Mayweather bows out in triumph
Floyd Mayweather Jr followed through on his pre-fight promises by formally announcing his retirement after beating Oscar De La Hoya in one of the most hotly-anticipated bouts ever.
Mayweather won a split decision over De La Hoya at the MGM Grand to win the WBC light-middleweight title, the fifth division in which he has held a world championship belt.
Mayweather remains unbeaten and has vowed to put a full stop to a career where he has beaten all comers, as he said: "I came in on top and I'm leaving on top. Right now, Floyd Mayweather is officially retired from the sport of boxing."
If Mayweather, 30, sticks to that claim, a rarity in boxing, he will leave the sport as one of its legends.
His perfect 38-0 record (including 24 knockouts) was capped by the definitive victory, where "Pretty Boy" used his quickness to fend off a flurry of punches, several of which missed.
Mayweather controlled the later rounds and was ultimately rewarded for the domination. He was economical, especially in comparison to De La Hoya, in landing 207 of the 481 punches, according to CompuBox. De La Hoya threw 587 punches but only landed 122 - just 21%.
Judge Chuck Giampi saw the fight 116-112 for Mayweather, while Jerry Roth also scored it for Mayweather at 115-113. Tom Kaczmarcek ruled for De La Hoya, 115-113, but it was apparent to most observers that Mayweather controlled the fight.
"I'm not Superman. I can't win every round," Mayweather joked. "There were a couple of rounds I took off so he could burn himself."
Mayweather's won the fight with his defence, never letting De La Hoya make solid contact.
"After a fight, you either feel like you win or lose," De La Hoya said. "But I don't feel like I lost. I'm very satisfied with my effort. You can't say anything bad about him. He's a talented fighter. He's the champion and you have to respect that."
