Money tips hat to vanquished Pacquiao

The pressure of a $180 million payday never got to Floyd Mayweather Jr., even if the richest fight ever was not the best.

Using his reach and his jab on Saturday night, Mayweather frustrated Manny Pacquiao, piling up enough points to win an unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Mayweather remained unbeaten in 48 fights, cementing his legacy as the best of his generation.

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

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (left) faces off with Manny Pacquiao during their welterweight title fight on Saturday in Las Vegas. John Locher / AP

Pacquiao chased Mayweather around the ring most of the fight. But he was never able to land a sustained volume of punches as Mayweather worked his defensive wizardry again.

Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112 while the third had it 118-110. Associated Press had Mayweather ahead 115-113.

"I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao. I see now why he is at the pinnacle of boxing," Mayweather said. "I knew he was going to push me, win some rounds. I wasn't being hit with a lot of shots until I sit in a pocket and he landed a lot of shots."

The bout was not an artistic triumph for either fighter, with long periods where both men fought cautiously.

Pacquiao threw far fewer punches than he normally does in a fight, with Mayweather actually throwing more.

That was largely because Pacquiao did not throw his right hand often. Promoter Bob Arum said Pacquiao injured his shoulder sometime after March 11.

Arum said Pacquiao's camp thought he would be allowed the anti-inflammatory shot because he had gotten them during training and they had been approved by the US Anti-Doping Agency. But he said paperwork filed with the commission did not check the injury box and the Nevada commission ruled against the request for a shot.

"The ruling made tonight affected the outcome of the fight," Arum said.

Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar said Pacquiao's camp wanted shots that included lidocaine, a drug that numbs the affected area. But he said Pacquiao's representatives did not check the injury box after the weigh-in on Friday and the commission had no way of knowing how serious the injury was or what it could be treated with.

"I have no proof an injury actually exists and I can't make a ruling based on what they're telling me," Aguilar said.

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

"I thought I won the fight. He didn't do nothing except move outside," Pacquiao said. "I got him many times."

There were no knockdowns and neither fighter seemed terribly hurt at any time. Pacquiao landed probably the biggest punch in the fight in the fourth round - a left hand that sent Mayweather into the ropes - but he was not able to consistently land against the elusive champion.

The fight was a chess match, with Mayweather using his jab to keep Pacquiao away most of the fight. Pacquiao tried to force the action but Mayweather was often out of his reach by the time he found his way inside.

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

Mayweather fought confidently in the late rounds, winning the last two rounds on all three scorecards. In the final seconds of the fight he raised his right hand in victory and after the bell rang stood on the ropes, pounding his heart with his gloves.

"You're tough," he said to Pacquiao, hugging him in the ring.

It was vintage Mayweather, even if it did not please the crowd of 16,507. They cheered every time Pacquiao threw a punch, hoping he would land a big shot and become the first fighter to beat Mayweather.

But a good percentage of what he threw never landed. Mayweather often came back with straight right hands, then moved away before Pacquiao could respond.

"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."

Ringside punch stats showed Mayweather landing 148 punches of 435, while Pacquiao landed 81 of 429. The volume for Pacquiao was a lot lower than the 700 or more he usually throws.

Mayweather said his fight in September against a yet-to-be-determined opponent would be his last.

"I'm almost 40 years old now. I've been in the sport 19 years and have been a champion for 18 years. I'm truly blessed."

Mayweather is also very rich, getting 60 percent of the about 300 million purse, depending on pay-per-view sales. The live gate alone was more than $70 million and the bout was expected to easily smash the pay-per-view record of 2.48 million buys set in 2007 when Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya.