Today in Sports History: 5/2 – Floyd Mayweather Defeats Manny Pacquiao

Today in sports history (2015), Floyd Mayweather defeated Manny Pacquiao on unanimous decision. This fight was billed as one of the most anticipated fights in sports history. The hype for this fight stemmed from both fighters being legends in the sport. Though both were out of their primes during the fight, it did not detract attention.

Mayweather came into the fight with a 47-0 record, while Pacquiao came into the fight with 57-5-2 record. Only 500 tickets were sold to the public, with the cheapest ticket being $1,500 and the most expensive being $7,500. Tickets were sold out in less than one minute. Kenny Bayless was selected as the referee of the fight, as he had called five of Mayweather’s fights and seven of Pacquiao’s fights.

Many believed that this fight was boring and a let down, due to both fighter’s ages and style of fighting.

Floyd Mayweather Beats Manny Pacquiao in 12 Rounds

Both fighters came out very aggressive. While that was not particularly normal for Manny Pacquiao, it was very out of the norm for Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao initially attacked Mayweather’s body. In Mayweather fashion, he was able to defend himself, with almost none of Pacquiao’s punches landing. During this attack, Mayweather was able to counter with a strike. In the second round, Pacquiao once again tried to rush Mayweather and push him to the ropes. Mayweather was once again able to escape every one of Pacquiao’s attacks. Pacquiao was able to land a strong left hand late in the round. All three judges scored both rounds in favor of Mayweather.

The fight started to pick up after Pacquiao perceived a low, illegal hit from Mayweather. As the round ended, both fighters exchanged blows. In the fourth round, Pacquiao won his first round, as he was the clear aggressor. With Mayweather taking a little bit of a beating, he showed no signs of slowing down in the fifth. He won the early minutes of the fifth. When the sixth round rolled around, Pacquiao once again was on the attack, hitting combinations, but once again, Mayweather seemed unfazed.

The Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight went back and forth for the rest of the night. In the 11th round, Mayweather was clearly the aggressor. He came out swinging hard and fast. This stalled Pacquiao and he was unable to land many punches due to Mayweather’s defensive style. When it looked like Pacquiao had Mayweather cornered, Mayweather landed a shot to Pacquiao’s chin.

Finally, in the last round, Mayweather was able to avoid enough punches by keeping the fight in the center of the ring. Mayweather landed 67 more punches in the fight than Pacquiao, as he unanimously won.