Floyd Mayweather Jr., Conor McGregor smiling all the way to the bank after their showdown.
LAS VEGAS» Conor McGregor was drinking Irish whiskey and acting like he had won. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was reminiscing about his early days as a fighter and looking forward to a different kind of business at his strip club.
There were smiles all around, and with good reason. Mayweather and McGregor pulled off an audacious gamble Saturday night, and all that was left to do was to count the money rolling in.
Mayweather estimated his take at $300 million to $350 million. McGregor said he likely would clear $100 million, and said he had his accountants on speed dial to make sure it was all collected.
Fans of boxing and mixed martial arts had to be happy too. They got a reasonably entertaining fight that settled nothing about the two sports but embarrassed neither fighter.
“I enjoyed it very much,” McGregor said. “It was an honor for me to showcase my skills.”
They go their separate ways now, after a fight that seemingly had something for everyone. Mayweather won by battering McGregor around late until it was stopped at 1:05 of the 10th round, but in reality McGregor was a big winner too.
He was reasonably competent as a boxer in his first pro fight. He controlled the first few rounds, and was never off his feet despite taking a beating in the late rounds.
Mayweather eventually figured him out, and exposed him for the boxing novice he was. McGregor didn’t become the king of boxing like he predicted before the fight, but he won millions of new fans and will now likely return to the UFC as its unquestioned star.
For Mayweather, 50-0 has a nice ring to it, passing the 49-0 record of Rocky Marciano that serves as a benchmark in the sport. He got a knockout that helped erase the stain from his fight with Manny Pacquiao two years earlier. And, after earning nearly $1 billion in his 21-year career, he can get on with his varied businesses and maybe even train fighters.
“You won’t see me in the ring anymore,” Mayweather said. “Any guy calling me out, forget it. I’m OK. I had a great career.”
Indeed, he did, winning every time he got into the ring and building his brand wisely so he could make a fortune off it. No boxer has ever marketed himself like the man who calls himself “Money.”
The criticism of the Pacquiao fight will now fade away, and the last image of the best defensive fighter of his generation will be of him coming forward boldly and going for one final knockout.