Floyd Mayweather toughs out points win against Marcos Maidana at MGM Grand

Floyd Mayweather kept his perfect record intact after clinching a majority decision victory over Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.

The 37-year-old retained his WBC welterweight title and added the WBA crown to his collection as well as he improved his professional record to a flawless 46-0.

However, aggressive Argentine Maidana gave Mayweather a tougher fight than many expected and even looked to be getting the better of the bout after the first six rounds.

Mayweather pulled away in the second half of the fight, though, with two judges scoring the fight 117-111 and 116-112 in his favour and a third having it level at 114-114.

I wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see so I stood and fought him.

But the fact that both Maidana and many of his fans in attendance were adamant he won shows how competitive the contest was.

"I won the fight. He didn't fight like a man," Maidana, who was angry at not being able to use his preferred horsehair-filled gloves, told Showtime.

Punch statistics showed that the Argentine threw over 400 more blows than his opponent but landed nine fewer, with Mayweather’s trademark accuracy shining through despite a subdued workrate.

"It was a tough, competitive fight. I normally like to go out there and box and move. But he put pressure on me,” Mayweather said.

“I wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see so I stood and fought him."

Maidana came charging out of the blocks and an early onslaught had Mayweather backing up in the opening round, while another furious flurry in the third once again gave the outsider the upper hand.

Mayweather appeared stunned by his opponent's start and although the American suffered a rare cut in the fourth round – seemingly via an unintentional headbutt - he gradually found his range.

Maidana kept coming forward but his wild swings did not land with the regularity they had earlier in the fight and Mayweather began to pick him off.

The resurgent Mayweather backed his opponent up with strong shots on a couple of occasions but neither fighter came close to forcing a stoppage.