John Locher

Floyd Mayweather Jr. put a decisive stamp on his legacy and silenced the naysayers with a unanimous-decision win over longtime rival Manny Pacquiao Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Scores were 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112, all for Mayweather.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 KO) executed his game plan to perfection in the majority of the rounds. His jab and footwork kept the fight in the center of the ring and at a pace where he was able to comfortably keep Pacquiao on the outside, his offense largely nullified.

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KO) had a few isolated spots in the fight, even rocking Mayweather with hard left hands on a couple of occasions, but he just wasn’t able to cut the distance or force Floyd to work above his usual work rate.

Mayweather’s left jab and straight right hand were the money punches in the fight. They allowed him to consistently pick Pacquiao off on the outside and escape from the ropes the few times he was backed up and vulnerable.

With the win, Mayweather defends his pound-for-pound crown and unifies the WBC, WBA and WBO Welterweight Championships in the most anticipated showdown in boxing history.