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Mayweather Defeats McGregor In 10th-Round TKO

Floyd Mayweather, left, defeated Conor McGregor in a super welterweight boxing match Saturday in Las Vegas.
Isaac Brekken
/
AP
Floyd Mayweather, left, defeated Conor McGregor in a super welterweight boxing match Saturday in Las Vegas.

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather defeated mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor Saturday in a 10th-round technical knockout in Las Vegas.

The highly anticipated and much-publicized fight ended with Mayweather's 50th win — he has never lost. And, he said, it was his last.

"Tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with," Mayweather said in the ring, Reuters reported. "Conor, you are a hell of a champion."

McGregor surprised fans with a stronger start in the fight's early rounds than many had expected, but was noticeably weary by the fight's end, observers said.

BoxingScene.com outlined how the fight progressed:

"Once Mayweather got a feel for McGregor's unusual style, he began taking more chances and throwing hard right hands that landed at times to McGregor's chin.

" 'He's a lot better than I thought he was,' Mayweather said. 'He used different angles. He was a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.'

"Mayweather went after him in the 10th round, knowing that McGregor (0-1) was exhausted and couldn't continue taking powerful punches to the chin. He hurt McGregor with a straight right hand that sent McGregor into the ropes several seconds before [the referee] Byrd stopped the fight."

The result was of little surprise to anyone. Mayweather was heavily favored to win.

Mayweather, with a 49-0 record, never had a loss or draw. McGregor had never professionally boxed before.

With a now 50-0 record, Mayweather surpasses heavyweight great Rocky Marciano's 49-0 career. "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."

Both men are making hefty sums from the event. Mayweather was lured out of two years of retirement with a guarantee of at least $100 million. McGregor was guaranteed at least $30 million. But Mayweather's final tally could top $200 million and McGregor's more than $100 million, according to ESPN.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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James Doubek is an associate editor and reporter for NPR. He frequently covers breaking news for NPR.org and NPR's hourly newscast. In 2018, he reported feature stories for NPR's business desk on topics including electric scooters, cryptocurrency, and small business owners who lost out when Amazon made a deal with Apple.