Easy Money: Mayweather scores a big decision over Pacquiao

LAS VEGAS — It was supposed to be one for the books. It wasn’t. More like one for the banks.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao got a lot richer Saturday night while fans got poorer in a bout that was sold, sold and sold as the greatest in history. It wasn’t even the greatest one in the last month. Give that prize to Lucas Matthysse’s victory over Ruslan Provodnikov a couple of weeks ago.

There was no knockout. There were no knockdowns. There was only a decision, as dull as it was one-sided.

Mayweather (48-0, 26 KOs) claimed it, putting another notch in his unbeaten quest, yet doing nothing for his claim on being The Best Ever. TBE still belongs to Sugar Ray Robinson, or Muhammad Ali, or Sugar Ray Leonard, or Roberto Duran.

“When the history book is written, it was worth the weight,’’ Mayweather said.

Worth the money, yeah. Mayweather could have earned as much as $180 million, depending on the per-per-view television revenue. For Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) the payday could be as big as $100 million.

But money gets spent. The real history lives on if the action within the ropes is memorable. It wasn’t.

Yeah, Mayweather defeated Pacquiao. On the historical scorecards, however, he did nothing to improve his chances at becoming the equal of Ali or whole host of other legends.

“I was smart.’’ said Mayweather, who won 118-110 on one card and 116-112 on two. “I out-boxed him.’’

Mayweather, who booed loudly repeatedly by the capacity crowd, did exactly that with his careful, predictable precision. But he didn’t exactly out-work Pacquiao.

“He didn’t do noting,’’ said the Filipino Congressman, who was cheered by his many fans. “I thought I won the fight.’’

Mayweather’s strategy was evident, almost immediately. Pacquiao has always been vulnerable to a lead right. In the first round, Mayweather threw four of them. Landed four, too, none with any great impact. But they were accurate and they would often be for the next 11 rounds.

“My dad wanted me to do more,’’ Mayweather said his trainer, Floyd Sr., who had talked about is son wining by KO. “ But I had to take my time. Manny Pacquiao is a great competitor and very dangerous.

Pacquiao was more aggressive in the second. He moved forward, yet without any of the side-to-side movement that had made him so hard to predict earlier in his career. Instead, he lunged , landing a good body shot , but little else.

In the third, Pacquiao appeared to gain some momentum with body shots that slowed down Mayweather. It also could have allowed Pacquiao to measure the unbeaten American.

In the fourth, Mayweather, suddenly flat-footed, was there for a left hand, always the most potent weapon in Pacquiao’s arsenal. It landed, dazing Mayweather and pushing him into a hasty retreat on to the ropes.

By then, the fight had taken on a certain rhythm. It was almost routine. Pacquiao would attack and Mayweather would go into his sniper mode with sporadic, yet accurate shots, both left and right.

After it was over, Mayweather was asked about his plans. He has one more fight on his Showtime contract.

“My last fight is in September,’’ he said.

For the first time, some in the crowd actually cheered him