Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Superfight Scorecard and Top Takeaways

Love it or hate it—there doesn't seem to be any room for something in between—Floyd Mayweather Jr. used his strategy to perfection and took down Manny Pacquiao in Saturday's superfight.

It was a unanimous decision too, helping to run Money's record to 48-0. Pacquiao hurt Mayweather a few times, but his attempted offensive onslaught couldn't break through Mayweather's distancing jabs, nor could he stick his head in long for fear of violent counterpunches. 

Showtime Sports shared the scorecards:

In the end, Pacquiao didn't have enough speed or accuracy to convince even one of the judges things should go in his favor.

There's sure to be controversy and cries for a rematch, but notable takeaways from the bout have a say in the matter. 

Top Takeaways

Mayweather Is Masterful 

What? Expecting something different?

Mayweather has spent his entire career dodging, ducking and shoulder-rolling out of harm's way in the ultimate act of self-preservation. To this day, the approach has him undefeated and chasing history.

Why in the world would he have changed it up Saturday for Pacquiao?

Lennox Lewis hits the proverbial nail on the head:

Pacquiao was the one who needed to change, not Mayweather. Money's style has withstood the test of time. He's hardly lost any speed, and he had no reason to believe his elusive, high-percentage method wouldn't work. Pacquiao, on the other hand, had to know that going to the scorecards would result in a loss.

The only notable blow by Pacquiao came in the fourth round. It threw Mayweather into the ropes, but he recovered and brushed away the rest of the barrage and got back to dancing. It's par for the course—Mayweather used the first half of the fight to adapt to his opponent and then dominated the second half.

There's a reason the scorecards look like so, per Top Rank's Crystina Poncher:

In the grand scheme of things, Saturday proved Mayweather remains the ultimate tactician outside of the ring too.

Mayweather decided to cave and fight this version of Pacquiao because he knew he stood a great chance at winning. He's undefeated for his smarts in and out of the ring, folks. If he really has just one bout left, expect him to handpick another favorable matchup to close his career.

No Excuses for Pacquiao...or a Rematch

Isaac Brekken/Associated Press

It's borderline inhumane to ignore it when someone says he's hurt.

So here's the deal—Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach and his corner revealed a shoulder injury Pac-Man suffered during sparring, although there's controversy surrounding the issue, as Greg Beacham of The Associated Press explains: "Nevada officials also denied Pacquiao's request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight Saturday night. The chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission said the ruling was Pacquiao's fault for not mentioning his injury sooner."

In short, Pacquiao didn't get the shot because his corner filed paperwork in an incorrect manner.

Well, all right then.

Look, even if Pacquiao was hurt, there's nothing to suggest from Saturday's fight that the outcome would have been any different if he was 100 percent. Look at the staggering punch totals from CompuBox, gathered by Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix:

A fighter can throw as many whiffs at air as he wants, but such a percentage will never win a fight on the scorecards.

Now, there's some merit to suggesting Pacquiao may have had more knockout power if he wasn't hurt, but the odds of landing such a blow on Mayweather are...well, the guy is 48-0 and caused Pac-Man to connect on 19 percent of his punches.

Mannix has it right:

There's no reason to do a rematch. Promoters and anyone who can make some sort of cash on it would love it, but for fans who were already disappointed with the non-action of Saturday's event, why get burnt and pay for it again?

Why redo the fight? Mayweather's speed isn't going to evaporate between now and September. Pacquiao may get healthy, but now Money has 12 rounds of experience and knows how to avoid anything Pac-Man throws.

For Pacquiao, it's best not to tarnish the legacy further. Mayweather might not want a rematch anyway, and why should he? It's best if all move on—a result both knew going into the superfight.

Pacquiao, for a few reasons, is just on the wrong side of the outcome.