Floyd Mayweather brought his legendary boxing career to an end with a spectacular combination of punches to knock out Conor McGregor.
In August 2017, the former five-weight world champion stretched his perfect record to 50-0 in a bizarre and lucrative fight with a boxing novice.
Mayweather and Mcgregor built interest in their fight with a four-city world press tourCredit: Getty Images – Getty
McGregor was the biggest star in combat sports after knocking out Eddie Alvarez to win his lightweight belt and become the first dual-weight champion in UFC history.
‘Notorious’ had pretty much outgrown his sport before crossing over to boxing and testing himself against the man some fans argue is the best boxer ever.
The Irishman started relatively well, and even managed to land a couple of eye-catching shots – but he appeared off balance and unable to generate the power he showcased in the UFC.
Mayweather allowed McGregor to punch himself out before stepping on the gas to ultimately score a TKO win in the tenth round of ‘The Money Fight’.
McGregor was completely exhausted by then. The 36-year-old, who was 29 at the time, was so tired he was unable to get his hands up to defend himself from his opponent’s onslaught.
Footage of the fight-ending sequence shows Mayweather landing 15 consecutive blows as he pummelled McGregor, who bravely refused to go down.
Ultimately, referee Robert Byrd stepped in and waved off the fight.
Despite the result, McGregor walked away a winner as he banked $100million for his efforts, while Mayweather cashed a $300m cheque before walking away from pro boxing.
It seems like a lot of money, but whoever fronted their purses was quickly paid back as Mayweather vs McGregor sold 4.3m pay-per-views in the U.S.
That was just short of the all-time PPV record set at 4.6m – which some believe will never be beaten – when Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao two years prior.
McGregor suffered his first KO loss against MayweatherCredit: Idris Erba/Mayweather
But he walked away with a career-high pay dayCredit: Getty
Gate revenue from ticket sales raked in $55m at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Once again, it’s only bettered by Mayweather vs Pacquiao, which generated $72m.
Mayweather has continued to make millions in boxing since retiring.
The 47-year-old has had several lucrative exhibition bouts against influencers Logan Paul, Deji and Aaron Chandler, as well as facing MMA fighters and an old sparring partner.
Mayweather is set to return to action in an exhibition fight against John Gotti III in Mexico on Saturday night.
McGregor has flirted with a return to boxing but has mostly been focused on MMA and his business empire since his debut in the sport seven years ago.
‘Mystic Mac’ is 1-3 in UFC fights since facing Mayweather, but that didn’t stop him from topping the Forbes list of rich athletes after making around $180m in 2021.
McGregor broke his leg during a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021 and has been sidelined ever since.
Mayweather is seven fights into his new boxing careerCredit: Getty
Injuries have hampered McGregor’s MMA career – but he’s making big money elsewhereCredit: Getty
A comeback fight with Michael Chandler has been booked since February 2023, but it’s still not taken place 18 months later.
McGregor broke his toe and withdrew from a proposed main event at UFC 303 in June and now it’s unclear if he’ll return to action in 2024.
McGregor and Chandler have publicly agreed to fight each other in December, but Dana White is unsure if his biggest star will feature before the end of the year.
MMA fans are impatiently waiting for official confirmation about McGregor’s long-awaited and eagerly anticipated comeback bout.