BOXING:Floyd Mayweather kept his perfect record

Floyd Mayweather kept his perfect record
intact after clinching a majority decision
victory over Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.
The 37-year-old retained his WBC
welterweight title and added the WBA crown to
his collection as well as he improved his
professional record to a flawless 46-0.
However, aggressive Argentine Maidana gave
Mayweather a tougher fight than many
expected and even looked to be getting the
better of the bout after the first six rounds.
Mayweather pulled away in the second half of
the fight, though, with two judges scoring the
fight 117-111 and 116-112 in his favour and a
third having it level at 114-114.
But the fact that both Maidana and many of his
fans in attendance were adamant he won
shows how competitive the contest was.
"I won the fight. He didn't fight like a man,"
Maidana, who was angry at not being able to
use his preferred horsehair-filled gloves, told
Showtime.
Punch statistics showed that the Argentine
threw over 400 more blows than his opponent
but landed nine fewer, with Mayweather’s
trademark accuracy shining through despite a
subdued workrate.
"It was a tough, competitive fight. I normally
like to go out there and box and move. But he
put pressure on me,” Mayweather said.
“I wanted to give the fans what they wanted to
see so I stood and fought him."
Maidana came charging out of the blocks and
an early onslaught had Mayweather backing
up in the opening round, while another furious
flurry in the third once again gave the outsider
the upper hand.
Mayweather appeared stunned by his
opponent's start and although the American
suffered a rare cut in the fourth round –
seemingly via an unintentional headbutt - he
gradually found his range.
Maidana kept coming forward but his wild
swings did not land with the regularity they
had earlier in the fight and Mayweather began
to pick him off.
The resurgent Mayweather backed his
opponent up with strong shots on a couple of
occasions but neither fighter came close to
forcing a stoppage.