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Mayweather admits McGregor’s boxing ability ‘shocked’ him

By Editor
28 August 2017   |   4:16 am
The UFC star eventually ran out of steam against the undefeated boxer, allowing Mayweather to pounce in the 10th round and score a TKO victory.

LAS VEGAS, NV – AUGUST 26: (L-R) Floyd Mayweather Jr. throws a punch at Conor McGregor during their super welterweight boxing match on August 26, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP/Ethan Miller / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

• Irishman hints at UFC return

Conor McGregor gave Floyd Mayweather a fight Saturday night, which came as a surprise to many, including Mayweather himself, reports nesn.com.

McGregor started strong against Mayweather in Saturday’s boxing superfight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The UFC star eventually ran out of steam against the undefeated boxer, allowing Mayweather to pounce in the 10th round and score a TKO victory. But McGregor showed impressive skill in an unfamiliar setting, and even Mayweather admitted he may have underestimated his opponent. “He’s a hell of a fighter standing up — he kind of shocked me,” Mayweather told reporters after the fight, via MMAJunkie.com.

“Our game plan was to take our time, let him shoot all these heavy shots, keep walking him down, keep walking him down, shoot heavy shots to the body, shoot big shots upstairs.

“My dad (Floyd Mayweather Sr., who also is Mayweather’s trainer) thought it was going to go a little bit earlier around the seventh or the sixth, but it took us a little longer than expected. But we did what we said we were going to do,” he added.

Mayweather guaranteed before the fight that he’d defeat “The Notorious” via knockout, a bold claim considering his traditional fighting style. “Money” is an excellent technical boxer, who relies on counterpunches and defense to win his bouts and hadn’t scored a KO victory since 2011 entering Saturday’s fight. But Mayweather eventually made good on his promise to end the bout before 12 rounds, even if McGregor lasted longer than he expected. “I could have easily outboxed Conor McGregor, counterpunched him all night,” Mayweather said. “That’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to go out with a bang. I told you guys I wanted to go straight ahead. I felt like I owed that to the fans for the (Manny) Pacquiao fight, even though I don’t owe anybody anything.

“I put the pressure on myself and did it myself. That was a goal of mine. I told you guys it wouldn’t go the distance,” he added. Meanwhile, McGregor has refused to rule out returning to the boxing ring in the future after his 10th round loss to Floyd Mayweather in the early hours of Sunday morning, www.balls.ie

Following a fast paced start in which he landed a few heavy shots, he struggled with fatigue and fitness after round four in his first professional boxing debut and Mayweather’s slick movement and superior skills.

Speaking with RTE’s Claire McNamara after the fight, he refused to rule out fighting in the ring in the future but his hunger for now is his MMA training:

“We’ll see what happens, I’ve still got multiple titles in the UFC to think about. I believe I’ll do it again. I’m also looking forward to kicking again, I am looking forward to kicking something again… I am looking forward to grappling, I feel when I got his back, I got his back so many times, how many times was I at his back there. If that was actual fight there is no referee to say; ‘Hey guys he has your back now, let’s restart,’ you’ve got to deal with that yourself, if that was a real fight I would have been at his back landing blows consecutively no problem.

“I’m looking forward to get back in and having a good old solid knock again,” he added.

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