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Floyd Mayweather Jr., (L) and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines fight during their welterweight unification boxing bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 2, 2015.JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP / Getty Images

The whole world came to town for Saturday night's fight looking for catharsis. They would be disappointed.

Over the course of a few days here, Floyd Mayweather had gone from a cartoon villain to universally reviled. The tipping point may have come early Saturday, when it emerged that the Mayweather camp had attempted to block the credentials of several prominent journalists who'd written and broadcast critical pieces about his criminal past.

The fight was delayed by about a half-hour, apparently because so many people were trying to buy the pay-per-view package at the last minute. That gave the crowd – who'd all paid many thousands to be here – more time to nurse their grievance.

Every time he was shown on screen in the pre-fight, Mayweather was ruthlessly booed by the 1 per centers at the MGM Grand Arena. His opponent, Manny Pacquiao, heard nothing but cheers and chants.

This crowd – and tens of millions more across the planet – were primed for some justice. Instead, they were given a dreary demonstration of why Mayweather is the most suffocating fighter alive.

Pacquiao took it to him early, trying to unsettle Mayweather with his left-handed style. Mayweather took what he had to give, and shrugged most of it off.

At moments, it looked as if Pacquiao had staggered him. The fourth round was the only moment when you thought an upset was genuinely possible.

Mayweather dipsy-doodled around the ring, doing his best imitation of a man in trouble. Pacquiao chased. Mayweather hung on the ropes, slipping jabs over Pacquiao's best attempts.

By the eighth round, it was already over. The crowd quieted nervously. The only person in the building who didn't seem to realize that the result had been decided was Pacquiao himself.

By the end, he was leaden. Mayweather remained spritely. He is a bad guy and a magnificently talented defensive fighter. In this milieu, those two things are compatible.

Mayweather took the unanimous decision 118-110, 116-112, 116-112.

The Japanese journalist sitting next to me asked me to repeat the scores. Then, in the midst of Mayweather's victory speech, he asked me who won.

Alright, so make that two people who didn't get it.

In the immediate aftermath, Pacquiao told HBO host Max Kellerman, "I thought I won the fight."

Caught unawares, Kellerman couldn't keep a note of pure wonderment out of his voice as he said, "You thought you won the fight? Why?"

Afterward, Pacquiao revealed that he'd fought with a shoulder injury so serious he'd considered pulling out of the fight. He'd applied for dispensation to get a numbing shot before the match. It was denied.

One of the key moments in retrospect was a hard shot Mayweather gave him to that injured right shoulder. After receiving that blow in the eighth round, Pacquiao was ineffective for the remainder of the match.

Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach called for a rematch at the post-fight presser. Mayweather waved that suggestion away. He stands at 48-0, one win short of Rocky Marciano's mark. He said that on Monday he will relinquish his belts, and fight just once more. We'll see.

Manny Pacquiao does many things well – humanitarian work, evangelism, politics, pop music. He's lost three of his last six fights. It's time to start thinking about doing one of those other things on a more regular basis.

The small clique who still cling to this sport had hoped this would be the start of something, a renaissance of some sort. Instead, it looks like an ending.

Mayweather's almost gone. Pacquiao's on his way out. No current fighter has anything close to their wattage.

The encounter also cemented in the public mind the idea that boxing rewards people who don't deserve your attention.

Mayweather remains undefeated, but he doesn't come out of this unscathed. He was once again jeered as it ended. He was shrill and defensive in his post-match remarks, chiding the journalists who'd criticized him.

He ended this thing without any defenders that aren't already on the payroll. All the celebs had already fled. There was nothing here that might convince them to hang around. They certainly didn't want to be associated with a man who's suddenly America's most notorious domestic abuser.

Pacquiao lost the fight, but he can continue to build his legacy outside of sport.

This may also have been more of an ending for Mayweather. He probably won't get that chance.

Instead, he's the guy who blew his public-relations brains out just as he got to the top of the professional mountain.

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