Mayweather stops McGregor
Floyd Mayweather put on a boxing masterclass to stop Conor McGregor by TKO in the tenth round to secure his place in boxing history by surpassing Rocky Marciano’s unbeaten record and officially retire with 50 wins and no losses.
Mayweather’s first stoppage sine his 2011 victory over Victor Ortiz, showcased all of his experience and skills in front of 20000 people at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, eventually finishing off the UFC star up against the ropes with a combination that saw referee Robert Byrd step in.
The Irishman however gave an exceptional performance of his own considering it was his first professional fight up against an all-time great. Mcgregor as promised came out all guns blazing looking to finish off the American in the early rounds, however as seen on so many occasions before Mayweather absorbed the pressure and then started to dominate as the rounds unfolded.
Mayweather’s first stoppage sine his 2011 victory over Victor Ortiz, showcased all of his experience and skills in front of 20000 people at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, eventually finishing off the UFC star up against the ropes with a combination that saw referee Robert Byrd step in.
The Irishman however gave an exceptional performance of his own considering it was his first professional fight up against an all-time great. Mcgregor as promised came out all guns blazing looking to finish off the American in the early rounds, however as seen on so many occasions before Mayweather absorbed the pressure and then started to dominate as the rounds unfolded.
It was always clear that if Mayweather could take the fight deep, fatigue would kick in and boxing would prevail over MMA which is exactly what happened. No one could question the Irishman’s intense preparation for the fight at the UFC High Performance Institute although conditioning to the boxing game was always going to be in question, something that was answered on the night. The energy he offloaded in the early rounds with a host of power punches slowly caught up with him midway through the fight which Mayweather capitalized on.
Adding to this his three-and-a-half-pound weight advantage which was expected to benefit him in the event of an early knockout, hindered him in the later rounds as his legs and arms became more and more lethargic.
Despite this McGregor still never went down and felt after the fight that referee Byrd should never have stopped the fight as he felt a second wind was coming.
Mayweather is regarded as the best defensive boxer ever to step into a ring highlighted by the fact that class fighters like Canelo and Pacquiao only managed to land 117 and 81 punches respectively during previous fights with the Vegas man. McGregor managed to land 111 over the ten rounds, testament to the fact that he put in a great challenge in the face of the inevitable.
Credit to both fighters where credit is due. Despite his age and being retired for more than two years, Mayweather showcased his pure class throughout the fight, while McGregor left his world of UFC to challenge the very best in a sport that he had never fought in on a professional level.
Post fight comments
I would have liked the ref to let me keep going. I was a little fatigued, early on I thought it was handy, I have to give it to him.I’ve been strangled on live TV before and came back.There’s a lot on the line here, let me keep going. He had a lot more experience and I have to give it to him, that’s what 50 pro fights will give you.Being wobbly and fatigued, that’s energy, that’s not damage, I’m clear headed.I’ve been strangled on live TV before and came back.There’s a lot on the line here, let me keep going. He had a lot more experience and I have to give it to him, that’s what 50 pro fights will give you.Being wobbly and fatigued, that’s energy, that’s not damage, I’m clear headed.I thought I took the early rounds and I made him change his style. He was very composed, not that fast or powerful, but very patient, fair play to him, he’s had a great career.Hopefully I entertained the fans, I thought it was close, I just thought the stoppage was a bit early, I often get like that.Where were the final two rounds? Let me at least wobble back to the corner and try to recompose myself
Conor McGregor
He’s a lot better than I thought he was … he used different angles. But I was the better man … It was our gameplan to take our time and take him out down the stretch.That was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner. Conor you were a great dance partner tonight.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. We know in MMA he fights for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, he started to slow down. I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn’t go the distance.
Floyd Mayweather
