McGregor eyes money fights as Mayweather quits
Print Edition
Described as the fight the fans asked for by the executives who made it happen, Saturday’s clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor was only ever about one thing — money.
Having beaten the Irish pretender with a 10th-round technical knockout, Mayweather can retire with a perfect 50-0 record and a payday said to be worth up to US$300 million, and the American has promised never to return to the ring.
McGregor, however, is a different story.
His US$30-million purse for the fight is 10 times his previous best disclosed purse from the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where, as he says, he endures “shinbones to the head” as he makes his living.
In the altogether more genteel surroundings of the boxing ring, he made a lot more money with a lot less damage, and his appetite has surely been whetted by the enormous riches on offer.
McGregor has made no secret of his desire for more.
Asked what he liked most about his boxing experience, “Money” Mayweather prompted UFC lightweight champion McGregor to say the cash.
“The check is alright. The check is not bad,” the Irishman laughed as he sipped his own “Notorius”-brand whisky on the podium of the post-fight media conference. “I’ve already been raising the MMA (mixed martial arts) checks. I’m still going to be raising the MMA checks when I go back there.”
The 29-year-old has started his own website, a clothing line and a number of other businesses, and he was clearly delighted to see the logo of his latest venture, McGregor Sports and Entertainment, in the ring at Saturday’s fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
UFC president Dana White is keen for McGregor’s boxing experiment to end sooner rather than later, and said that he was in a position to offer McGregor similar riches for MMA bouts.
“If our fights do what the (pay-per-view) buys did here tonight, and the gate, we’ll all be good, trust me. Nobody will be bitching about anything,” White said.
Mayweather, who had come out of a two-year retirement to take on the Irish star, bided his time before exerting his superiority from the middle rounds.
The end came in the 10th round with a tired McGregor doubled over on the ropes as Mayweather landed two hard left hooks, prompting referee Robert Byrd to intervene as a 14,623 crowd with A-list celebrities roared their approval.
Mayweather will now head into retirement with a perfect 50-0 record, one better than heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.
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