Weekend Sports In Brief

BOXING

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The pressure of a $180 million payday never got to Floyd Mayweather Jr., even if the richest fight ever wasn’t the best.

Using his reach and his jab Saturday night, Mayweather frustrated Manny Pacquiao, piling up enough points to win a unanimous decision in their welterweight title bout. Mayweather remained unbeaten in 48 fights, cementing his legacy as the best of his generation.

After the fight, it was disclosed that Pacquiao injured his right shoulder in training and that Nevada boxing commissioners denied his request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight.

Pacquiao chased Mayweather around the ring most of the fight. But he was never able to land a sustained volume of punches, as Mayweather worked his defensive wizardry again.

Two ringside judges scored the fight 116-112, while the third had it 118-110. The Associated Press had Mayweather ahead 115-113.

NEW YORK (AP) - For some boxing fans, the big fight Saturday night turned out to be between them and their cable companies.

Strong pay-per-view demand for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in Las Vegas caused problems for cable and satellite systems, especially when people tried to order at the last second, which delayed the start of the fight. It’s another sting to the reputation of an industry that’s already beset with criticism over poor service and competition from streaming video providers.

Still other boxing fans circumvented cable companies entirely, watching the fight live video-streaming apps such as Meerkat and Twitter’s Periscope, which let users broadcast video directly to the Internet from their smartphones.

AUTO RACING

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) - There’s something about Talladega Superspeedway - its ardent Earnhardt fans, the success his family has had at the track - that makes Dale Earnhardt Jr. feel a responsibility to put on a show.

He failed to deliver last year, using a strategy that took him out of contention for the win, admitting he was “just really, really ashamed of that” decision.

Earnhardt vowed to never again be cautious at the Alabama track, to always race aggressively for the win.

It paid off Sunday with an emotional first win of the season. It was Earnhardt’s sixth victory at Talladega - but first since 2004 - and he choked back tears after he climbed from his No. 88 Chevrolet.

HORSE RACING

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Three times in seven years, Bob Baffert left the Kentucky Derby empty-handed. Two seconds and a sixth-place finish by the wagering favorite.

On this first Saturday in May, Baffert knew he had the best horse in American Pharoah. Still, he needed a dynamic performance and some old-fashioned racing luck.

He got it all - and then some - with a horse that even rival trainers suspect could be a threat to win racing’s first Triple Crown in 37 years. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite by the record crowd of 170,513, American Pharoah rallied in the stretch to beat Firing Line by a length and deliver Baffert’s first Derby since 2002.

BASEBALL

MILWAUKEE (AP) - The Milwaukee Brewers fired manager Ron Roenicke on Sunday night, hours after their 5-3 victory over the Cubs in Chicago.

The Brewers are a major league-worst 7-18 after a 2-13 start. The team said it will announce a replacement Monday.

The victory Sunday gave the Brewers their first consecutive victories of the year and first series win. Before this year, the most games Milwaukee needed for consecutive wins was 18 in 1972, according to STATS.

In four-plus seasons, the 58-year-old Roenicke was 342-331.

HOCKEY

MONTREAL (AP) - Montreal forward Brandon Prust said referee Brad Watson insulted him repeatedly in the first period after a roughing penalty in the Canadiens’ 6-2 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday night.

Prust ended the game with 31 minutes of penalties and a game misconduct. He claimed he did nothing wrong to bring on Watson’s exchange of words, though he was given an extra minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Prust got back into penalty trouble late in the third period when he tripped Ben Bishop as the goalie played the puck behind his net. Tampa’s Braydon Coburn jumped on Prust and the two dropped their gloves.

Tampa coach Jon Cooper thought Prust might have been trying to injure Bishop on the play.

After Prust was given the game misconduct, the 31-year-old forward threw his elbow pad at Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos on his way to the dressing room. Stamkos then tossed the elbow pad into the stands.

GOLF

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Rory McIlroy didn’t need another comeback to win the Match Play Championship.

Three times in the last three days, McIlroy had to rally to reach the championship match at TPC Harding Park. He removed any suspense by winning four straight holes against Gary Woodland.

Woodland conceded the 16th hole, and McIlroy captured his second World Golf Championship with a 4-and-2 victory Sunday. Three weeks after Jordan Spieth won the Masters and emerged as the most likely rival, McIlroy reminded the world of his No. 1 ranking.

It was the first time since Tiger Woods in 2008 that the No. 1 seed won golf’s most unpredictable tournament. Woods did it two other times.

IRVING, Texas (AP) - Inbee Park won the LPGA Tour’s North Texas Shootout for the second time in three years, closing with a bogey-free 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory.

Park finished at 15-under 269 at Las Colinas for her second victory this year and 14th on the tour. The 26-year-old South Korean player, ranked second in the world, won in March in Singapore.

Cristie Kerr and Hee Young Park tied for second. Kerr had three consecutive birdies to finish her round of 66. Hee Young Park also had a 66, birdieing the final two holes after her only bogey at No. 16. Lexi Thompson, who shared the third-round lead with Inbee Park, closed with a 69 to tie for fourth with Maria McBride (65) at 11 under.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas (AP) - Ian Woosnam made a 30-foot birdie putt in a playoff to win the Insperity Invitational for his first Champions Tour title.

NEWBURGH, Ind. (AP) - Rookie Smylie Kaufman won the United Leasing Championship by five strokes for his first Web.com Tour title.