Undefeated Mayweather finishes strongly to edge out Maidana in Las Vegas

Las Vegas: Undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather did all his hard work in the second half of the bout to overcome a stiff challenge from the fast-starting Marcos Maidana and unify two world titles in Las Vegas on Saturday.

At the end of 12 bruising rounds, American Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs) was awarded a majority decision victory, adding the hard-hitting Argentine`s World Boxing Association belt to his World Boxing Council title. Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) began brightly, backing Mayweather to the ropes, landing clubbing punches from all angles and cutting the American above his right eye following an accidental clash of heads. By the middle rounds, however, Mayweather had started to assert control with his superior defensive technique and combination punching from the outside, picking up points with his jab as Maidana sought to bulldoze his way in close. One judge ruled the fight a 114-114 draw with the other two scoring the bout 117-111 and 116-112 in Mayweather`s favour. The victory sets Mayweather up for either a possible rematch with Maidana or a showdown against Briton Amir Khan, who defeated Luis Collazo by unanimous decision on the undercard.