#Middlebury #Mayweather #McGregor #ASportingView
By Mark Vasto
Most people thought it would be a joke of a fight, but by the end of round two, half of the world – most of them watching pirated broadcasts if they weren’t willing to pony up $60 to $100 to watch it in a bar or casino ballroom – was already in shock: Conor McGregor had decisively taken the first two rounds of the “Money” fight against Floyd Mayweather.
Besides the ridiculous amount of money, there was a celebrational belt made of crocodile leather, 3.3 pounds of 24-karat gold, 3,360 diamonds, 600 sapphires and 160 emeralds. But make no mistake, with the pride of boxing on the line, the greatest defensive boxer of all-time was getting tagged repeatedly and the crowd was going nuts. Whether or not McGregor won the fight, his legend was already secure.
McGregor walked into the ring draped in an Irish flag. Mayweather entered like he was planning on robbing a 7-11, wearing a ski mask, but by round three it was McGregor acting like a thug, hammer punching Mayweather illegally in every clinch. Round three would have gone to McGregor, but a real judge should have deducted a point. By round four, Mayweather was hip to the game, smashing his forearm against McGregor’s nose and face whenever he tried to rough him up in the clinch.
Mayweather had been in situations like this before, most notably against the much harder-hitting Zab Judah. Judah won the first three rounds until Mayweather steadily picked him apart, winning by a stoppage in the 11th after a riot in round 10. And it was happening here.
McGregor’s game plan was to come out and hit Floyd hard and knock him out within four rounds. He executed that plan, except Floyd took his best shots, and then swam him out to the deep water, walked him down and knocked him out. He is 50-0, arguably the best fighter of all time considering the totality of his career.
Make no mistake, the fight should have been stopped. If one of Mayweather’s uppercuts had landed, McGregor’s career would have been in serious jeopardy. McGregor didn’t look like the kind of champion to go down.
“I’ve been strangled on live TV and came back, so I would have liked him to have let it go,” McGregor said after the fight. “I thought we were close. It was fatigue. The referee could have let it keep going, let the man put me down.”
Mayweather was gracious in victory, but reminded everyone of the stakes. “Boxing’s reputation was on the line,” Mayweather said. “I chose the right dance partner. Conor McGregor, you are a hell of a champion.”
That was the very definition of a prizefight, and the ultimate winners were, finally, the fans.
Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in New Jersey.
(c) 2017 King Features Synd., Inc.
