Tag: boxing

Floyd Mayweather Jr. used greater stamina and superior punching power to stop Conor McGregor in the 10th round and win by technical knockout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday.

The bout was stopped with Mayweather teeing off on the visibly exhausted 29-year-old star of the UFC. Brian Campbell of CBS Sports showed how the bout was scored at the time:

Mayweather made the fight one-sided thanks to a simple gameplan focused on wearing McGregor down by forcing him into a lengthy test of endurance. Afterwards, “Money” spelled out his simple yet effective strategy, per ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael:

“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. We know in MMA he fights for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, he started to slow down. I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn’t go the distance.”

Even early on, McGregor seemed to struggle with lasting the pace. He was quick off the mark during the opening two rounds but didn’t make the most of the clean punches he managed to land.

Instead, Mayweather bided his time and steadily grew into the fight. His willingness to work the body through rounds three to five and knock the wind out of McGregor proved a key part of his plan to exploit the Irishman’s lack of stamina.

Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com felt it was a worrying sign to see McGregor sagging so early:

It was a sentiment also expressed one round later by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com:

Mayweather picked his moments and his punches well, correctly sensing the time was ripe to up the pace in Round 7. His array of jabs to the body and face left McGregor bloodied and wheezing as the bell sounded.

From this point, Mayweather was never in any trouble, and it was just a matter of time before he finished a tiring McGregor off. Mayweather was content to stick and move during the eighth, probably knowing he had a sizeable advantage in points to lean on.

He turned up the heat further in the ninth, with McGregor barely escaping the round still in the fight but still looking gassed, per Helwani:

Referee Robert Byrd rightly called a stop to things in the 10th, with a lethargic McGregor pinned against the ropes and open to a relentless barrage of punches. The wilting state of McGregor at the time of the stoppage vindicated Mayweather’s strategy to draw the fight out and prolong the punishment.

It was a logical approach, since McGregor’s days in the UFC had hardly prepared him for this lengthy a bout. In fact, numbers from ESPN Stats & Info show how the Irishman had been used to making much quicker work of his recent opponents in the Octagon:

Mayweather had boxed a smart fight against an opponent lacking his ring savvy. Yet his victory wasn’t just down to superior conditioning.

The man who ended the night 50-0 for his career also landed the more powerful punches, even after McGregor had come out swinging to start.

McGregor landed some strong shots early, including a formidable uppercut and several stinging right-handed jabs. In total, the Irishman landed more shots on Mayweather than many decorated boxing greats had managed, per SportsCenter:

The problem for McGregor was most of his punches lacked power after the early stages, once he notably began to tire. By contrast, Mayweather’s hitting power grew as the fight wore on.

He landed more of the telling shots as he found his rhythm during the bout:

In the end, Mayweather had made wise use of the experience accrued during his previous 49 professional fights. He dictated the pace, ensuring he would exploit McGregor’s suspect endurance, while also making more efficient use of his punches to land the more damaging blows when it counted.

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. out-thought and outlasted Conor McGregor en route to a win by technical knockout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, when the bout was stopped in the 10th round.

Mayweather recovered from a surprising early onslaught from McGregor to gradually take control of the fight and outclass the man whose lack of experience showed on his professional boxing debut.

In typical fashion, Mayweather set a pace he dominated, forcing McGregor into a test of endurance, with the UFC star slowing considerably as the rounds mounted up.

It was a different story at the start, though, when McGregor landed the most telling shots during the opening exchanges.

Included in the best of his early punches was this crisp and clean uppercut captured by SportsCenter:

McGregor put together some heavy body shots while also keeping Mayweather at bay with a long right jab. As for Mayweather, he was content to keep moving early on, steering clear of the Irishman’s feared left.

A similar pattern continued in the second round, as McGregor picked more shots, while Mayweather tried to stay away. Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting summed up the contrast between both fighters:

Two more narrowly contested rounds went by, but Money began to open things up in the fifth. A telling right backed McGregor up, and the Irishman felt the sting of a few body shots before hanging on as the bell sounded.

Correctly sensing the UFC lightweight champion was beginning to sag, Mayweather accelerated the pace in the sixth. He simply wore the 29-year-old McGregor down by focusing on the body.

The seventh round saw the pattern of victory emerge clearly, as Mayweather’s hand speed, timing and accuracy systematically worked over a clearly tiring McGregor.

Money owned the round, which was highlighted by this jarring shot, shared by Sky Sports Boxing:

McGregor appeared to be running on the last reserves of his energy, slowly trying to avoid punches while failing to muster any meaningful impact behind his own.

It was hardly surprising the Irishman struggled so much with the stamina demanded by boxing. His UFC experience has only seen him fight the maximum of five five-minute rounds instead of 12 rounds consisting of three minutes.

To his credit, McGregor found something extra to force the issue more during the eighth, even though his punches lacked snap. It seemed as though Mayweather was content to bide his time and let his spent opponent punch himself out.

So it proved, as Mayweather moved decisively in the ninth, teeing off with several strong rights to the upper body and face. McGregor’s defenses were crumbling as fatigue seemed to have taken over.

This image of the Irishman simply hanging on brilliantly depicted the state of the fight at this stage:

There was more of the same in the 10th, as Mayweather knew victory was imminent. He showed his know-how to cut off the ring and trap novice McGregor against the ropes before unloading with a barrage of punches.

McGregor could barely raise his hands in response, prompting referee Robert Byrd to wisely call for a stoppage with the Irishman taking too much punishment:

The fight lasted longer than many expected it would, but there was still no doubt who had been the better man. Mayweather’s dominance was summed up by these scorecard figures relayed by Brian Campbell of CBS Sports:

Such dominance was to be expected from the more seasoned and skilled boxer.

By contrast, McGregor earned the respect of many former pros as a game debutant between the ropes, including former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis:

Lewis had previously declared the fight a “farce” in an interview with the BBC’s Sportsweek but was clearly won over by McGregor’s spirited efforts.

As for Mayweather, he enjoyed the distinction of surpassing Rocky Marciano by moving to 50-0 for his career. The 40-year-old always seemed in control with enough in reserve to open up on McGregor whenever he needed to.

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