LAS VEGAS, Aug 27: Floyd Mayweather outclassed Conor McGregor with a 10th-round stoppage here to win their money-spinning superfight and clinch his 50th straight victory.
Former welterweight boxing champion Mayweather, who had emerged from a two-year retirement to take on the Irish mixed martial arts star, took his time to get going before dominating from the fourth round.
The end came with a tired McGregor doubled over on the ropes as Mayweather landed two hard left hooks, prompting referee Robert Byrd to intervene and declare a technical knockout.
�He�s a lot better than I thought he�d be,� Mayweather said. �He�s a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.�
Mayweather 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. �I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn�t go the distance.�
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 he is composed in there,� McGregor said.
�I thought it was a bit of an early stoppage. I was just a little fatigued. He was just a lot more composed with his shots.
�I have to give it to him, that�s what 50 pro fights will do for you.�
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.
The 40-year-old American scored at will after the fourth round, snapping back McGregor�s head with a series of stinging blows.
McGregor, 29, somehow survived an onslaught in the seventh round when a right counter from Mayweather staggered him badly.
Finally McGregor�s resistance broke in the 10th when a Mayweather right sent him lurching across the ring.
A hard left put him on the ropes and another hook saw him bent over and helpless, prompting the stoppage.
The fight had followed a largely expected script but McGregor, in his first ever boxing appearance, by no means embarrassed himself.
Mayweather will now head into what he says is a permanent retirement with a perfect 50-0 record, one better than heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
�A win is a win, no matter how you get it,� Mayweather said. �Rocky Marciano is a legend and I look forward to going into the Hall of Fame one day.� � AFP
