MONEY RULES
Floyd teaches McGregor a lesson as he seals $300m pay day and 50-0 record
Scripted was the buzzword among the brethren on the Strip in the days before the most lucrative night in the annals of the ring. Not fixed, to be clear. Scripted. Not written in the stars. Authored by a man eloquent in the blood-craft in a way which would give himself his best possible chance of signing off a distinguished career with the exclamation mark of a knockout.
Scripted. Not in the dark old-fashioned way but by signing on to box the biggest attraction in mixed martial arts, while knowing all along that conor McGregor could never be articulate enough as a novitiate in the hardest game to smudge his legacy.
So it was written. Over 10 rounds, one minute and five seconds in which the maestro encouraged the pupil to express himself at the start. then took him to school. Finished by giving him a caning for his impertinence.
then went with him to the bank to collect their spoils. in round figures, a hundred million dollars for the Notorious irishman, three times that for the Money Man.
it all made for good reading. ‘We’re going from the fighting stage to the counting stage with my accountants,’ said McGregor.
‘Scripted,’ said my cab driver. But risky. it relied on McGregor being brave and sufficiently educated in the nuances of boxing to make enough of a fight of it that the celebrities who filled most of the eye-wateringly expensive seats would feel they had got most of their money’s worth. McGregor played his part to perfection.
He threw himself into a surprise winning of the first three rounds. then took his punishment until, as i had suggested, it ended when Mayweather wanted it to end.
early enough to be sure that nothing would prevent the 50th victory which took him one clear of rocky Marciano’s historic high-water mark of retiring undefeated at 49-0.
‘Marciano was a legend,’ said Mayweather graciously after that anointing. ‘i am grateful to him and all the other great boxers who paved the way for me to be where i am today.’
the records kept shattering. the first $ 80million live indoor gate for boxing even though the ticket prices kept empty 5,000 of the 20,000 seats which might otherwise have been filled by irishmen and women, many of whom came all this way to watch on closedcircuit television.
the first $600m fight. Maybe more. Mayweather says: ‘i came from a hard place. When i first arrived in Las Vegas my eyes popped open when i saw the signing–on cheque. it was for $100,000. i’d never seen so many noughts. it looked like a hundred million to me.’
So now Money Mayweather ascends to the pantheon.
Not because his boxing genius bedazzled a fighting irishman skilled in a different combat discipline.
Not because he landed the knockout he wanted to be his final statement.
Not because he was so adroit at selling this pack of suspect goods to the public at so high a price.
Not even because his collaboration with McGregor turned the potential for a fiasco into an evening’s entertainment. there still was some farce amid the drama but those elements can enliven theatrical occasions. Which is what we witnessed, rather than a meaningful contest.
Although within that framework Mayweather was able to make amends for what he concedes was ‘that boring super-fight’ against Manny pacquiao.
that, and along with it protection for boxing from UFc gloating had he lost, was achieved by the way he nullified a danger man. Having cemented the latter half of his career in impenetrable defence and pin-point counter-punching, he decided at the last to close down both ring and opponent.
the taller McGregor found his own punching hobbled by this clever aggression and his head and body exposed to draining assault at close quarters.
chants of ‘Money, Money,’ filled a hall. Fiasco was averted, a circus illuminated by thrills. ‘What fun,’ said McGregor, despite getting the
worst of it as the worlds of boxing and UFC collided under Queensberry Rules.
He had kept to most of them, only occasionally lapsing into MMA instincts. When that happened he was quickly brought to book by referee Robert Byrd.
Having won those three opening rounds on the card of myself and the most observant of the three judges, the Irishman lost the next six. Goodnight, McGregor. He knew the game was up and went quietly into the night before resuming the ritual of the Guinness on the Strip. A good night was had by all, which was more than we had dared to expect.
Their folk hero will wake up back in the UFC. Mayweather will retire into the echelons of the finest ring warriors, if not quite The Best Ever. Muhammad Ali remains The Greatest with Sugar Ray Robinson and Sugar Ray Leonard close behind. But Mayweather’s victories over De La Hoya, Castillo, Hatton and Pacquiao merit consideration for the top 10.
More so his mastery of his craft, all the way to this wise display at the age of 40. Despite his contradictions, his brushes with the law among them, we will miss him.
But every story has its ending. It’s in the script.