Mayweather Outwits Pacquiao in “The Fight of the Century”

As it turned out, the “Fight of the Century” failed to live up to its hype. It was a dull affair on the whole as Mayweather’s superior defensive skills outdid Pacquiao’s offense. Despite going to twelve rounds, the fight hardly had any thrilling moments and slowly ebbed into a cat and mouse game, with Mayweather controlling the tempo.

The judges scored the fight 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 in favor of Mayweather and few could argue; the American has truly established himself as the greatest boxer of his generation. His 48-0 record speaks volumes of his talent.

Pacquiao obviously disagreed with the decision, but the fact of the matter was that he simply did not connect with more than half the punches he threw. Pacquiao only connected with 19% of his punches. Mayweather’s defensive approach was on point, as he made the Pacman chase after him.

Pacquiao’s offense was not the usual flurry of combinations which we have come to expect from him. Instead the offense was more measured. Had the Manny of old showed up, we might have seen a different result, but as things stand, Mayweather has made a strong claim to be called “The Best Ever.”

The biggest fight in boxing history was perhaps a showcase for the purists, who marveled at Mayweather’s defensive skill set. For other people, the fight will be remembered for the extravagant buildup to the event, the enormous hype and the millions of dollars associated with it; unfortunately boxing sort of took a back seat at the MGM Grand on Saturday.