AFTER the hype, spin and the trash talk, the Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor event in Las Vegas served up the result the desert city has become famous for; namely, the banker always wins.
Mayweather was odds-on before an insult was thrown. To be fair, McGregor talked a good game ahead of this one. But if there was ever an example in sport of talk being cheap, this was it.
The pre and post-contest analysis was almost as entertaining as the ten rounds it took to decide this latter-day curiosity, because be honest, that’s what it was, up there with Jesse Owens racing a horse or the infamous mismatch when Billie Jean King played Bobby Riggs. What next, Andy Murray (sore bits willing) and 14 mates taking on the All Blacks?
Those under 30, who were into their UFC, thought the Irishman would win, while older generations (and in particular, those who knew a tad about pugilism) were never in any doubt that Mayweather would succeed. And so it proved.
Some thought McGregor won the first few rounds, even the Dubliner himself. “I thought I had him”, he said later. No, like your supporters, you’d just been had. Evidently, none had seen Mayweather fight before. That’s his style – work out the other guy for a few rounds, then systematically pick him apart.
McGregor didn’t resort to choke holds or the likes, but he did slap Mayweather around the back of the neck a few times and gave him a thump or two to the top of the head. Retaliation was subtle; Mayweather rubbed the inside of his glove up McGregor’s face, then elbowed him across the nose. The boy can handle himself.
Slowly, Mayweather took control, although the blinkers were still on until the end.
“But he didn’t put him down,” claimed the McGregor cheerleaders. No, but he would have, if the referee hadn’t called a halt to the beating.
Then, there were those playing the numbers game around punches thrown by Mayweather’s most recent victims; ‘Canelo 117; McGregor 111; Pacquiao 81.’ What is it? Lies, damn lies and statistics. Obviously, those 309 accumulative blows weren’t very good as Mayweather remained unbeaten, both in terms of his record and physically. Indeed, when it mattered against McGregor, he outhit the bearded wonder 130-60 over the last five rounds. A measure of fatigue in the debutant and a legend stepping it up when it mattered.
On Twitter, one UFC site proclaimed: “10 rounds with the best ever in Floyd Mayweather? Yeah, @TheNotoriousMMA (McGregor’s twitter handle) is a warrior!” And, ultimately a loser.
Still, many would have traded places with McGregor, stating they would happily take $100m to go ten rounds with Mayweather.
I’ll tell you what, before you get greedy, go sparring for a thousand rounds, where for free, you get your face rearranged.
Mayweather won, and can now register his record as 50-0. I’d prefer to look at it as one and out. Adding Saturday’s win to your cv is like including the Tennent’s Sixes among your trophies.
No, Mayweather proved a point, he earned a fortune, he beat up the “170lb Irish gorilla” (who didn’t quite rip your head off), but, you’d be ridiculed if you contemplated a rematch. Or, at least wait until you are a quinquagenarian and totally out of shape.
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