Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Highlights: Key Moments That Decided Fight

The Fight of the Century whipped up a huge storm for months, and when the dust finally settled, Floyd Mayweather was left standing victorious over Manny Pacquiao.

The American saw his unbeaten record extend to 48-0 after the judges unanimously ruled in his favour, 118-110, 116-112, 116-112. 

For more analysis and a look at what's up next for both fighters, check out this video from Bleacher Report's Adam Lefkoe and Corey Erdman:

MMAFighting.com passed along the scorecard, which shows that Money started the brighter and finished the stronger of the two fighters, while Manny had his best success in the middle of the bout:

Here are the key moments that decided the fight.

Mayweather Takes The Early Rounds

The first three rounds were something of a shock as Money, a notoriously slow starter, began well in Las Vegas.

Mayweather demonstrated that his defensive mastery was as strong as ever as he brilliantly avoided Pac-Man's punches, working off the jab to set the tone.

The 38-year-old made excellent use of his famously accurate radar, tagging the Filipino with some incredibly quick counterpunches.

Mayweather's start prevented Pacquiao from building a lead, which was key to forcing the American to emerge from his shell.

Pacquiao Rocks Mayweather in The Fourth

Despite the early setback, Pacquiao showed glimpses of the ferocious, all-attacking style with which he's associated in Round 4.

The 36-year-old forced Mayweather onto the ropes, finally exposing his rival with a right hand that sent the American backwards.

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Pacquiao launched a flurry of punches to claim the round and regain a foothold in the fight, as ESPN's Dan Rafael noted:

Pacquiao Ramps Up The Pressure in The Sixth

After upping the aggression in Round 5, Pac-Man enjoyed his most successful round in the sixth as he grew into the fight.

Pacquiao forced Mayweather on the defensive again, throwing a variety of punches and hitting with a straight right before catching him in the gut.

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The crowd were firmly behind the Filipino as he fired away at his stationary rival, again keeping Mayweather by the ropes.

Dan Rafael saw only one winner in the round:

Pac-Man's encouraging comeback led him to believe he'd done enough to come out on top:

Mayweather Finishes Strongly to Take The Fight

Pacquiao's success was fairly short-lived however, as Money cannily worked out how to break Manny's momentum.

With Pacquiao on the up, Mayweather knew exactly when to clinch his opponent in order to stop him in his tracks, as Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix noted:

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On top of that, Mayweather regained his defensive composure as Pacquiao landed fewer and fewer punches, exerting the kind of control that has won him every fight in his career, according to Dan Rafael:

Brimming with confidence, Money was able to duck, elude or block almost everything Pacquiao could throw, leaving little doubt as to who would be taking the fight, despite Pacquiao's arms-aloft celebration at the final bell.

Mayweather's impeccable defensive acumen and Pacquiao's fits and starts did not make for the most entertaining of matches.

Nevertheless, Money's development of such an incredibly effective tactic has seen him rack up his 48-0 record. When it comes to defending, there simply is no one better.

Whether the pair will face each other again or new opponents remains to be seen, but the smart money is on Mayweather reaching his 49-0 target.