Boxing prevailed as Floyd Mayweather ended his retirement to defeat UFC champion Conor McGregor in a better than anticipated clash that will be remembered more for the pre-fight hysteria than the actual action inside of it.
Concerns about McGregor’s transition to the boxing ring were validated from the get go as McGregor awkwardly stumbled across the ring, switching stances and often landing his best punches behind Mayweather’s head or in a clinch. To his credit, McGregor was awkward enough to steal the first few rounds from Mayweather as Floyd began making his adjustments and starting walking him down close to the midpoint of the fight.
McGregor tired mightily after the fifth, prompting Mayweather to step on the gas and land with extreme intensity going forward on his fatiguing opponent. As the fight neared the later rounds, it was clear that Mayweather’s plan of taking McGregor into the later rounds worked without a hitch as Mayweather battered an exhausted McGregor in the 10th, prompting the stoppage and ending the bout with the knockout everybody hoped for.
Though many will fail to admit it, the fight was an entertaining one and had some legitimate drama going for it early on. Of course, Mayweather once again proved his genius as McGregor danced to his tune all the way down to the stoppage despite being game the whole way through.
With the win, Mayweather moves to 50-0 and presumably on to a more permanent retirement after cashing in another $100 million check. McGregor is none the lesser losing in his pro debut, dropping to 0-1 after putting on a gallant showing in one of the biggest events of the year.
Gervonta Davis KO8 Francisco Fonseca
Gervonta Davis had already lost his Junior Lightweight title on the scales prior to his fight with Francisco Fonseca, but he also may have lost a few fans with his blatant lack of professionalism on display on his way to a foul-induced stoppage as the chief support to the main event. Davis was in full control of the bout from beginning to end, but after he received what was a cheap shot after tripping on Fonseca in the seventh, Davis unloaded with a series of shots in the eighth that ended with a clear as day rabbit punch missed by boxing’s resident blind mouse referee Russell Mora. Unlikely to return to 130 pounds, Davis will have to mature real quick in order to compete in a much deeper Lightweight division.
Badou Jack TKO5 Nathan Cleverly
In a stunning one-sided beating, former Super Middleweight champion Badou Jack pummeled Nathan Cleverly in five rounds to win one of the many WBA Light Heavyweight trinkets. While the fight took place mostly in close quarters, Jack started breaking Cleverly down from the very beginning and landed a volley of shots that left Cleverly motionless and unable to defend himself, and by the fifth round enough was enough and Tony Weeks called a halt to the action. Though Jack is now the “regular” WBA champion, he took no time in calling out timid WBC champion Adonis Stevenson for a clash in Stevenson’s backyard of Canada.
Andrew Tabiti UD 10 Steve Cunningham
If the writing wasn’t on the wall for Steve Cunningham before, the former Crusierweight champion must surely come to terms now after being dominated in defeat by Andrew Tabiti. Cunningham was competitive through the fight, but was unable to discern Tabiti from his game plan and was outworked down the stretch. Tabiti had no trouble with the aged ex-champ and won by scores of 100-90 and 97-93 twice.
Yordenas Ugas UD10 Thomas Dulorme
Yordenas Ugas may only have had two weeks to prepare for his bout with Thomas Dulorme, but it was enough as the Cuban outlasted Dulorme in an entertaining bout that had its share of knockdowns steady action throughout. Ugas dropped Dulorme twice in the third, only for Dulorme to return the favor later in the fight, but a critical moment came in the 10th round when referee Vic Drakulich deducted a point from Dulorme after land one too many low blows. Ugas was declared the winner by scores of 94-91 and 93-92 twice.
Leave a Reply