Mayweather outclasses Baldomir in title fight

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather Jr.outclassed Carlos Baldomir to win the World Boxing Council welterweight championship on Saturday.

Two of the three judges gave Mayweather all 12 rounds, and the third scored the bout 10 rounds to two in his favor. Baldomir, the larger man and defending champion, stalked his opponent for much of the bout, but Mayweather used his vastly superior hand speed to pot-shot Baldomir, stepping to one side and out of range before his opponent could land a punch.When Baldomir was able to trap Mayweather against the ropes or in a corner, the American challenger was able to anticipate his Argentine opponent’s slow, looping punches, and either slip them or block them with his shoulders, arms, and gloves.The pace of the bout slowed over the final few rounds, with Mayweather apparently content to land one punch at a time, causing the crowd to boo the lack of action.Although Mayweather, widely regarded as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound, was acknowledged to be by far the more talented of the two, the question entering the bout was how he would fare against such a large opponent.Baldomir had fought every one of his 58 previous contests as a welterweight.Mayweather, in contrast, was fighting at welterweight for just the third time in his career.He turned professional in 1996 as a super featherweight, 17 pounds lighter than the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, and won his first world championship at that weight in 1998.He subsequently added titles at lightweight and junior welterweight, before stepping up to welterweight for the first time in November last year.Baldomir was largely unknown outside Argentina until this year, when he scored an upset victory over Zab Judah to win the world title in January, and defended it with a knockout of Arturo Gatti in July.Mayweather is now hoping for a lucrative bout against Oscar De La Hoya, which could be the richest non-heavyweight fight in boxing history.Nampa-ReutersBaldomir, the larger man and defending champion, stalked his opponent for much of the bout, but Mayweather used his vastly superior hand speed to pot-shot Baldomir, stepping to one side and out of range before his opponent could land a punch.When Baldomir was able to trap Mayweather against the ropes or in a corner, the American challenger was able to anticipate his Argentine opponent’s slow, looping punches, and either slip them or block them with his shoulders, arms, and gloves.The pace of the bout slowed over the final few rounds, with Mayweather apparently content to land one punch at a time, causing the crowd to boo the lack of action.Although Mayweather, widely regarded as the best fighter in the world, pound-for-pound, was acknowledged to be by far the more talented of the two, the question entering the bout was how he would fare against such a large opponent.Baldomir had fought every one of his 58 previous contests as a welterweight.Mayweather, in contrast, was fighting at welterweight for just the third time in his career.He turned professional in 1996 as a super featherweight, 17 pounds lighter than the welterweight limit of 147 pounds, and won his first world championship at that weight in 1998.He subsequently added titles at lightweight and junior welterweight, before stepping up to welterweight for the first time in November last year.Baldomir was largely unknown outside Argentina until this year, when he scored an upset victory over Zab Judah to win the world title in January, and defended it with a knockout of Arturo Gatti in July.Mayweather is now hoping for a lucrative bout against Oscar De La Hoya, which could be the richest non-heavyweight fight in boxing history.Nampa-Reuters