Mayweather goes 50-0 with late stoppage of McGregor

Floyd Mayweather reached a milestone 50th professional boxing victory without defeat after an engrossing victory over debuting MMA star Conor McGregor in Las Vegas.

After struggling with McGregor’s confident and awkward style for the first three rounds, Mayweather switched out of his usual defensive counter-punching style and came forward.

It didn’t take long before this rare attacking display from Floyd paid off, as he won every round on the Yahoo UK scorecard from the fourth onward as his punches and aggression tired the Irishman fast.

By the sixth round, McGregor had nothing left in his punches but continued to stand strong in the face of constant pressure, landing on occasion himself as Mayweather left himself open.

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But it was clear from there where the fight was going as Floyd’s experience, conditioning and accuracy continued to wear down the game debutant and after a strong flurry early in the 10th, the referee waved off the record-breaking spectacle.

“He’s a lot better than I thought he was,” Mayweather said after the fight. “He used different angles and made things difficult at the start but I was the better man tonight.

“Our gameplan was to take our time and not get frustrated early.

“MMA fights go 25 minutes. After 25 minutes he started to slow down real hard.

“I guaranteed everybody this fight wouldn’t go the distance. Boxing’s reputation was on the line. Boxing and MMA are both great sports but everybody came here to see me.

“I told everybody I would go straight ahead and that’s what I did.”

McGregor gave credit it where it was due but was far from downbeat after a defiant showing in an outing many thought would only end in embarrassment.

“He’s composed,” he said of Floyd. “He’s got pace and he’s got power but boy, is he composed. I’ve got a lot of respect for him.

“I thought it was close, I had him in trouble early on but I get wobbly like that when I get tired. Nobody gave me a shout beforehand.

“I think he should have let me keep fighting, I was only fatigued, not hurt. It was the same in the Diaz rematch. Let him put me down! That wasn’t damage.

“You’ve gotta give it to Floyd. That’s what 50 pro fights without defeat will get you.

“I’ve been here before. I’ve been strangled on live TV and come back. It was some buzz.”

Mayweather claimed in the ring that it was his last fight, as he broke the great Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 unbeaten record. It’s not the first time he’s said that, of course.

McGregor, meanwhile, failed to give a conclusive answer as to whether he would pursue another boxing contest or return to UFC action immediately. It’s clear from his last few years of career choices that he will go wherever the challenge, the excitement and of course the money lies.

In the chief support bout, Mayweather protege Gervonta Davis rubbed the T-Mobile Arena up the wrong way with his showboating and otherwise sub-par performance against Francisco Fonseca.

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Davis lost his IBF junior lightweight title on the scales the day before the card and then won in the eighth with what turned out to be a rabbit punch, before mocking his fallen opponent to really cement his failure to win any new fans in Las Vegas.

Also on the PPV undercard, Badou Jack dominated Wales’ Nathan Cleverly to take his WBA light-heavyweight title, punishing the defending titlist for four rounds before finally forcing the referee to step in and call off the fight late in the fifth.

Cleverly, who had forever wished to box in his “favourite city” Las Vegas, was left bloody and demoralised after this one-sided defeat to Sweden’s Jack, who has impressed in fights against three Brits – George Groves, James DeGale and now Cleverly.

The main card opener saw Andrew Tabiti move to 15-0 at cruiserweight in a comfortable 10-round unanimous decision over veteran Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham.

And in a notable result from the preliminary card, Savannah Marshall began her professional career after representing Team GB at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, beating the more experienced Sydney LeBlanc on a unanimous decision.