He’s not buying it.
It turns out a MMA fighter, in his first professional boxing bout, can’t beat one of the greatest defensive boxers ever. Conor McGregor lost to Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning. However, the Irishman performed a lot better than many predicted before the fight.
McGregor displayed an aggressive approach and arguably had the better of the early rounds, tagging his opponent with a number of shots from awkward angles. But Mayweather then took control of the fight, and showed why he had won his previous 49 bouts.
Mutual respect between two warriors https://t.co/vxg5oA4rEI
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) August 27, 2017
The 40-year-old looked very much like a boxer in his last bout, and lacked the zip of earlier fights, but he had too much for McGregor. The referee stepped in and stopped the contest in the 10th round, as an exhausted McGregor was no longer protecting himself from Mayweather’s punches.
The Irishman said immediately following the fight that the referee should not have stepped in and stopped the bout.
WATCH: @TheNotoriousMMA says the referee jumped in to stop his fight with @FloydMayweather too early. More here: https://t.co/gp8gJl6Clp pic.twitter.com/bnLf2C5sUq
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) August 27, 2017
“We grow and we see what’s what. But whatever, I thought it was close, I thought I had him in the early rounds. I thought I was getting in the middle towards the end,” McGregor said.
“Where was the final two rounds? Let me wobble back to my corner. Let me try and recompose myself. You know what I mean? You’ve got to put me out. I’m brand new, I’m clear-spoken, there’s not a bother on me so I don’t know what way to feel to be honest.”
Two judges gave McGregor just one round. pic.twitter.com/D9Dlm4oLXZ
— Darragh Murphy (@DarrMurphy) August 27, 2017
In the post-fight press conference, McGregor said that he felt he was winning on the judges’ scorecards by five rounds to four, and claimed once again that he thought the referee stopped the fight too soon.
However, Mayweather wasn’t buying it. He said:
“The referee saved you because he’s worried about your future – ‘We want you to fight again’. He’s not saving me, he’s saving you.”
Mayweather announced his retirement, with a perfect record of 50 wins from 50 fights, while McGregor said he has plenty of options, in both MMA and boxing.
