How Floyd Mayweather Jr. Beats Conor McGregor in 10th Round Technical Knockout

Floyd Mayweather Jr will surely be the face of boxing for more than a decade with a technical knockout over U.F.C. champion and first-time boxer Conor McGregor on Saturday night, The Telegraph reports.

In the 10th round of a surprisingly competitive fight, Mayweather backed McGregor onto the ropes with a series of rights and lefts. McGregor’s face was completely bloodied. He was about to fall through the ropes, and the referee stepped in to stop the fight with 1:55 remaining in the round.

“I gave the fans what they wanted to see,” Mayweather said after the fight. “I told them that I owed them for the Pacquiao fight. I must come straight ahead and give them a show.”

The victory improved Mayweather’s record to 50-0, and allowed the typically defensive fighter to say farewell in thrilling fashion in what he said was his last fight. It also proved right the naysayers who said that this fight was nothing more than a glorified, money-making exhibition.

Mayweather said the fight was not going to go the distance, and he delivered on that promise. Things went just the way that most pundits said they would. McGregor would have no way of connecting cleanly with Mayweather. He landed a few touch punches but nothing solid the entire fight. And given that U.F.C. fights are much shorter than boxing matches, McGregor’s stamina was in question. And he certainly seemed to tire in the late rounds as Mayweather made easy work of him.

Although McGregor is one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, he had not boxed since he was a teenager, and had no professional boxing matches under his belt.

The fight was fashioned on the strength of two bombastic personalities with huge fan bases, making for a ripe promotional draw. It was expected to pull more than half a billion dollars in revenue. The pull of the money was so strong that Mayweather ended his two-year retirement to step into the ring with McGregor. To many, the fight was more exhibition than authentic.

Here’s how Mayweather beat McGregor:

Mayweather and McGregor make their entrances.

1st round: McGregor comes out strong, holds his own

McGregor comes out pushing Mayweather back onto the ropes. Mayweather seems content with seeing what McGregor has in terms of punching ability. McGregor is flicking his right jab out, trying to measure up a left hand but not landing anything seriously.”

2nd round: McGregor keeping Mayweather at a distance

Referee warns McGregor for hitting Mayweather in the back of the head. McGregor is bouncing up and down in a somewhat awkward fashion for boxing. Mayweather seems to still be trying to figure him out.

McGregor doing a nice job of keeping Mayweather away, though he is not landing anything solid. But every time he even swipes his hands close to Mayweather’s, a big cheer goes up from the very pro-McGregor crowd.

We are starting to see Mayweather’s plan emerging. He is looking to hit McGregor with some lead right hands.

3rd Round: McGregor winning rounds as aggressor

When McGregor gets in close he seems to be hammer-fisting Mayweather on top of Mayweather’s head when they clench. The referee has warned McGregor about it several times.

Mayweather seems to be taking his time figuring out how to get to McGregor. He has not shown much offensive aggression or landed too solidly with anything so far. McGregor has won the rounds so far, if nothing else because he is the aggressor. But let’s see if he can keep up the stamina.

4th round: Mayweather makes up some ground

At the start of round 4, Mayweather backs into the ropes and covers up, allowing McGregor to take shots, none of which landed cleanly. I wonder if Mayweather is trying to rope-a-dope Mcgregor a little bit, make him tire himself out by throwing a lot of punches early in the fight.

Mayweather ducked under a Mcgregor jab and landed a pretty solid right hand.

Mayweather is getting some things going. He slipped a left hand from McGregor and fired off a right hand of his own. It was a close round but probably went to Mayweather. Mayweather also landed a couple of good body blows.

5th round: McGregor connecting but not doing damage

McGregor seems to be more swiping and tapping at Mayweather rather than throwing solid punches. It might be one sign of his inexperience in the boxing ring, as he is not used to throwing punches in close range the way that they are in this fight.

Late in the round, Mayweather started to talk down to McGregor. He hit him with a solid overhand right and then came back with a left. McGregor seems to be breathing a little heavier. And the two fighters have had some real tussles when they have locked up, and Mayweather seems a bit frustrated at what seems to be some wrestling moves by McGregor.

6th round: Mayweather makes his move

With Mayweather’s back turned, McGregor was unleashing on him and the referee let it go on for a little longer than he probably should have. After appearing perturbed, Mayweather started going forward and unloading on McGregor, landing solid left right combinations that got the arena to its feet. McGregor appears very tired and is not throwing back.

Fans have started with chants of “Conor,” but that appears to be doing little to uplift their fighter in a meaningful way. Although the fight is still pretty scrappy, Mayweather seems to be settling in.

7th round: Mayweather’s speed gets to McGregor

Even though McGregor is the bigger fighter, Mayweather certainly does not seem to be worried about his punching power. He is going forward, with his hands up, walking right through McGregor. In one moment, McGregor slid around Mayweather but was met with a right hook. Then Mayweather came back with a quick jab that hit McGregor before he could respond. Even though Mayweather is 40, the speed definitely is still there.

8th round: McGregor not Mayweather’s typical opponent

When they are clenching, Mayweather is positioning his body in a way that McGregor can only hit the back of his head. For most boxers, they would not throw that punch. But McGregor is not most boxers. He is taking hits to the back of Mayweather’s head, and the referee seems reluctant to do anything about it. Mayweather seems a little bit frustrated by that, but it’s not stopping him from landing some peppery right hands. Mayweather seems to be taking control.

9th round: McGregor was getting tired

Things got off to a chippy start. McGregor came out and landed a stiff right hand and then he hit Mayweather on the belt line. Mayweather appeared to be hurt by it, but the referee would not call a low blow. When the referee got in between them and Mayweather approached, McGregor flicked him with a right hand.

Late in the round, Maywather came storming back with a series of right hands, that had McGregor leaning on the ropes with his mouth open.

In the 10th round of a surprisingly competitive fight, Mayweather backed McGregor onto the ropes with a series of rights and lefts. McGregor’s face was completely bloodied. He was about to fall through the ropes, and the referee stepped in to stop the fight with 1:55 remaining in the round.

Hello McGregor! Always be humble!