Floyd Mayweather Jr. Vs. Manny Pacquiao In Richest Fight Ever

Ready To Rumble?
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Manny Pacquiao pose during their weigh-in on Friday, May 1, 2015 in Las Vegas. The world weltherweight title fight between Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao is scheduled for May 2. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Manny Pacquiao pose during their weigh-in on Friday, May 1, 2015 in Las Vegas. The world weltherweight title fight between Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao is scheduled for May 2. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LAS VEGAS, May 2 (Reuters) - Floyd Mayweather came out fast in the 11th round and landed a big shot on Manny Pacquiao as the 12-round fight entered what are known as the "championship rounds."

After coming out strong in the round, Mayweather quickly retreated to his defensive style and at one point got caught in the corner but Pacquiao could not land a significant punch.

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Round Eleven

Mayweather came out fast in the 11th round and landed a big shot on Pacquiao as the 12-round fight entered what are known as the "championship rounds."

After coming out strong in the round, Mayweather quickly retreated to his defensive style and at one point got caught in the corner but Pacquiao could not land a significant punch.

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Round Ten

Pacquiao landed a hard body shot on Mayweather to start the 10th round of their megafight on Saturday.

Despite Pacquiao's attempt to be the agressor and unleashing the occasional flurry on his opponent, Mayweather's quickness and timing was evident and he was controlling the flow.

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Round Nine

Pacquiao landed a quick left and right on Mayweather to start the ninth round and finished the round with another late flurry.

Mayweather almost slipped early in the round after swinging and missing with a big punch.

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Round Eight

Pacquiao landed a left and right on Mayweather, who was showcasing his defensive prowess and managed to get in a few punches of his own during the eighth round.

Floyd Mayweather, considered one of the best defensive fighters of all-time, also landed a hard right that stunned Pacquiao for a second followed shortly after by a left hook.

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Round Seven

Pacquiao and Mayweather spent most of the seventh round dancing around the ring until the Filipino southpaw landed a left hand during the final 40 seconds.

Mayweather came out strong early in the round but neither fighter managed to land a significant punch.

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Round Six

Pacquiao did his best to keep up his all-out attacking style on Mayweather but his undefeated opponent was unfazed, at one point shaking his head after the Filipino southpaw unleashed a slew of punches.

Pacquiao, who has appeared to get the better of Mayweather to this point, also landed a straight left hand early in the sixth round.

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Round Five

Pacquiao and Mayweather slowed down the pace of their fight during the fifth round on Saturday with the duo exchanging a series of shots.

Pacquiao threw 16 punches in the round.

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Round Four

Pacquiao had Mayweather pinned against the ropes during the fourth round on Saturday and unleashed a flurry of punches, including a left hand that seemed to stun the American.

Pacquiao landed several punches on the body but Mayweather appeared to cover up and protect himself for the most part.

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Round Three

Mayweather landed a right hand below the below the belt of Pacquiao during the third round of their megafight on Saturday but the Filipino southpaw kept a smile on his face.

A big left hand from Pacquiao late in the third round narrowly missed Mayweather, who was caught along the ropes.

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Round Two

Pacquiao landed a hard shot on Mayweather late in the second round of their megafight on Saturday.

Despite landing the hardest shot of the fight up to that point, it was the Filipino southpaw who was chasing his American opponent around the ring for much of the round.

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Round One

Mayweather and Pacquiao spent the bulk of the opening round sizing each other up on Saturday.

Mayweather landed a pair of hard right hand's on Pacquiao during but the Filipino southpaw still had a smile of his face when the bell rang to end the round. (Reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

EARLIER:

By Steve Keating

LAS VEGAS, May 2 (Reuters) - After a night of New Year's Eve style partying, Las Vegas awoke ready to rumble on Saturday as the 'Fight of the Century' between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao entered the final countdown.

As the sun rose over the desert gambling resort, high-rollers, entertainment moguls and business tycoons continued to flood into town for what is expected to be the top grossing prize fight of all-time.

Only the fabulously rich and very famous will hold the golden tickets to the heavily secured 16,800 seat MGM Grand Garden Arena for the welterweight showdown that has been five years in the making.

The Las Vegas Sun reported on Saturday that airport traffic was reaching record volume levels, forcing hundreds of private jets to smaller area airports.

With tickets commanding six-figure sums on the resale market, even A-list celebrities were being forced to call in favors, and many were left waiting to hear if they had made the red carpet cut.

Fewer than 1,000 tickets were offered to the public and those vanished in seconds. The remainder were divided among the two fighters' promotion companies and MGM, who will make seats available to their best customers.

A Showtime official told Reuters the cable giant, which will share pay-per-view rights with rival HBO, had been fielding calls from anxious A-listers over the last 24 hours eager to confirm ringside reservations.

But with demand far out-stripping supply, some celebrities faced the humbling prospect of being shut out or bumped into the upper levels.

Seat or no seat, celebrity parties raged up and down the Las Vegas Strip on Friday night with something for nearly every taste and wallet.

For high-rollers, hip hot artist Jay Z offered a mega-expensive $50,000 a table VIP bash around the megafight while P. Diddy threw a poolside bash with a $10,000 a table cover complete with Sports Illustrated swimsuit models.

The souvenir black market was also doing brisk business with vendors reaching into plastic garbage bags and pulling out knockoff fight T-shirts at less than half the $35 price tag at officially lisenced kiosks inside the casinos.

Showtime confirmed to Reuters the fight will have an Oscars-worthy front row with Hollywood royalty like Clint Eastwood and Robert De Niro, squeezed in alongside celebrities from the sport world such as New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the team's billionaire owner Robert Kraft.

Only a lucky few will get the chance to view the fight live while everyone else will have to watch on pay-per-view.

"You know what, I go to all of Floyd's fights and the last time I spent $2,700 on the Canelo Alvarez fight in 2013," Mayweather fan Scott Avig from Detroit told Reuters in Las Vegas. "I was willing to spend about $3,000 for this fight, for a decent seat. The problem was with those prices you are way up in the top.

"The secondary market is ridiculous this time."

Even with tickets out of reach for the average person, the Las Vegas tourism and convention bureau estimated between 150,000 to 200,000 fight fans will invade Las Vegas to be part of buzz,

Crowd control will be the main security focus with Mayweather's last two fights at the MGM Grand ending in stampedes and injuries.

After a Mayweather-Marcos Maidana bout last May, 60 people were injured while the rematch in September also ended in crowd trouble and injuries. (Additional reporting Mark Lamport-Stokes. Editing by Gene Cherry)

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