Los Angeles: Five key moments in Floyd Mayweather’s triumph over Manny Pacquiao in the richest boxing fight in history:
- In the seconds before the fight, Pacquiao in his “MP” t-shirt took a selfie en route to the ring which was quickly posted on Twitter. Mayweather in his shiny black and white jacket earned a crescendo of jeers from the partisan audience and did not give away a smile.
- American Mayweather raced into a key psychological lead in the first three rounds, brilliantly avoiding Pacquiao’s punches and diving in with counter attacks at lightning speed.
- Filipino hero Pacquiao scored his first serious points in taking the fourth round, forcing Mayweather onto the defensive with four powerful blows. There was a deafening roar from the crowd that included Robert de Niro, Clint Eastwood, Justin Bieber and former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.
- Money Man’ Mayweather takes control from round five even though he appears to get criticism from his father Floyd senior in the corner. Pacquiao appears to take rounds seven, nine and 11 but his opponent is in control otherwise even though the crowd are chanting “Manny, Manny” In round 11, Mayweather opened with a straight right to Pacquiao’s face and grew in confidence as the fight came to an end knowing he had won.
- Pacquiao raised his arms in the air after the final bell, but his face was soon one of defeat. Mayweather embraced his father and is then awarded a unanimous points win to claim his 48th straight professional win without a defeat and his biggest payday. “He had moments in the fight but I kept him on the outside. I was a smart fighter, I outboxed him,” said Mayweather as his opponent made his lonely way back to the dressing room. – AFP
