Floyd Mayweather Jr. shocked the world Saturday night in his 10th round TKO victory over UFC star Conor McGregor. But it wasn’t Mayweather’s win over McGregor that surprised anyone. It was how Mayweather beat McGregor that caught everyone off guard.
Everyone expected arguably the greatest defensive boxer ever to box circles around an amateur boxer like McGregor. But he did more than just out box him. Floyd beat the breaks off McGregor and, unlike the majority of his fights over the last 10 years, he did it in brawling fashion.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. hits Conor McGregor in a super welterweight boxing match Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Eric Jamison)
Most casual boxing fans had probably never seen Mayweather fight so aggressively before. And although avid boxing fans may remember a younger Mayweather that could aggressively brawl with the best—as he did when he knocked out known brawlers Arturo Gatti and Diego Corrales—those days for Mayweather have long been over.
It’s been ages since we’ve seen Floyd walking down opponents, standing right in front of them and allowing himself to be hit while trading haymakers in the middle of the ring. He hadn’t knocked anyone out since his fight with Ricky Hatton 10 years ago. Brawling simply wasn’t “Pretty Boy” Floyd’s style anymore. Yet, it was, Saturday night, as Mayweather stalked McGregor around the ring, constantly pounding him in the face with his signature right cross punch until the referee eventually stopped the fight with 1:05 left in the 10th round.
After the fight, many fans took to Twitter to voice how this was the most exciting match of Mayweather’s career. As a close follower, I personally would disagree. What he did to Diego Corrales and Arturo Gatti back in the early 2000s was brutally entertaining. He knocked Corrales to the canvas five times before his cornermen eventually threw in the towel and Corrales at 33-0 was the reigning world champ at the time.
Still, this was a pleasant surprise to watch. Now nobody can say Floyd ran the whole fight to escape with an easy victory. That’s an excuse critics have used ad nauseam over the years to downplay his career. Now we’re all forced now to give him his props as the greatest to ever do it.
Floyd came out of a two-year retirement at age 40 to fight a 29-year-old mixed martial arts champion fighter with an extremely dangerous left hook, and knocked him out. And although McGregor may not have much pro boxing experience, he proved during the early rounds that he had some boxing skills. His unorthodox style gave Mayweather a look he had never seen before, which allowed McGregor to land some clean punches. He even landed more hits on Mayweather than Manny Pacquiao did against Floyd. McGregor landed 111 punches on Mayweather, while Pacquiao landed just 83 when they fought back in 2015. Nonetheless, Floyd proved he could adapt to any style, regardless of the fighter, and get the win.
Now he’ll retire 50-0, a feat never done before in boxing. Many greats have tried to do what Mayweather just accomplished and failed. Even the legends like Mike Tyson lost to lesser opponents, occasionally, such as Buster Douglass. By the time legendary Muhammad Ali was age 40, he was losing to no name guys like Trevor Berbick.
So far, Mayweather has been the only man to go a perfect 50-0 over a 21-year career. And that’s why he’s worthy of the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) moniker in my book. He truly earned it.
