Floyd Mayweather took his 50th professional boxing win over Conor McGregor in Las Vegas, and the two fighters shared words after the battle was over.
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In direct opposition to the mouthy smack talk that was common between the two in the lead-up, there was some mutual respect shown and Mayweather said the post-fight conversation reflected that.
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When asked what passed between the two in the immediate moments after the fight, Mayweather said:
“We talked about that he’s a tough competitor and I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see. I told him I owe them [the fans] for the Pacquiao fight, I must come straight ahead and give them a show and that’s what I gave him,” said Mayweather.
“He’s a lot better than I thought he was. He used different angles, he’s a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.”
McGregor started the fight well and held his own in the first few rounds, doing the majority of the attacking as Mayweather held firm.
However Mayweather was simply biding his time as he so often has before, and he gradually became more offensive as the battle went on.
From the seventh round on or so it was clear that Mayweather had the fight won, and it was only a matter of time.
A dominant attacking string of blows in the tenth round from Mayweather saw the referee step in and call an end to the fight.
In essence, it was much as the fight was expected to go, although many suspected that Mayweather would deal away with McGregor more easily.
That probably could easily have happened if Mayweather had been more willing to take risks early on, but knowing his legacy was on the line he played the slow and patient game.
Much as in the old story, it was the tortoise who won out of the hare in the end.