The money fight, which was the most anticipated fight of the year, had finally arrived. Many fans were outraged that this fight was even taking place between a boxer with a professional record of 49-0 and an MMA fighter who had never had a professional boxing match. The fight was deemed such a sure thing that there were multiple bets on Floyd Mayweather that surpassed one million dollars. Heck, even Mayweather allegedly attempted to bet about four hundred thousand dollars on himself.
When the fight commenced, many were in disbelief. McGregor came out swinging and even managed to land a vicious uppercut that clearly caught “the best ever” off guard. Rounds 2 and 3 also seemed to favour McGregor. He started off the rounds cornering Mayweather and teeing off on him with some haymakers.
However, in round 4, people started to witness vintage Floyd Mayweather come out as he started to gain momentum of his own. Slowly, as the rounds progressed and McGregor became fatigued, one could sense that the end was near for Conor McGregor. McGregor took serious punishment from Mayweather in round 9 which set up the technical knockout in round 10.
Floyd became the first boxer in history to have a professional record of 50-0.
Looking back on this fight, there were no real losers as everyone came out with something of value. Mayweather was able to successfully maintain a perfect record while reaching the 50-win plateau, surpassing boxing legend Rocky Marciano who finished his professional boxing career at 49-0. Then you have Conor McGregor who proved not only to himself, but to all of the critics that he could stand toe to toe with one of the greatest boxers of all-time. The fact that his professional boxing debut went into the 10th round with a boxer who was on a mission to earn his 50th consecutive win before retirement is an accomplishment in itself.
Then there are the fans who undoubtedly got their money’s worth in this fight. It was a much different look than the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight where Mayweather played a highly defensive game with little action. Mayweather stayed true to his promise that this fight wouldn’t go the distance and it would be far more entertaining than his last fight.
Then, there is the business aspect to the fight. Showtime, which was the PPV broadcaster of the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, significantly surpassed the revenue total it made from the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight in 2015. The venue ticket sales were also able to shatter that of the Pacquiao fight. The Las Vegas sportsbooks, who were a little bit uneasy as they could have lost up to $48 million if McGregor was able to knockout the boxing legend, can breathe a little easier now that Mayweather prevented the upset from taking place.
The Mayweather vs. McGregor fight was something that was hyped up excessively but somehow managed to live up to the hype, impress the fans and make money for a lot of people.
One can only wonder if we will ever see a spectacle quite like this again in our lifetime.
-Luke Appia (Statboy)
