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Mayweather defeats Pacquiao in unanimous decision

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (left) and Manny Pacquiao traded blows during Saturday’s welterweight unification bout.john gurzinski/AFP/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather walked out with the money, upward of $200 million, and he walked away with the win Saturday night, defeating Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision to claim the world welterweight title here at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

As the 12 rounds came to a close, the undefeated Mayweather raised his right hand in triumph as the final five seconds played out. He was right. One judge scored it 118-110 in Mayweather’s favor, and two judges turned in identical cards of 116-112 for the man they call Money, who is now a lifetime 48-0-0.

All in all, in was an anticlimactic evening, neither of the boxers able to drop the other to the canvas. Not even a slip and fall. The two did their best boxing in the opening four-five rounds, with it hard to say who had the advantage.

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“Now I see why he’s one of those guys at the pinnacle of the sport,’’ said Mayweather. “He had his moments in the fight. But I was the winner. I outfoxed him.’’

Pacquiao, who pressed the fight more than Mayweather, a few times put his opponent on the ropes and looked as if he could put a hook into Mayweather. Not to be. Mayweather is perhaps the greatest defensive boxer of his generation, and though he withstood a few flurries of solid body shots, he repeatedly skipped out of trouble, be it along the ropes or the times Pacquiao pressed him into corners.

“I thought I won the fight,’’ said Pacquiao, who looked slightly the worse for wear of the two battlers, his face puffy. “He didn’t do nothing. I got him with solid punches.’’

The final stats showed Mayweather held a narrow 435-429 advantage in punch volume. He landed far more punches, 148-81, Mayweather connecting 34 percent of the time, and Pacquiao barely 1 in 5 at 19 percent.

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Pacquiao (57-6-2), though, fired 236 power punches to only 168 for Mayweather.

“I asked him to give me more combinations,’’ said Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach. “But I thought he pulled out the fight.’’

The arena was packed with stars, including the likes of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, actor Robert De Niro, and NBA icon Michael Jordan.

Judge Glenn Feldman and fellow judge Burt Clements scored it 116-112 in Mayweather’s favor. Dave Moretti logged it 118-110 for Mayweather.

There was no immediate talk of a rematch. In fact, Mayweather said he intended to fight once more this year, not against Pacquiao, and then retire.

“And I’ll be 49-0,’’ he said.

The capacity crowd was far more in Pacquiao’s corner, often yelling “Manny . . . Manny’’ during the bout. Solid effort by the Manniacs, but it wasn’t enough to get him to the point where he could keep Mayweather pinned and then try to wear him down with shots to the head and body.

At one point midway through the match, Pacquiao had his best flurry, pounding the Mayweather in true Pac Man fashion, both hands going in rapid fire. But when it ended, Mayweather ducked out once more and shook his head, as if to say, “No, didn’t hurt me.’’

“He was moving around,’’ said Pacquiao. “It’s never easy because he moves around so much. Maybe if he stayed still I could throw more punches.’’

Floyd Mayweather Jr. embraced Manny Pacquiao during a post-fight news on Saturday.John Locher/Associated Press