After a year away from the ring that included a stint in jail, Floyd Mayweather Jr. didn't show any signs of rust as he dominated Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., on Saturday night, May 4.
Mayweather won a unanimous decision, 117-111, on the cards of all three judges. Bleacher Report tweeted this picture and the results:
With the win, Mayweather improves to a perfect 44-0, while Guerrero falls to 31-2-1.
Here is how the entertaining night played out.
Round 1
Mayweather came out looking to establish his jab while Guerrero was content to lock him up. Neither fighter gained an early advantage.
Midway through the round, Guerrero threw a big combo and landed a solid body shot. This sent Mayweather retreating to the ropes. It was clear that Guerrero was not going to be intimidated.
That body shot proved to be the biggest shot of the round. There wasn't a lot separating the two in this round, but I gave it to go to Guerrero due to that effective body shot.
Round 2
The second round began much like the first. Floyd was moving well, displaying his amazing reflexes and showing no signs of rust.
However, Guerrero landed a nice straight left early in the round, and he was able to keep Floyd from finding a rhythm.
Still, the ever-elusive Mayweather was able to lure Guerrero into his misses, and he started to gain a little control as the round advanced. I scored this one 10-9 Mayweather.
Round 3
Guerrero was still trying to take the action to Floyd in the third round. However, Mayweather was getting tougher and tougher to hit.
This led to Guerrero trying to quickly tie Mayweather up before he became a victim of Money's counters. Guerrero was trying to turn this into a brawl.
Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole highlights that with this tweet:
However, Money was not having it.
He took control of the round as his hand speed looked as good as ever. Round 3 went 10-9 to Mayweather.
Round 4
In Round 4, Mayweather began to get in a rhythm. Working the straight right, he landed the biggest shot of the fight up to this point with a decisive blow.
With Floyd leaning in, he was flashing his elite waste movement, and Guerrero was having a hard time landing anything. This left him vulnerable to Floyd's straight rights, and Money began taking target practice.
This round was a clear win for Floyd. Although, Guerrero didn't seem much worse for wear. Still, it was another 10-9 round for Money.
Round 5
The fifth round progressed much like the previous two. Guerrero simply couldn't land anything on Floyd. It wasn't for a lack of effort, though. He was throwing some haymakers, but Floyd was slipping out of trouble with his trademark lateral quickness.
It became unavoidably clear at this point that we were seeing vintage Mayweather on this night.
He controlled Round 5 from start to finish. Guerrero was competitive, but there was never a sense that he was about to claim control. This was enough to earn Money another 10-9 round.
Round 6
Guerrero began lunging for his punches a bit in this round, and not surprisingly, it wasn't any more effective.
Floyd had this fight right where he wanted it at this point, as Guerrero was expanding twice the energy to land half the punches.
Mayweather wasn't landing any huge blows, but he was landing solid and flush shots. This was another 10-9 round for Mayweather, and already this bout was approaching a point where Guerrero was going to need a knockout if he was going to win.
Round 7
By this round, it became apparent that Guerrero had no more tricks up his sleeve. He was lost, and simply following Floyd around the ring.
He was losing confidence in his punches, too, and this allowed Money to put on a clinic.
Money's hand speed had not slowed down at all. His right was a complete blur, and he was in full control. Another 10-9 round for Money.
Round 8
Money may have began to smell blood in this round. Of course, that wouldn't be surprising since Guerrero's face was covered in it.
Floyd was more aggressive in Round 8, and he landed some big shots. The left eye of Guerrero was beginning to swell, and Mayweather dominated the round.
Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole tweeted this:
With another 10-9 round for Mayweather, it became a question of how long this fight would go, and not who would win.
Round 9
The Ghost came to fight this night. He clearly was not on the same talent level as Floyd, but he was prepared and determined. He proved that by posting a solid Round 9 after spending the last six rounds getting strategically dominated.
I still gave this round to Mayweather, 10-9, but it was much closer than the previous rounds. ESPN's Dan Rafael viewed this round, and the fight, similarly to me:
Guerrero was moving better, and he did not waste as many punches. However, he wasn't able to hurt Mayweather, and the outcome still didn't feel in doubt.
Round 10
Despite being 36, Floyd looked as fresh in this round as he did in the start of this fight. He still couldn't be hit, and his hands couldn't be seen.
He dominated Round 10 as Guerrero did not look as fresh. Given Money's excellence and punching accuracy, this is not surprising.
And while he wasn't landing knockout blows, he was landing some good shots, and he was doing so with accuracy, which Showtime Sports highlighted with this tweet:
This was another 10-9 round for Floyd.
Round 11
Mayweather was just toying with his opponent at this stage of the bout. Check out this tweet by Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix:
Mayweather easily avoided Guerrero's attacks and continued to pepper him. At this point, the 12th round seemed like a meaningless formality.
Round 12
The 12th round offered everyone time to gush about how great Mayweather looked. There wasn't a lot of action; Guerrero was too battered and tired to amount much of an attack, and Mayweather didn't need to do anything but stay on his feet.
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