Former welterweight boxing champion Floyd Mayweather outclassed Irish mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor to win their superfight by technical knockout, securing his place in boxing history to head into retirement with a record 50th straight victory.
Mayweather, who had come out of a two-year retirement to take on McGregor, bided his time before exerting his superiority from the middle rounds onwards at the T-Mobile Arena. The end came in the 10th round with a tired McGregor doubled over on the ropes as Mayweather landed two hard left hooks, prompting referee Robert Byrd to intervene as a 14,623 crowd with A-list celebrities roared their approval. “He's a lot better than I thought he'd be,” a jubilant Mayweather said of McGregor. “He's a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.”
The American said he had deliberately taken his time early on in order to take advantage of a fatigued McGregor. “Our game plan was to take our time, go to him, let him shoot his shots early and then take him out down the stretch,” he said.
McGregor, meanwhile, suggested the fight could have been allowed to go on, but praised Mayweather's clinical tactical display. “He's composed, he's not that fast, he's not that powerful, but boy is he composed,” McGregor said.
It was an explosive finale to their much-hyped contest which proved surprisingly competitive in the early rounds as McGregor managed to land a string of scoring punches. But once Mayweather began to find his range and McGregor wearied rapidly, there was only going to be one winner.
