Tuesday 24 March 2015 17:44, UK
As Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao edge closer to their May meeting, we select five of their best fights
The rising Mexican star was expected to pose a serious threat to Mayweather’s unbeaten record, particularly as the American was stepping up to light-middleweight to face the bullish ‘Canelo’.
But Alvarez could not impose his physical strength on the slippery 37-year-old and was made to look crude on occasions during his humbling 12-round lesson.
Controlling the fight with his stiff jab and sharp counters, Mayweather cruised through the early rounds and even bullied the bigger man at times, trapping Alvarez briefly in the corner with a flurry of sharp punches.
Alvarez did appear to snatch a couple of rounds with his desperate work-rate, but many expected Mayweather to take a clear decision win after his dominance was ended by the final bell.
Somehow judge CJ Ross managed to score the fight as a 114-114 draw, but thankfully common sense prevailed among the other two judges, who handed ‘Money’ victory with scores of 116-112 and 117-111.
Mayweather was pitted against a dangerous foe in the form of Cotto, who had proven himself in a string of brutal battles.
The Puerto Rican had revived his career with a revenge win over Antonio Margarito and questions were raised about whether he could drag Mayweather into a gruelling dogfight.
But Cotto found it hard to avoid his opponent’s precise jab in the early rounds and received a series of sharp rights in the fourth, briefly halting his march forward.
Despite this steady punishment, Cotto continued to pursue his elusive foe, finally getting through with a flurry of punches in the eighth that left Mayweather with a bloodied nose.
But Floyd would have the last word as he wobbled Cotto in the closing minutes with a jolting uppercut, and all three judges handed him victory with scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 118-110.
Mayweather’s meeting with Marquez would create further debate about whether the American was a superior fighter to pound-for-pound rival Pacquiao.
Marquez’s stunning stoppage of Pacquiao would occur years later, but he had pushed the ‘Pac Man’ in two close points defeats, while their first fight ended in a draw.
The Mexican had out-thought and out-fought a list of high-calibre opponents, and would test Mayweather’s reflexes following a 21-month break from the sport.
Returning from his brief retirement, Mayweather quickly shed any ring rust, flooring Marquez in the second round with a lightning left hook.
By the midway stage, Marquez was sporting a bloody nose and a frustrated expression, with Mayweather piling on more spiteful punches in the sixth round.
Mayweather grinned whenever Marquez enjoyed brief success with his own punches and coasted to victory with wide tallies of 120-107, 119-108 and 118-109.
The hugely popular Mancunian was handed a shot at Mayweather after calling out the American in the wake of a crushing win over Jose Luis Castillo.
Hatton had overwhelmed many of his opponents with his all-action style and both men were attempting to preserve their proud unbeaten records.
An often humorous war of words between the duo added spice to the contest and Hatton would bring a legion of fans with him to Las Vegas.
The British support sparked into life in the opening round after Mayweather was wobbled by a stiff jab, but Hatton's attempts to fight at close-quarters were continually interrupted by over-zealous referee Joe Cortez.
Harshly docked a point in the sixth, Hatton was becoming increasingly reckless as he slipped behind on the scorecards.
His desperation would prove his undoing as the ‘Hitman’ was heavily floored by a huge hook in the 10th round and was rescued by Cortez after staggering to the canvas for a second time.
When this showdown between two of the sport’s superstars was announced, there were suggestions that the ‘Golden Boy’ would be too big and possibly even too good for Mayweather.
De La Hoya’s reputation had been slightly tarnished by a stoppage defeat against Bernard Hopkins, but he still possessed a hurtful left hook and Mayweather appeared to be giving away all the physical advantages.
These concerns appeared well founded in the early rounds as the 34-year-old De La Hoya forced the Michigan man back with a spiteful attack to the body.
Mayweather, for once, appeared vulnerable during this early onslaught until he stemmed the tide in the fifth, uncorking a sharp right hand which made De La Hoya’s legs dip.
Maintaining his body attack, De La Hoya tried to blast through Mayweather’s tight defences, but was continually caught by razor sharp counters.
Mayweather appeared to pace the fight to perfection, gradually outworking his tiring foe, who was wobbled by a big right in the closing seconds.
Respected ringside observers had the fight close and the scorecards confirmed this, Tom Kaczmarek's 115-113 in favour of De La Hoya overruled by Chuck Giampa's 116-112 and Jerry Roth's 115-113 for Mayweather.
The fearsome Puerto Rican had just the one defeat on his record, that controversial stoppage by Antonio Margarito, when he was picked for Pacquiao.
Searching for a world title at a seventh different weight, the Filipino would have to vanquish a foe with a similar appetite for battle and a reputation for brutal body punching.
Cotto appeared to edge a cagey opening round, but his confidence quickly ebbed away when he was floored in the third and fourth rounds.
Although touted as the bigger puncher, Cotto could not put a dent in Pacquiao and wilted steadily in the heat of battle, sporting a bloodied face in the latter rounds.
Pacquiao briefly offered some respite as Cotto backpeddled through the closing minutes, but referee Kenny Bayless had seen enough and waved it off in the 12th.
Even at the latter stages of his career, De La Hoya remained a fearsome opponent for any fighter and plenty of intrigue surrounded his clash with Pacquiao.
De La Hoya dropped down to welterweight as Pacquiao continued his march up the divisions, testing himself against a fellow multi-weight champion, who had pushed Mayweather the previous year.
Just as he did against Mayweather, the ‘Golden Boy’ attempted to stamp his authority on the fight with early aggression and Pacquiao was briefly backed up in the opening round.
But the Filipino’s blurring hand speed was cutting holes in the defences of the veteran and his left eye was closing by the fifth round.
Overwhelmed by a whirlwind of punches, De La Hoya was offering little in return and he was trapped in the corner in the eighth, with Pacquiao pouring on punches.
De La Hoya was mercifully pulled out of the fight at the end of the round and would never fight again following this crushing defeat.
In the second fight of their thrilling saga, Pacquiao was trying to clear up the controversy that stemmed from their drawn first meeting.
The two explosive fighters served up another thrilling encounter that created further argument about the scorecards.
Another back-and-forth battle started in dramatic fashion when Pacquiao was wobbled in the second round by a left hook but the Filipino came firing back in the third, knocking Marquez down with a hard left and stunning him again as the bell rang.
Both men were cut as the ferocious battle unfolded, but Pacquiao appeared to be edging ahead when he wobbled Marquez again in the 10th.
Refusing to back down, the Mexican warrior launched a final round assault, leaving the decision again in doubt as both men waited nervously for the verdict.
The judges again struggled to separate the two men, with both receiving scores of 115-112 in their favour, but the third handed victory to Pacquiao with a razor-thin tally of 114-113.
The Mexican legend headed into the fight as the favourite following a red-hot run of victories.
After dishing out a first defeat to Naseem Hamed, Barrera then avenged his loss to bitter rival Erik Morales and was considered a class above his Filipino opponent.
Pacquiao’s first appearance on the big stage started in disastrous fashion as he was dropped in the opening round.
But he recovered well from this early setback and began to trouble the Guadalajara man with his searing speed and southpaw style.
A visibly stunned Barrera was floored in the third round and his desperation was summed up by a point deduction for hitting on the break in the ninth.
Worse was to follow for Barrera as he was sent back to the canvas in the 11th and was rescued by cornerman Rudy Perez, who stepped onto the ring apron to signal the end of the fight.
Revenge was on the mind of Pacquiao as he attempted to set the record straight following a close points loss to the Mexican in the previous year.
In a thrilling first encounter, ‘Pac Man’ had been hampered by a cut over his right eye and was edged out on the scorecards, despite hurting Morales in the final round.
Pacquiao had good reason to curse his luck in the rematch with Morales avoiding two early knockdowns, firstly when he clung onto the ropes, and secondly by falling onto referee Kenny Bayless.
But Pacquiao refused to be denied and gradually chipped away at the defences of ‘El Terrible’ with his whirring punches.
The gritty Morales tried to stand his ground, but was finally knocked off his feet in the 10th and Bayless stepped in when the ruthless Pacquiao decked his dazed foe for a second time.