By Arik Espinosa, staff writer
The wait is finally over! On May 2, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fought the fight that fans have been craving for the past five years in what is now the highest-grossing bout in boxing history.
During the fight, both boxers practiced tactical fighting and played it safe by keeping their distance. Pacquiao used the corners to his advantage to overwhelm Mayweather with his famous flurries. Mayweather countered with his well known defensive fight and was able to overcome the attack. Mayweather kept Pacquiao in the middle of the ring and tied up when he got too close.
The match lasted 12 rounds with no knockdowns or knockouts.
Ultimately, it was Mayweather that emerged victorious under an unanimous decision. Burt Clement, Glenn Feldmann, and Dave Moretti were the judges that determined the outcome. Clements scorecard was 118-110 Mayweather, and both Feldmann and Moretti had their scorecards at 116-112 in favor of Mayweather.
The match made about $400 million on pay-per-view television, meanwhile Mayweather made about $180 million during the event while Pacquiao received about $120 million, according to the 60/40 deal he had made with Mayweather, making this the highest payday in all of professional sports.
With a 48-0 record, Mayweather has stated that he has one more fight left in him this September on Showtime before he retires from boxing.
Pacquiao, with his 57-6-2 record, felt that he should have won the fight and claimed that he had a right shoulder injury.
Just a week after the fight, Mayweather told ESPN that he was open to a rematch when Pacquiao recovers from shoulder surgery to repair a tear in his rotator cuff. Then he changed his mind and he called him “a sore loser and a coward,”
For fans who were disappointed with the lack of action in any of the rounds, there may be a second chance to catch these two fighters go after each other one more time. Anyone that’s into boxing would love to see these two go at it again.