News analysis |
Sunday 27th of August marked one of the biggest days in boxing and UFC history as “The Notorious” Conor McGregor took on Floyd “Money” Mayweather in an exciting 12 round boxing exhibition in Las Vegas Nevada. The 40-year-old boxing veteran managed to extend his streak to 50-0 in the fight that lasted 10 rounds. Mayweather won by means of technical Knock out against an opponent famous in the UFC octagon but was in his professional boxing debut.
50 – 0
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) August 27, 2017
Why? Money becomes motivation
“They know what my number is. My number is a guaranteed $100 million. That was my number.”-Mayweather
The question was why was this fight happening in the first place. Some argued that Mcgregor was trying to prove a point that he could beat anyone at their own game. While other’s argued that Mayweather was trying to protect the integrity of the classic sport. But the reason that makes the most sense is simply money. This fight made sense on a business level as fans of both stars and fans of both fighting styles were talking about it.
— Maia Mitchell (@MaiaMitchell) August 27, 2017
“We are willing to give him $15 million and then we can talk about splitting the percentage – the back end – on the pay-per-view. But of course, we’re the ‘A side.’ How can a guy talk about making 20 or 30 million if he has never made 8 or 9 million in a fight.”-Mayweather
One could argue that another reason that money is the motivation here is that both fighters are famous for showing their love for everything materialistic. Both these fine fighters earned more money from this event than they could from any other fight no matter what the outcome would have been. It had initially been reported that both men could earn at least a 100 million dollar check from this fight. Mayweather’s intentions were clearer as he was to get a larger amount of his reputation as a seasoned boxer and because he showed his fans cash on all his social media platforms.
The money belt
The money belt was the official prize of the winner specifically made for this fight. The WBC created the belt which contained 3,360 diamonds, 600 sapphires, 160 emeralds and approximately 3.3 pounds of 24-karat gold. It also featured the names of both fighters. This belt now becomes the pride of Mr. “Money” Mayweather’s trophy case.
The main event
The money fight started with Conor looking to dominate. Conor used his long arms to keep the veteran at a distance and made sure that he earned points along the way. The Awkward angles caused a lot of problems for the pro boxer from rounds 1 to 4 as the score card showed Mcgregor building a steady lead. Mcgregor, however, lost some points due to his UFC style of fighting as he unconsciously kept punching his opponent on the back of the head and hammer fists became a few too many.
The 40-year-old then suddenly got hit under the belt and somehow that became his turning point as he dominated Mcgregor for the rest of the rounds making sure that the Irish man did not get any breathing room. In round number 9, the mixed martial artist finally started to show signs of fatigue which most people expected to see. Keeping in mind that the UFC Champ had never spent more than 25 minutes in the octagon, his inexperience of the late game became obvious as Mayweather started to dominate. At round number ten, Conor was so tired he could not keep his hands up to defend him self and could not land any solid hits. He became a defenseless man due to which the referee had to stop the fight and thus gave the victory to Mayweather by means of technical Knockout.
An analysis
Most of the professionals foresaw this victory for Mayweather but no one expected to see Conor fight that well in his professional debut. After the match, when Mayweather was asked to comment, he admitted saying that he did not expect such a fight from the Irish man. Conor refused to fall down thus making the fight and the decision of the referee much more emotional. Both fighters who showed their hatred towards one another initially, showed a massive amount of respect to one another after the fight as if the exchange of punches made them closer to one another.
Conor, when asked to comment, said that Mayweather was simply just more composed. He also said that his opponent was not faster or stronger but just more composed than he was due to his massive experience in the ring. When Mayweather was asked to analyze the fight, he said, “that was the game plan, use the Irishman’s inexperience, makes him tired and then takes him out”.
Both fighters gave what their fans wanted, a fight to remember. Mayweather retired for the second time and safeguarded the integrity of Boxing. Mcgregor left the ring with his head held high as he proved that one can if one wants. And the money fight became one for the history books.