Floyd Mayweather ended his career with a 50-0 record after beating Conor McGregor with a 10th round TKO. The Irishman started the fight the stronger, hitting Mayweather with a flurry of punches but as the fight wore on, the American’s experience told and he ended the fight in the 10th round, with McGregor exhausted and seemingly defenseless.
The undefeated Mayweather overcame a slow start and knocked out a fatigued McGregor in the 10th round of their heavily hyped, 12-round, 154-pound boxing match before a crowd of 14,623 at T-Mobile Arena. Referee Robert Byrd stepped in to stop the action at 1:05 of the 10th round as Mayweather was hammering McGregor with power shots and an exhausted McGregor was slumped against the ropes.
McGregor, a two-division UFC champion who made his boxing debut, excelled early in the bout and overall performed better than most experts expected. Ultimately, though, he tired and couldn’t withstand Mayweather’s superior skill and experience as they moved toward and into the championship rounds.
“Our game plan was to take our time,” Mayweather said, “go to him, let him shoot his heavy shots early and then take him out at the end, down the stretch. … In MMA, he fights 25 minutes really hard. After 25 minutes, he started to slow down.”
Mayweather, who turned 40 six months ago and hadn’t fought in nearly two years, improved to 50-0 by winning what he has repeatedly promised will be the last fight of his 20-year professional boxing career. Mayweather came out of retirement a second time to fight Ireland’s McGregor, a master showman who helped generate incredible interest in what was once seen as a far-fetched fight.
