updated 3:11 a.m. ET May 6, 2007

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn’t win over the crowd, or even his own father. All he could win was the only thing that really counted Saturday night, his fight against Oscar De La Hoya.

Boxing’s bad boy beat the Golden Boy in one of the richest fights ever, using his superb defensive skills and superior speed to take a 12-round split decision and win the WBC 154-pound title in his first fight at that weight.

He didn’t impress the pro-De La Hoya crowd that roared with every punch thrown by their hero, and even Floyd Mayweather Sr. thought his son had lost. But Mayweather landed the harder punches and landed them more often, and that was enough to eke out yet another win.

“It was easy work for me. He was rough and tough, but he couldn’t beat the best,” Mayweather said. “I was having fun in there. It was a hell of a fight.”

The fight that was supposed to save the sport may not have done that, but it was entertaining enough and competitive enough to keep everyone’s attention even though neither fighter seemed to hurt the other and neither went down.

Both proud champions fought from the opening bell to the end of the final round, which finished with the brawl De La Hoya wanted all along. But it came too late to help De La Hoya, who lost four of the last five rounds on two scorecards, sealing his fate.

“I could see I was hurting him,” De La Hoya said. “I was pressing the fight, and if I hadn’t pressed the fight there would be no fight. I’m a champion, and you have to do more than that to beat a champion.”

De La Hoya threw far more punches than Mayweather in an almost desperate bid to overcome Mayweather’s slippery defense. He trapped Mayweather on the ropes and in the corner almost every round, throwing flurries to his head.

But many more missed than landed, allowing Mayweather to dance away, often after countering with a punch or two of his own.

“I just fought the best fighter in our era and I beat him,” Mayweather said.

The sellout crowd of 16,200 that paid a record $19 million gate didn’t think so, booing the decision just as it had booed Mayweather when he came into the ring wearing a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo.

And neither did Floyd Mayweather Sr., the estranged father of the undefeated champion and the former trainer of De La Hoya.

Slide show   On the ropes Click to see images from May's big fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

“I thought Oscar won the fight on points, threw more punches and was more aggressive,” said the senior Mayweather, who munched popcorn as he watched the fight from a $2,000 ringside seat given to him by De La Hoya. “My son had good defense and caught a lot of his punches, but I still thought Oscar pressed enough to win the fight.”

Two of the three ringside judges, though, gave the fight to Mayweather, who has never lost in his pro career and won a title for the fifth time in as many weight classes.

Mayweather was favored 116-112 by judge Chuck Giampa and 115-113 by judge Jerry Roth. Judge Tom Kaczmarek had De La Hoya ahead 115-113. The Associated Press had Mayweather winning 116-112.

Mayweather defeats De La Hoya      Mayweather: De La Hoya can call about rematch Opinion: Good fight gave boxing a great night Mayweather wins by split decision |   Images Round-by-round scoring from Associated Press Vote: Who do you think won? Want a rematch? What’s next for boxing after big fight? |   Discuss

Because this was boxing, the fight didn’t end without some controversy. De La Hoya’s corner said it might protest the decision after noticing that the scorecards circulated at ringside had the fighters in the wrong color corners, but the director of the Nevada Athletic Commission said they were correct.

The fight lacked the drama of the slugfest that De La Hoya wanted when he offered Mayweather a chance to make at least $10 million to fight him for the title. De La Hoya made at least $25 million for only his third fight in the last three years.

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Flying on the hardwood, racing on the rink, getting physical on the gridiron, and much more. more photos

De La Hoya wanted Mayweather to trade punches in the middle of the ring with him, thinking he would win the fight on power against a fighter who moved up in weight to challenge him.

“The champion in me wanted to stop him,” De La Hoya said. “I was just trying to close the show.”

The fight ended with the crowd on its feet and two fighters trading punches wildly at the final bell. They then stopped and embraced each other.

In the end, Mayweather was simply faster and more slippery, and landed more punches.

Ringside punching stats heavily favored Mayweather, crediting him with landing 207 of 481 punches to 122 of 587 for De La Hoya. Mayweather also landed more power punches than De La Hoya, outscoring him 138-82.

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