FIGHT A SHOWCASE OF THE SWEET SCIENCE.

Byline: PAUL OBERJUERGE

LAS VEGAS - "Pretty Boy" and "Golden Boy" might not have "saved" boxing.

It will take more than two fighters and more than 12 highly anticipated rounds to manage that.

But they gave it a shot in the arm. And the face.

And the gut.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya demonstrated the hearts and smarts that make boxing the Sweet Science.

De La Hoya fought with fury and near-desperation that should have sated any action-hungry boxing fan.

Mayweather responded with clinical precision and cool intelligence that should have awed the most jaded boxing critic.

Nobody went down in a heap. Nobody spurted fountains of blood. But that was what made it a sterling exhibition of a real sport. Asopposed to the clumsy back-alley-brawl mayhem of the various and sundry "ultimate fighting" organizations cutting into boxing's popularity.

Mayweather won a split decision, but it should have been unanimous. He was never in trouble, and he seemed able to sting De La Hoya whenever he needed.

De La Hoya threw 587 punches to Mayweather's 481, but Mayweather wasn't wasting ammunition; he landed 207 punches toDe La Hoya's 122.

He popped De La Hoya with almost surgical precision. A clean jab here, an unblocked hook there. Sheer economy of action. No wasted motion. And extremely impressive.

Neither man seriously hurt the other. Which is also what boxing is supposed to be about: Self-defense, well-executed.

It was a fascinating matchup.

De La Hoya was bigger, appeared stronger, was the crowd favorite and had been in far more big fights.

Mayweather was faster, had much the quicker hands and was four years younger.

De La Hoya stalked the smaller man throughout. But Mayweather made him pay by parrying his advances with on-target punches.

As he fell behind (on at least two cards, anyway), De La Hoya tried to press Mayweather into the ropes and flail him with blows, hoping against hope he would land one that told.

He never did. And Mayweather's claim to "best pound-for-pound" boxer on the planet goes unchallenged and his record continues unblemished, now 38-0.

"I stayed on the outside all night, boxed, made him miss shots," Mayweather said moments after the fight. "That's what you call a masterpiece of boxing."

"Pretty Boy" isn't known for modesty, but he wasn't far wrong. He came in determined to show his mastery of the subtleties of a complex sport, and he did just that.

What he didn't do was knock out or even knock down De La Hoya.

At least one judge, Tom Kaczmarek, didn't think Mayweather did enough to win, scoring the fight 115-113 for De La Hoya.

Oscar, now 38-5, agreed with the minority position.

"I felt I won," he said. "I felt I landed the harder and crisper punches. You gotta beat the champion decisively."

De La Hoya's World Boxing Council superwelterweight title was at stake, but both men are champions many times over, at a variety of weights. So De La Hoya's claims that "the champ" needs to be beaten badly to lose his title didn't really carry the weight it might usually.

Judges Chuck Giampa and Jerry Roth had it 116-112 and 115-113, respectively, for Mayweather.

And that seemed about right.

De La Hoya complained that he had to carry the fight, and there was some truth to that. Against skilled opponents, Mayweather is a counter-puncher, a counter-attacker. And that is what he did against the increasingly frustrated De La Hoya.

"If I didn't press the fight," Golden Boy said, "they'd be no fight."

Ultimately, both fighters suggested they "put on a show," and that they did. The biggest boxing match in years draw a noisy capacity crowd studded with stars and drew a pay-per-view audience likely to surpass $500 million in revenue.

For one night, boxing was back on center stage, looking quite lively, and two accomplished fighters did it proud.

So proud, in fact, and so close in the eyes of many ... that they may have a chance to "save boxing" again.

Mayweather and De La Hoya in a rematch, anyone?

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