Floyd Mayweather Beats Conor McGregor in Bout That Lived Up to Hype

The Fight of the Century lasted a lot longer than a lot of detractors expected.

But ultimately the heavily-favored Floyd Mayweather beat UFC fighter Conor McGregor in a 10-round TKO that will go down as the most lucrative fight in boxing history.

The result, which brought Mayweather’s record to 50-0, went pretty much according to predictions laid out for RealClearLife by former Mike Tyson trainer Teddy Atlas.

The biggest surprise, however, was that the fight actually lived up to the hype — even McGregor’s self-promoting bravado — that built over the last few months.

“For the first few rounds, Conor McGregor, the UFC fighter, looked like a boxer. A competent boxer. Dare we say, even a good boxer,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Ben Baskin.

“He looked like he might even do what he had been telling us he’d do for the last three months: beat Mayweather at his own sport, outbox one of the best boxers of all time.

“Over the next few rounds McGregor was a real boxer. Yes, he had an unusual stance, with his legs wide. And he was throwing punches from angles not seen in boxing rings, sometime downward onto the top of Mayweather’s head.”

But he was up against one of the greatest boxing technicians of all time and locked in a bout that requires more stamina than a UFC fight. Waiting patiently for his opponent to wear himself out, Mayweather came out swinging in the middle rounds.

“(By the eighth round) the dynamic had switched completely, the mood in the arena palpably different,” wrote Baskin. “In the ninth, McGregor began wobbling. It looks like he struggling to stay standing. McGregor was hurt, he was falling over the ropes, attempting to clinch but getting repeatedly rebuffed…

“It was all too much eventually for McGregor. He stayed on his feet, he showed the same toughness and grit and determination that has defined his career. He wouldn’t go down, despite the repeated punishment. But in the 10th round, after Mayweather continued to land blow after blow, Byrd, the referee, had to stop it.”

Mayweather certainly didn’t lack confidence, going to the sports book at Las Vegas’ M Resort and attempting to bet $400,000 on himself winning in under 9.5 rounds at -200 odds, sources told ESPN.

He was rebuffed because of legal issues on betting on anything other than a straight win, according to the report.

“He was pissed,” one source said.