Mayweather beats Mcgregor
Unbeaten Floyd Mayweather has stopped MMA star Conor Mcgregor by technical knockout in their super welterweight bout in Las Vegas.
Mayweather, 40, arrived with a record of 49-0 while Irishman Mcgregor, 11 years his junior, was making his pro boxing debut after a glittering MMA career.
Referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the 10th of 12 rounds after a wobbly Mcgregor took a flurry of punches.
‘‘I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see,’’ Mayweather said. ‘‘I owed them for the [Manny] Pacquiao fight.’’
Mcgregor started strongly before Mayweather stepped it up in the sixth round, and gradually took control from there.
He had Mcgregor struggling in the ninth round as the Irishman only just made it to the bell, before Mayweather unleashed in the 10th as the fight ended just over one minute in.
Mayweather, who came out of boxing retirement for the fight, improved to 50-0 to surpass heavyweight great Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record for most wins without a loss or draw.
‘‘Our game plan was to take our time, go to him and take him out in the end,’’ Mayweather said. ‘‘I guaranteed everybody this fight wouldn’t go the distance.
‘‘This is my last fight for sure. 50-0 sounds good, I’m looking forward to going into the Hall of Fame. I picked the best dance partner to do it with.’’
Mcgregor failed to pull off what would have been the greatest upset in combat sports history but made the fight much more compelling than most experts had predicted.
After the fight, he went over and hugged Mayweather. He seemed almost happy in the ring afterward, secure that he had given a good performance even in losing.
‘‘I was a little fatigued,’’ he said. ‘‘He was composed in there, that’s what 50 pro fights can give you.’’
The pair were fighting for a WBC ‘money belt’, made up of 1.5kg of 24k gold, 3360 diamonds, 600 sapphires and 160 emeralds.