Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeated Conor McGregor via 10th-round TKO Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but it appears he would have been well on his way to a unanimous-decision victory had the fight not been stopped.
According to MMAjunkie, the fight was scored 87-83, 89-82, 89-81 for Mayweather through the first nine rounds before referee Robert Byrd stepped in and halted proceedings.
As the scorecards indicate, McGregor fared best over the fight’s first few rounds.
That was supported by the CompuBox numbers (via ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi), which suggested McGregor dictated pace in the early going.
According to those figures, McGregor had a 51-40 advantage in total punches landed through the first five rounds.
But from the sixth round on, Mayweather landed 130 punches compared to McGregor’s 60. All told, Money connected on 152 of his power punches and landed those forceful blows at a 58 percent clip.
Conversely, McGregor was 84 of 332 on power punches—good for a conversion rate of just over 25 percent—against one of the top defensive fighters in the sport’s history.
“He’s composed—he’s not that fast, he’s not that powerful, but boy is he composed in there,” McGregor said, per Markazi.
Despite some glaring statistical disparities, the numbers also showed McGregor held his own to an extent most believed he couldn’t.
While boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya told TMZ Sports he didn’t think Notorious would land a single punch Saturday night, the UFC lightweight champion outpaced Manny Pacquiao under the bright Sin City lights, according to MMA Fighting’s Mike Chiappetta:
“I’m so proud of Conor tonight,” UFC President Dana White said, per the Los Angeles Times‘ Lance Pugmire. “It was a completely different fight than I thought it’d be. Ten rounds with the best to do it.”
McGregor likely doesn’t have much else to prove in a boxing ring after squaring off against a 50-0 force like Mayweather.
If nothing else, he established he isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with greatness in an attempt to validate his status as one of combat sports’ most well-rounded and dynamic competitors.
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