Mayweather beats Pacquiao but will never have victory he wants the most

Floyd Mayweather has defeated every fighter he has faced, including Manny Pacquiao on Saturday. But with his adoption of a villain persona, and his history of violence against women, he'll never win what he really wants: the public's approval.

Author:
Greg Bishop
Publish date:
May 3, 2015

LAS VEGAS — The Fight of the Century ended, and what seemed like half of the arena swarmed inside the ring. Mostly, they just stood there. But not Floyd Mayweather Jr. He had an image to reinforce.

It’s not easy to be the most hated athlete in professional sports.

Mayweather climbed up each corner and thumped his chest and pointed at the crowd that booed him throughout Saturday. “I know I won!” he shouted. Then he thumped his chest. Then they booed him. Thump. Boo. Thump. Boo. “I know I won!” he shouted once again.

The crowd booed and booed and booed. The crowd booed when the announcer proclaimed Mayweather the winner by unanimous decision, booed when broadcaster Jim Gray interviewed Mayweather in the ring, booed especially loudly when Mayweather turned his eyes toward history, and, more specifically, to his place in it. To the surprise of no one, he places himself at the top.

Mayweather thanked God. Boo! Mayweather thanked his father. Boo! Mayweather thanked his team. Boo!

Crowd boos after Floyd Mayweather beats Manny Pacquiao

This is how it goes with Mayweather, how it always is with Mayweather. He may have made upwards of $180 million Saturday, and he further cemented his status as the best boxer of his generation. But there is one fight—that of public perception; to be known as a world-class fighter, not a serial batterer—that he cannot win.

What Mayweather doesn’t realize, and what none of his acolytes have the heart to tell him, is he arrived in this space largely through his own design. He turned himself into a villain and mocked those who accused him of domestic violence and incited the hatred that now defines him. He wants all of it to go away now, but most seem to be past that point. At once Mayweather can topple Pacquiao and still remain in a fight he cannot win.

He wants, now more than ever, to be known for nights like Saturday. It went the way most Mayweather fights go. Pacquiao spent most of the past month saying what all Mayweather opponents say: that he would be aggressive, force the pace, get inside, rough Mayweather up. Everyone says that. But it’s one thing to say it. And another thing to do it. And yet another thing to win.

Pacquiao did pursue Mayweather. He followed him into the corners and stalked him around the ring. In the fourth round, Pacquiao landed a straight left hand that staggered Mayweather backward and brought the crowd to its collective feet. Pacquiao continued to throw punches in flurries, continued to land, and at that point it seemed possible, if only momentarily, that Mayweather would lose. Mayweather leaned back on the ropes and shook his head, as if to say, Not tonight.

“As long as I moved on the outside, I was O.K.,” Mayweather said. “It was only when I stayed in the pocket that he was able to get me.”

Fight stats: Judges agree on Mayweather-Pacquiao results

Celebrities descended on Las Vegas throughout Fight Week. Most wanted Mayweather to lose. The stands at the Grand Garden Arena looked like some sort of Hollywood red carpet: Clint Eastwood, Andre Agassi, SteffiGraf, Paris Hilton, Ben Affleck, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Tom Brady, Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington all showed up, as did anyone who could afford to spend the price of a new car or a college fund on a ridiculously expensive ticket.

They came to see Pacquiao knock some of the hubris off Mayweather, to see Pacquiao shut Mayweather up. As Pacquiao followed Mayweather around the ring, he smiled at him. He kept smiling at him. But for all the smiles, and for all the boos the crowd rained down on Mayweather, Pacquiao could not connect the way he wanted to.

Pacquiao threw 429 total punches, when more like 800 were expected if he was to win. He landed only 19 percent, to 34 percent for Mayweather, who connected on nearly half (48 percent) of his power punches and threw more punches overall. Still, Pacquiao said afterward, “I thought I won the fight.”

• Pacquiao: 'I thought I won the fight,' Mayweather 'didn't do nothing'

He also said, “I thought I caught him more than he caught me.”

The scoring presented a central question. Should the judges favor the boxer who is throwing punches? Or in favor of the boxer who is dodging them?

They clearly sided with Mayweather in that regard. One judge had him ahead 118-110.

Celebrity Sightings at the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight

Jake Gyllenhaal

Celebrities spotted in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.

Michael Jordan

Beyonce

Charlotte McKinney

Ben Affleck

Paris Hilton

Michael Keaton

Liv Schreiber

Mark Wahlberg

Drew Barrymore

Bradley Cooper

Tom Brady and Michael Jordan

Jimmy Kimmel

Charles Barkley

Donald Trump

Denzel Washington

Tom Brady

Cassie Ventura and Sean Combs

Shane Mosley

Andre Agassi

Beyonce and Jay Z

Nicky Minaj

Lil Wayne and Christina Milian

Clint Eastwood

Adrien Brody

Don Cheadle and Sugar Ray Leonard

Michael Strahan

Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin

Mike Tyson

Jon Voight

Whitney Cummings

The crowd filtered out of the arena, quietly for the most part. Some booed. The Fight of the Century wasn’t a dud, not even close. But it didn’t live up to the hype, either, and in that regard it never had a chance. The hype was simply too great. It set an impossible bar.

Inside the ring, as the boos continued, Mayweather said he would fight once more in September and then call it a career. He seems tired of all this, of defending himself against opponents and a public that has for the most part turned against him. Much of the talk for this fight centered on Mayweather’s police record, and another controversy surfaced on Saturday, when two female television reporters who have been critical of Mayweather both said they had been denied credentials for the fight. (Mayweather’s camp denied that.)

Here Mayweather did what many thought he would never do. He met Pacquiao in the ring, and not only did he beat him, but he beat him convincingly, in a fight that was close but not that close. Mayweather surely must have hoped that it would cement his place on boxing’s Mount Rushmore, with Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard. And maybe it will, in time. But that’s not likely.

The boxer who has never lost has one fight he cannot win.

Mayweather climbed down from the ring and made his way back toward the locker room.

The crowd showered him with boos.

GALLERY: SI's BEST PHOTOS OF MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO

Mayweather vs Pacquiao: SI's Best Photos

Floyd Mayweather won a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao to run his record to 48-0 on May 2. Here are SI's best pictures from the bout.

Two of the judges scored the fight 116-112 for Mayweather, while the other judge scored it 118-110.

Mayweather was successful in throwing his his jab to keep Pacquiao at bay.

Pacquiao threw far fewer punches than he normally does in a fight, with Mayweather actually throwing more. (Text credit: AP)

Pacquiao chased Mayweather around the ring most of the night, but was never able to land a sustained volume of punches. (AP)

After the fight, it was disclosed that Pacquiao injured his right shoulder in training and that Nevada boxing commissioners denied his request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight. (AP)

By winning the welterweight bout, Mayweather cemented his legacy as the best of his generation. (AP)

Pacquiao thought he had won the bout, largely on the basis of a few left hands that seemed to shake Mayweather. (AP)

There were no knockdowns, and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at any time. (AP)

Mayweather fought confidently in the late rounds, winning the last two rounds on all three scorecards. (AP)

The crowd of 16,507 cheered nearly every time Pacquiao threw a punch. (AP)

Ringside punch stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429. (AP)

In the corner, Mayweather's father kept yelling at his son to do more. But Mayweather was content to stick with what was working and not take a risk that could cost him the fight. (AP)

Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round — a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes — but he wasn't able to consistently land against the elusive champion. (AP)

"He's a very awkward fighter, so I had to take my time and watch him close," Mayweather said. (AP)

Pacquiao had vowed to take the fight to Mayweather and force him into a war. His camp thought Mayweather's 38-year-old legs weren't what they once were. (AP)

"You're tough," Mayweather said to Pacquiao after the bout, hugging him in the ring. (AP)

The fight unfolded before a glittering crowd of celebrities, high rollers and people who had enough money to pay for ringside seats going for $40,000 and up. (AP)

In the final seconds of the fight Mayweather raised his right hand in victory and after the bell rang stood on the ropes, pounding his heart with his gloves. (AP)

"I thought we pulled it out," Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach said. "I asked my man to throw more combinations between rounds. I thought he fought flat-footed too many times." (AP)