Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao as it happened

Mayweather confirmed in his post-fight interview that he intends to honour his commitment by competing with Showtime once more in September before stepping away from the ring as he approaches 40.

Pacquiao, meanwhile, seemed strangely confused that he had not won despite the judges' cards and the opinions of most at ringside and across social media.

He insists that Mayweather's size advantage was not a factor in the outcome, although did seem to concede that his speed and ability to move around the ring made it difficult.

That is all from us, but further reaction from both fighters and a report will follow on IBTimes UK shortly so stay tuned.

Scores of 118-110, 116-112, 116-112 secure the win for Mayweather and he moves to a formidable 48-0. Pacquiao looks to accept the decision.

Floyd Mayweather wins via unanimous decision

With the crowd vociferous in their support of Pacquiao, Mayweather is certainly the pantomime villain in the MGM Grand. Judges decisions are pending.....

Round 12: A smile on the face of Mayweather as he continues to effortlessly dance around the ring and he clearly thinks he has won the fight as he raises his fist in the lead-up to the final bell.

Only the most questionable of judging controversies will deny him a deserved victory.

Round 11: Near domination from Mayweather behind that useful jab and this fight looks utterly beyond Pacquiao, who will need to record his first knockout in six contests in order to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Round 10: Better from Pacquiao as he pushes Mayweather back towards the ropes with a couple of good body shots but his flurries just do not seem to be having the desired impact.

Two rounds remaining for Pacquiao to save this.

Round nine: Still largely much ado about nothing for Pacquiao, despite his best efforts. Mayweather is a master of the craft and is just not letting him land nearly enough clean punches to influence the judges.

Round eight: A few technical difficulties here during the eighth, but it was another round where Mayweather seemed to dictate the tempo and again fought on his own terms. He appears comfortably ahead here and Pacquiao needs to find another gear if he is to avoid defeat.

Round seven: Mayweather boxing smart at the start of the seventh and connects with a few right jabs.

Pacquiao registered another jab and missed with a left hand but Mayweather is still intent, understandably, on staying out of harm's way for as long as possible.

Round six: Mayweather spends most of his time in round six backed up against the ropes after receiving a strong left hand.

Pacquiao does his best to throw a number of heavy shots, yet Mayweather shakes his head in defiance as a signal that it will take much more than that to threaten a knockout blow.

We have it at 4-2 in favour of Mayweather heading into the seventh.

Round five: A relatively quiet round as Mayweather keeps Pacquiao at a safe distance by virtue of his impressive speed. An exchange between Mayweather and Bayless occurs before the start of the sixth.

Round four: Breakthrough for Pacquiao as he rocks Mayweather with a hard left before unleashing a flurry of shots as his opponent hoists his hands up and backs against the ropes. He badly needed that and the crowd has come alive.

Round three: A lot of holding from Mayweather but no reprimand from referee Bayless so far. Pacquiao just cannot get close enough to do any real damage and Mayweather, who uses his right hand to good effect, is looking extremely comfortable.

Round two: Another round for Mayweather as he prevents Pacquiao from getting in close. The two occasions the former was caught on the ropes, he escaped first with a hold and then with quick footwork.

Pacquiao did try and throw a few punches there, but he barely landed with anything and he might start to get reckless if this continues in a similar vein.

Round one: A confident start for Mayweather as he keeps the fight in the centre of the ring and lands with two hard right hands. Pacquiao struggled to get anything going whatsoever in the first three minutes.

Kenny Bayless has had his say, gloves are touched and the bell sounds. The most lucrative fight in boxing history is underway. Savour it, folks....

The build-up has been simply agonising at times, yet there is a real sense of anticipation now the time for this fight has finally arrived. The introductions are over and the meaningful action is now just seconds away.

As well as Bieber, Mayweather is also being accompanied to the ring by that terrifying masked chap from the Burger King adverts.

Despite his fans seeming to be the dominant force in Vegas this week, Pacquiao's supporters seem more prevalent inside the arena now and there are a few boos for the current pound-for-pound champ.

Here comes Pacquiao to a suitably raucous reception. As usual, there is an infectious grin plastered across the 36-year-old's face and you get the feeling he is genuinely delighted that this fight has finally come to pass.

With the Mexican and Filipino anthems already complete, Jamie Foxx is now belting out the Star-Spangled Banner accompanied by an organ and a montage.

You may notice that there are two different announcers at the MGM Grand tonight, with Michael Buffer working on behalf of HBO and Jimmy Lennon Jr for Showtime.

It sounds like the keenly-anticipated ring walks are finally imminent. The national anthems will come first, as usual, with Pacquiao then set to walk out to 'Lalaban Ako', a song he composed and recorded himself.

Mayweather's entourage will once again feature none other than Justin Bieber, with the Canadian singer set to carry his friend's championship belt to the ring.

Bar a few harsh words exchanged by other members of their respective camps over recent months, there has been a distinct lack of animosity in the build-up to this contest between Mayweather and Pacquiao, despite the former engineering a 60-40 split by virtue of being the bigger draw and the two having disagreed frequently over issues such as Olympic-style drug testing in the past.

Mayweather goes into the ring tonight as the favourite, with many believing that Pacquiao's best chance of beating the five-division champion may have already passed.

Highly-respected trainer Freddie Roach insists that he and his prize asset have worked on the perfect gameplan, however, one that presumably includes the prospect of using his power and unrivalled tenacity to secure a knockout as it seems very unlikely that Pacquiao will win if the fight lasts all 12 rounds.

It seems the fight has been delayed due to the overwhelming demand for PPV in the United States...

Pacquiao, meanwhile, has won his last three fights via unanimous decision after a rough 2012 in which he lost a highly controversial bout against Timothy Bradley, whom he later beat in a rematch, and was caught with a fierce knockout punch when looking to land a telling blow of his own in the sixth round of his fourth fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

It may arguably have come five years later than most had hoped, but the interest in this fight almost beggars belief.

At 47-0, Mayweather is the perfect defensive fighter whose ability to keep his opponents at a safe distance with his speed has been the key to his successful career.

'Money' showed signs that he might just be starting to slow down in his first fight with Marcos Maidana, yet he still emerged victorious on that occasion and beat the same man once again just a few months later.

No shortage of celebrities at ringside at the 16,800 capacity arena for this one. Only a small proportion of tickets were made available for the public to purchase, and the ones that were commanded rather high prices.

That is it for the undercard from Las Vegas and now all that is left is the small matter of Mayweather v Pacquiao, which should hopefully get underway soon...

All three judges score the bout at 100-90 in favour of Santa Cruz and he maintains his unbeaten record with a 31st professional career win.

Cayetano will have earned great respect for going the full distance after agreeing to take the fight with around four days' notice.

Both fighters earn the applause of a now near-capacity crowd after finishing the 10th with a flurry of punches.

Cayetano has done himself proud tonight with his resilience and willingness to engage with Santa Cruz, yet he was behind in just about every round.

Santa Cruz has a cut under his eye but it should not cause too many problems as the final round gets underway. Cayetano is earning more respect with every fiery exchange.

Another round passes by for Santa Cruz where he lands the majority of punches but still looks no closer to securing a coveted KO. This one looks like it is going the distance on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

Cayetano is still outrightly refusing to be beaten as we enter the eight round.

Santa Cruz has landed some big right hands and is evidently eager for a knockout that would have come some time ago were it not for his opponent's remarkable sturdiness.

Uh-oh....

This is becoming punching practice for Santa Cruz, yet still Cayetano refuses to wilt. He is showing a lot of heart and a durable chin.

The fourth round draws to a close and the fight has settled into a familiar pattern. Cayetano is clearly a very resilient character and he is still throwing punches in sporadic response, although Santa Cruz should be comfortably ahead on the judge's scorecards.

It would be quite easy throw a blanket over these two fighters, such is their willingness to just stand and exchange punches toe-to-toe.

As you might expect, Santa Cruz is landing more often and with far greater impact and Cayetano will surely struggle to take punishment for the full 10 rounds.

Santa Cruz is utilising his right hand to good effect but, to his credit, the tough Cayetano is taking those shots and they do not seem to be slowing him down too much early on.

While he lacks an obvious defensive strategy, he is throwing back as often as he can.

An explosive first round as both fighters come out swinging from the first bell. Santa Cruz, who has gone up 12lbs in weight for this bout, had the better of those initial ferocious exchanges against an opponent who is not a full-time professional.

It would be a major shock if Jose Cayetano were to provide a particularly stern test for Santa Cruz - or 'Terremoto' as he is known - tonight given that he was only confirmed for this fight last week.

He has lost 3 of his 20 contests to date, including his last fight against Enrique Bernache in Guadalajara.

A few final tweets from tonight's star attractions as the main event draws ever closer...

Next on the agenda is a non-title bout between WBC super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and fellow Mexican Jose Cayetano.

From 30 professional fights, Santa Cruz can boast 29 wins (17 via knockout) and one draw.

So, a good start to the night for Top Rank and a mightily impressive performance from Lomachenko as his camp look toward a potential unification bout against WBA world featherweight champion Nicholas Walters later this year.

The 27-year-old is refreshingly humble when informed that Roy Jones already has him ranked in the top five pound-for-pound, stating that he needs to prove his ability against the best before becoming deserving of such accolades.

Rodriguez showed intent early on, but ultimately he just could not even begin to handle the sheer pace, stamina and power of his opponent as the fight progressed and his repeated low blows were a testament to that.

Another body shot and a sharp right hook from Top Rank's Lomachenko sees Rodriguez sink to his knees for the second time tonight and this time he does not return to his feet.

The beaten man looks a little bewildered as the bell signals the end of a one-sided contest midway through the ninth round, although Byrd clearly signalled every stage of the count.

Rodriguez, already losing by a considerable margin, is deducted a second point for another below-the-belt punch. Lomachenko still looks fresh and rampant, although he has only one won of his four professional fights to date by knockout. This one is scheduled to go 12 rounds.

Lomachenko utterly dominant and Rodriguez barely lasts the duration of the seventh round after being forced to take a knee due to receiving a particularly potent and fast body/head combination.

Another warning for Rodriguez, this time for holding. Byrd is evidently eager to avoid any clinching, an admirable precedent it would be nice to see upheld later tonight.

Lomachenko cruising to victory after six. A little bit of aggravation in that round after Rodriguez caught Lomachenko with yet another low blow and the two-time Olympic gold medalist responded in kind.

All Lomachenko now and Rodriguez is merely surviving at this point as he continues to receive hefty punishment. To make matters worse, the latter has had a point deducted by referee Robert Byrd for repeated low blows after seemingly ignoring earlier warnings.

After a relatively bright start, Rodriguez has faltered somewhat over the last two rounds and Lomachenko is opening up with some textbook combinations and quick footwork.

A late uppercut looks to have rocked the challenger, but he makes it to back to his corner on his feet as the bell sounds for the end of round four.

Lomachenko is being made to work a little harder for this than some might have expected, but he displayed his prowess with a nice variety of punches in round three. Rodriguez not beaten just yet, although me may struggle to last at this pace.

Lomachenko's trainer, also his father, looks to have some choice words for his son as he returns to his stool after a second round in which Puerto Rican Rodriguez proved he is certainly no pushover.

A tentative first round. Southpaw Lomachenko boasts a fearsome reputation owing to his impressive amateur days, and it took him just three fights to earn his first professional title.

The main event is tentatively scheduled to get underway at approximately 04:00 UK time, although these sorts of high-profile bouts are often delayed as the hype builds to an almost unbearable crescendo.

With the initial fights now completed, results on those to come very shortly, the televised undercard is scheduled to get underway with Gamalier Rodriguez competing for Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko's WBO featherweight title.

A very good morning to you and welcome to IBTimes UK's live coverage of what promises to be one of the most significant and lucrative nights in boxing history at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

After almost six years of fraught negotiations, endless wrangling, bad blood and frequent disappointment, unbeaten welterweight icon Floyd Mayweather will finally put his stellar record to the test against affable Filipino Manny Pacquiao in what has been dubbed the 'Fight of the Century'.