Manny Pacquiao beat defending champion Keith Thurman on a split points decision on Saturday to take the WBA Welterweight Super Championship at the end of an electrifying fight in Las Vegas.
Two judges scored it 115-112 to Pacquiao and another gave it 114-113 to Thurman, who suffered his first defeat in 30 fights.
“The knock down was a big factor,” said Pacquiao, who became the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history.
Thurman had vowed to beat the 40-year old Filipino into retirement, but he was behind from the first round at the MGM Grand.
The 30-year old American had a height, reach, and age advantage but he got knocked down with less than a minute to go in the first round and was chasing the fight from then on.
