him twice in a ninth-round KO. The buzz created by Mayweather-Pacquiao left many mainstream sports pundits to ponder which of today?s young fighters might have next after Floyd and Manny leave the sport for good. Lomachenko, from a pound-for-pound sense, just might be that guy. Not bad for someone with just five pro fights.
