Floyd
Mayweather outclassed Conor McGregor with a 10th-round stoppage Saturday to win
their money-spinning superfight and clinch his 50th straight victory.
Former
welterweight boxing champion Mayweather, who had emerged from a two-year
retirement to take on the Irish mixed martial arts star, took his time to get
going before dominating from the fourth round.
The end came
with a tired McGregor doubled over on the ropes as Mayweather landed two hard
left hooks, prompting referee Robert Byrd to intervene and declare a technical
knockout.
“He’s a lot
better than I thought he’d be,” Mayweather said. “He’s a tough competitor, but
I was the better man tonight.”
Mayweather
said he had deliberately taken his time early on in order to take advantage of
a fatigued McGregor.
“Our game
plan was to take our time, go to him, let him shoot his shots early and then
take him out down the stretch,” he said. “I guaranteed to everybody that this
wouldn’t go the distance.”
McGregor
meanwhile suggested the fight could have been allowed to go on, but praised
Mayweather’s clinical tactical display.
“He’s
composed, he’s not that fast, he’s not that powerful, but boy is he composed in
there,” McGregor said.
“I thought
it was a bit of an early stoppage. I was just a little fatigued. He was just a
lot more composed with his shots.
“I have to
give it to him, that’s what 50 pro fights will do for you.”
It was an
explosive finale to their much-hyped contest which proved surprisingly
competitive in the early rounds as McGregor managed to land a string of scoring
punches.
But once
Mayweather began to find his range and McGregor wearied rapidly, there was only
going to be one winner.
The
40-year-old American scored at will after the fourth round, snapping back
McGregor’s head with a series of stinging blows.
McGregor,
29, somehow survived an onslaught in the seventh round when a right counter
from Mayweather staggered him badly.
Finally
McGregor’s resistance broke in the 10th when a Mayweather right sent him
lurching across the ring.
A hard left
put him on the ropes and another hook saw him bent over and helpless, prompting
the stoppage.
The fight
had followed a largely expected script but McGregor, in his first ever boxing
appearance, by no means embarrassed himself.
– ‘A win is
a win’ –
Mayweather
will now head into what he says is a permanent retirement with a perfect 50-0
record, one better than heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
“A win is a
win, no matter how you get it,” Mayweather said. “Rocky Marciano is a legend
and I look forward to going into the Hall of Fame one day.
“This was my
last fight tonight. For sure. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance
with.”
Mayweather
is also expected to be around $200 million wealthier, taking his career
earnings to around $1 billion.
McGregor,
who was an unemployed former plumber four years ago before emerging as one of
the biggest stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is expected to earn
around $100 million.
The start of
the fight had been delayed as anticipation built to fever pitch and television
providers struggled to cope with the surge in demand from pay-per-view
customers.
Anticipation
had built steadily at ringside as an array of stars from the sports and
entertainment worlds took their seats, including Bruce Willis, LeBron James and
Mike Tyson.
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