Floyd Mayweather Jr won for the 50th time in his decorated career when the fantasy fight with Conor McGregor proved a mismatch and he stopped the Irishman in 10 rounds here on Saturday
Floyd Mayweather Jr (right) lands a right to the face of mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor during their fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Floyd Mayweather Jr won for the 50th time in his decorated career when the fantasy fight with Conor McGregor proved a mismatch and he stopped the Irishman in 10 rounds here on Saturday.
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McGregor's greatest chance of success came in using his superior size and weight - he was 3.5lbs heavier at Friday's weigh-in and bigger still in the ring - to smother Mayweather, set a high pace and deny him the time and space with which he excels.
A potential awkwardness at not having boxed professionally could also have threatened the American's ability to read him as quickly as he had so many others, but that never proved the case and by the fourth he was taking control.
Mismatch of sorts
Beyond a reasonable left uppercut in the opening round as Mayweather chose to analyse his unusual opponent, who repeatedly switched his stance , the punches he threw proved how unsuited he is to boxing at this level and how the two should never have shared a ring. A recurring theme throughout the fight began in the second, when referee Robert Byrd had to warn McGregor for punching behind the head.
Mayweather's defence nullified any potential sting in the Irishman's punches and then responded with two sharp right hands of his own. McGregor's renewed aggression at the start of the fourth was swiftly turned against him as Mayweather began to read him, landing another big right on the counter after ensuring another remained out of range.
Thereafter, uncharacteristically he turned aggressor, attempting to walk his opponent down in a way he last regularly did while fighting at a far lighter weight. In a farcical sixth-round moment Mayweather was turned and McGregor again went without punishment for punching behind the head, but by its conclusion he was showing significant signs of fatigue and unravelling amid numerous further right hands.
Too tough
Any respect the American may have had for his opponent's threat disappeared at the same rate McGregor tired, his sense of distance ensuring the biggest question became how long the 29-year-old would survive.
A low blow in the ninth on Mayweather also went unpunished, but he then took advantage of McGregor's lack of form to continue landing with the jab and right to leave him desperately clinging on. The inevitable followed in the 10th when, with McGregor unable to avoid Mayweather's sharp accurate right hands, Byrd finally showed some conviction to rescue the resilient Irishman and wave the action over. With victory, Mayweather's record surpassed that of the great Rocky Marciano by improving to 50-0.
-PA Sport
£210m
The minimum amount Floyd Mayweather will earn from his victory over McGregor
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