“I chose the right dance partner for my last dance ... this was my final fight” Floyd Mayweather produced a 10th round TKO to extend his unbeaten professional record to 50-0 at T-Mobile Arena. Referee Robert Byrd was forced to intervene after a flurry of punches from the increasingly dominant American left McGregor wobbling, and the stoppage means ‘Money’ has finally surpassed Rocky Marciano’s historic unbeaten record. Imelda May sang ‘Amhrán na bhFiann in the Las Vegas ring before McGregor made his entrance to Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘The Foggy Dew’, while Demi Lovato provided a rendition of the American national anthem ahead of Mayweather’s ringwalk. 29 year old McGregor made an impressive start to the fight, and looked sharp and dangerous in the opening rounds, though he failed to land many significant shots against his elusive opponent. However, Mayweather began to assert control over the fight from the fourth round onwards, and the Irishman began to visibly tire as the fight progressed. The undefeated American was ahead on all three judges' scorecards - 87-83, 89-81 and 89-82 - at the time of the stoppage - Mayweather's first since his controversial win over Victor Ortiz in 2011 - which came after several hugely one-sided rounds. Despite McGregor's strong start, it always felt like Mayweather was capable of moving up the gears if necessary, and the veteran landed 170 of 320 of his punches. That said, the Crumlin native can be very proud of his performance. “Conor’s a tough competitor - we gave the fans what they wanted to see,” 'Money' said afterwards. “He’s a lot better than I thought he was ... he used different angles. But I was the better man ... It was our gameplan to take our time and take him out down the stretch." Mayweather rocked McGregor with some big shots in the eighth, but McGregor hit back in the ninth with some solid punches, but was unable to repel Floyd's relentless assault in the 10th. McGregor's punches lacked power in the second half of the fight, and the Irish fighter looked increasingly jaded as Mayweather kept coming forward. "I would have liked the ref to let me keep going," McGregor claimed after the stoppage. "I was a little fatigued, early on I thought it was handy, I have to give it to him." However, the Dubliner was in a positive mood after the fight despite the defeat.
“I got strangled on TV before and I came back,” he remarked afterwards.