The so-called ‘Battle of Greatness’, staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas on May 2, 2015 was, at the time, the highest grossing fight in boxing history, worth $600 million. The combatants were WBC and WBA welterweight champion Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr. And WBO welterweight champion Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao.
Mayweather adopted a technical, defensive approach, which, while not aesthetically pleasing, proved tactically astute. Rather than seeking to knock out his opponent, Mayweather concentrated on landing accurate, single shots to build an unassailable points lead. Pacquiao pursued him, relentlessly, throughout the fight but, aside from a straight left in the fourth round, rarely caused Mayweather any discomfort. The fast flurries of punches, which had been his trademark in previous fights, were few and far between, as Mayweather blocked, held, rolled or simply ran to avoid being caught.
It would be fair to say that the fight was, on the whole, a huge disappointment but, defensive though he may have been, Mayweather not only achieved success with his jab but, remarkably, also threw more punches overall than Pacquiao. Ultimately, the one-sided display was reflected by the judges’ scorecards, with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision, 116-112, 116-112, 118-110. The crowd, though, was less impressed, roundly booing the decision and Mayweather, himself, during his post-fight interview. In fairness to Pacquiao, he had suffered a shoulder injury in training a few weeks before the bout, which undoubtedly affected his performance.