Only the payday packed a punch
Mayweather’s strategy outlasts game McGregor
Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he has boxed for the very last time. He was clear about that. There will be no comebacks.
This was the end for the now 50- 0 Mayweather, early Sunday morning in shiny Las Vegas. Yet the question as the main- event fighters walked out of the T- Mobile Arena, almost arm-in-arm as comrades who had pulled off a fast one on the rest of the world, was this: Will Conor McGregor ever box again? Better yet, should he? “Look, I enjoyed it. I hope you all enjoyed it,” said McGregor, putting his onstage character aside and talking honestly and modestly for a change. “It was an honour for me to do this.
“People ask me what’s next. I’m not sure what’s next … I love a good fight. Tonight was a damn good fight. Right now, I’m a free agent. I have lots of opportunities. I know something will be next, I just don’t know what.”
For all that McGregorMayweather was suppos- ed to be, the mismatch of epic proportions between the MMA champion and the 12- time championship legend, this apparent sporting charade didn’t exactly live up to the disrespect that enveloped it.
McGregor is no real prize fighter, but he is one tough hombre. His punches may have lacked crispness and power, but he threw them willingly and often against Mayweather. He controlled the pace for a lot of the fight. He won the first three rounds on my scorecard, and not another after that, but he never backed down. He took a lot of shots and only when the stoppage came in the 10th round, after Mayweather had thrown 14 consecutive power punches without a single response from McGregor, did referee Robert Byrd do the right thing and call an end to the bout.
Like all f i ghters, McGregor wanted to continue. He thought he deserved the right to finish the fight. Fighters always think that way, never quite seeing themselves in peril. He said he wasn’t hurt, just exhausted.
That is why Byrd had to step in and stop the fight. McGregor, with mouth open, hands low, could no longer defend himself.
“I’m so proud of Conor tonight,” MMA president Dana White said. “It’s not the fight I expected it to be. He went 10 rounds tonight with the greatest that ever did it.
“I would rather he did not ( box again). This isn’t what he does ... Conor McGregor is a rare, special individual. He took on something tonight. What do they say? Without any risk there is no great reward in life. The greats always risk. Conor is a special guy.”
Mayweather was a special fighter in his career in more ways than are easily apparent. Winning can never be taken for granted. He did that better than a ny - one. He manage d to box 21 years professionally, be independent for almost half that time in terms of promotion, accumulate a net worth estimated at US$ 400 million and a purse expected to be in the US$ 300- million range on the way after the fight.
The match, from beginning of promotion to the end, was so much about incongruity. It didn’t necessarily follow form. It did create interest and bring in gigantic amounts of money. It did capture the attention of the non- boxing, non- MMA crowd.
T- Mobile was far from sold out on Saturday night, but yet the gross on ticket sales at US$ 80 million was the highest in boxing history. No one has the final pay-perview number from 225 countries around the world, but when all of the dollars are counted, they will be recordbreaking as well. McGregor is guaranteed US$30 million but will likely end up with closer to US$100 million.
And at the sports books along The Strip, the majority of the bets came in on McGregor — estimated 92 per cent in all — yet the majority of the money came in on Mayweather. There was always that kind of back and forth in this promotion. The fighters screamed, they yelled, they swore, they embarrassed themselves and at the end after midnight, they did what is rarely ever seen in boxing. The two posed for photos together all dressed up.
“I’m not here to bash Conor McGregor,” said Mayweather, who was emotional and retrospective as he spoke.
“We’ve done enough talking here.”
If anything, the 40- yearold Mayweather, with a sore hand that prevented him from sparring in the final four weeks before the fight, was true to himself in the ring. He did what he has done so many times before, with a little less quickness, a little less snap on his punches.
He waited. He plotted. He gave away the first few rounds as he often does while timing McGregor’s awkward style and waiting for his opponent to tire himself out. That was the strategy. Mayweather figured it would take five or six rounds to end it. It’s a tribute to McGregor’s ability to take a punch and maybe the fact Mayweather is ready for retirement that it went to the 10th round before the stoppage.
“I wanted to go out with a bang,” Mayweather said. “He kind of shocked me. He’s a hell of a fighter. It took us a little longer ( to end it) than we expected.
“This was my last fight tonight, for sure. Tonight, I chose the right dance partner to dance with. Conor, you are a hell of a champion.”
McGregor put up a fight, just not a threat. There is a difference in that. He hit Mayweather more than 100 times, but few if any of those punches were memorable or dangerous. If this is what he did for just one fight, could there be more of McGregor in the ring?
Odds are this is a oneoff. Maybe it’s best for him to have one fight and walk away, be remembered for his night of bravery, for putting on a show. In the end, there’s something to be said for even that.