Mayweather-Pacquiao: Minute by minute
LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr. used his defense and accuracy to outpoint Manny Pacquiao in the richest fight ever.
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9:50 p.m. (12:50 a.m.)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. won a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, using his usual skill to remain unbeaten in the most anticipated fight in recent years.
Mayweather (48-0) won comfortably on all three judges' scorecards in his long-awaited showdown with Pacquiao (57-6-2). Despite boos from a pro-Pacquiao crowd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mayweather counterpunched and jabbed his way to another win.
Two judges favored Mayweather 116-112, while a third had it 118-110. The Associated Press scored it 115-113 for Mayweather.
Mayweather danced, ducked and peppered Pacquiao with enough punches to take the decision, while Pacquiao rushed forward and attempted to land combinations and big shots. Mayweather's jab and straight right hand mostly kept Pacquiao at bay, except in a few sensational exchanges along the ropes.
The crowd booed the final decision and booed Mayweather, who said he will fight in September and then retire.
The judges gave Mayweather a unanimous decision, with two of the three judges scoring the fight 116-112 and the third scoring it 118-110.
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9:46 p.m. (12:46 a.m.) Round 12
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao hug in the center of the ring before the final round of the most anticipated fight in years. Then they shove each other away and go back to work. Pacquiao continues to storm forward, but Mayweather shows off athleticism with one last fleet-footed display. Both fighters raise their gloves at the bell, and Mayweather jumps on the ring ropes.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 12: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 115-113.
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9:42 p.m. (12:42 a.m.) Round 11
Two great fighters are in a bit of a stalemate, with Manny Pacquiao unable to land his speedy combinations and Floyd Mayweather Jr. unable to do much more than jab, counterpunch and stay out of trouble. Pacquiao backs Mayweather into a corner, but Mayweather lands a clean left hand on the chin moments later. Mayweather claps his gloves together at the bell in a gesture that Manny once used.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 11: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 105-104.
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9:38 p.m. (12:38 a.m.) Round 10
Another round of stalking by Manny Pacquiao and superb defense from Floyd Mayweather Jr., who lands just enough jabs and counterpunches to keep the Filipino congressman frustrated. Neither fighter lands anything huge in an even round.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 10: Pacquiao 10-9. Total: 95-95.
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9:34 p.m. (12:34 a.m.) Round 9
Manny Pacquiao continues to look for an opening to unload his big punches, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. counterpunches and dodges adroitly. Pacquiao is more aggressive and effective, but Mayweather nearly connects with a big right hand, and he lands a big late flurry on the ropes.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 9: Pacquiao 10-9. Total: 86-85.
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9:30 p.m. (12:30 a.m.) Round 8
Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to use his jab to keep Pacquiao uncertain. Pacquiao opens up, jumps in and throws big shots at Mayweather, connecting with two big left hands. Mayweather jabs and counterpunches. They trade glares after an exchange at the bell.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 8: Pacquiao 10-9. Total: Mayweather 77-75.
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9:26 p.m. (12:26 a.m. EDT) Round 7
Floyd Mayweather Jr. becomes the pursuer to open the round, stalking Manny Pacquiao back to the ropes. Mayweather uses a double jab and a right hand to keep Pacquiao guessing. Pacquiao lunges forward to throw combinations, but Mayweather is already gone.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 7: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 68-65.
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9:22 p.m. (12:22 a.m. EDT) Round 6
Manny Pacquiao wears a look of fury to open the round, and he chases Floyd Mayweather Jr. to the ropes repeatedly with superior energy and aggression. Pacquiao unloads with combinations that bring the crowd to its feet, but Mayweather stares back with a cold-eyed look and mouths, 'Nope, nope.'
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 6: Pacquiao 10-9. Total: Mayweather 58-56.
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9:18 p.m. (12:18 a.m.) Round 5
The crowd is still buzzing from Manny Pacquiao's enormous left hand in the fourth round, but Mayweather shows veteran calm and wins the early exchanges. Pacquiao is stalking and looking for openings, but finding none this round in the defensive virtuoso.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 5: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 49-46.
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9:14 p.m. (12:14 a.m.) Round 4
Manny Pacquiao stalks Floyd Mayweather Jr. around the ring, but Mayweather mostly parries the big shots that draw hoarse cheers from the crowd. Pacquiao then catches Mayweather with a huge left hand and appears to stagger him, but Mayweather backs up on the ropes in a defensive posture and then survives the round with a smirk.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 4: Pacquiao 10-9. Total: Mayweather 39-37.
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9:10 p.m. (12:10 a.m. EDT) Round 3
Floyd Mayweather Jr. delivers a borderline low blow, and Manny Pacquiao reacts angrily. Pacquiao loads up for a few big punches, but still has trouble finding the most elusive boxer of his generation. Big shots late get the crowd on its feet.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 3: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 30-27.
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9:06 p.m. (12:06 a.m. EDT) Round 2
Manny Pacquiao gets Floyd Mayweather Jr. on the ropes, but the unbeaten pound-for-pound king slips away repeatedly or wraps up Pacquiao in close. Pacquiao's shots are mostly missing, and Mayweather gets more aggressive later in the round. Pacquiao lands a late left.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 2: Mayweather 10-9. Total: Mayweather 20-18.
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9:02 p.m. (12:02 a.m.) Round 1
Both fighters moved aggressively to the center of the ring to start their long-awaited fight. Manny Pacquiao looked to land early body shots, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. slipped away. Mayweather landed a solid counter right to the body in the final minute.
Unofficial scoring by AP Boxing Writer Tim Dahlberg, Round 1: Mayweather 10-9.
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8:54 p.m. (11:54 p.m. EDT)
The ring walks have finished, and they were predictably nuts.
Manny Pacquiao smiled broadly as he walked to a song he sang himself. In his entourage was an unsmiling Jimmy Kimmel, dressed to look something like pop star Justin Bieber, a frequent member of Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s entourage.
Mayweather then walked with Bieber himself and, for some reason, the Burger King restaurant chain's mascot.
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8:48 p.m. (11:48 p.m. EDT)
Jamie Foxx finishes a soulful rendition of the national anthem, and announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. gets it rolling with his signature "Iiiiiiit's Showtime!" cheer.
The fighters are ready for their ring walks. Manny Pacquiao will walk first, one of the many concessions he made during the torturous negotiations for this fight.
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8:36 p.m. (11:36 p.m. EDT)
The late money coming into the Vegas sportsbooks has been mostly on Floyd Mayweather Jr., and the odds have surged to -240 for Mayweather and +200 for Pacquiao.
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8:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. EDT)
The fighters are ready, and the arena is packed. But Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are waiting in their dressing rooms for a few extra minutes because HBO and Showtime have such a backlog of requests to buy the fight.
The broadcasters elected to delay the main event for a few minutes to take in more orders for the $99.95 pay-per-view. The crush of requests for the fight, which is expected to shatter every pay-per-view record in combat sports, has slowed down the cable and satellite providers who get the fight to fans.
"Nobody believes it 'til it happens," HBO spokesperson Ray Stallone said.
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8:25 p.m. (11:25 p.m. EDT)
The sellout crowd is ready for the main event a half-decade in the making, and Manny Pacquiao's crew is in the ring, wearing formal white shirts and waving a big Filipino flag.
However, because many customers trying to order the pay-per-view telecast were having problems, organizers said they were going to slow things down before bringing Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to the ring.
Announcer Jim Lampley said demand for the fight was so high, cable and satellite operators needed more time to keep up to fill orders. Lampley referred to the problems as "electronic overload which is plaguing cable systems across the country."