Victory with a score of 50: 0. Why did Mayweather beat McGregor?

In the evening of August 26 (in Moscow at that time there was already Sunday morning) in Las Vegas, a “battle of the century” was held-a boxing duel of the undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather and the most charismatic fighter in the mixed martial arts of Conor McGregor. As most experts predicted, Mayweather won - the battle ended with a technical knockout in the tenth round. At the request of Medusa, the journalist Sports.ru Alexei Alekhin explains why the predictable result did not prevent the battle from becoming the most exciting sports event of the year of those in which men fighting with each other participate.

What did McGregor do?

Conor McGregor could not kill his opponent in the first four rounds, as promised, but tried his best to do it.

The picture looked impressive: the red-bearded left-handed person was higher than Floyd and heavier than the opponent of seven kilograms-a cosmic advantage by the standards of professional boxing. McGregor immediately occupied the center of the ring and began to beat the enemy with his clumsy from a boxing point of view, but with quick and weighty blows. Mayweather is a man who in the ring is incredibly difficult to even just touch - over the first quarter of the battle he missed more strokes than for his last fights against experienced boxers.

McGregor fired a rather dirty battle. He hit the back of his head, grabbed his hands and pressed in the clinch on the enemy’s neck. There was neither anger nor savagery in this - McGregor simply tried to exhaust Mayweather to the maximum and get him crazy. But the longer the battle lasted, the more Conor himself tired. His legs began to be braided, and stiffness and emphasis left from blows. After the protracted attack of Mevezer in the tenth round of the referee, he stopped the fight, stopping a duel that began to turn into a beating.

And it's not about lack of mind or poor preparation. Conor is used to alternating attacks with hands with blows, elbows and knees. I got used to the wedges where you can exhaust the opponents, I used to get light gloves for MMA, in which it is much easier to knock out a person than in heavier boxing ones. With each round it became more and more obvious that even such an ambitious and athletically gifted athlete could not commit a miracle that he gave to many.

What did Mayweather do?

The effect of high expectations - the main enemy of all big events - did not work here. Everyone was honest in their forecasts. Before the fight, the Mayweather said that he would fight and miss the blows to give the fans what he “owed” after the fights that had disappointed many fights with Manny Paciao is a good fight in counterclaims.

Usually the Mayweather is calm, like a good poker player. It is very difficult to understand how truly dangerous for him was the beginning of the fight. One thing is clear: from the first seconds, Floyd clearly fulfilled his plan to battle. Mayweather is one of the most intelligent boxers of all time, and the fight with McGregor went under his dictation even in the most seemingly uncomfortable moments for the boxer.

At first, Mayweather acted as an evil botanist: he forced McGregor to work actively and pierced him into the corps, thus inflicting a double blow to the endurance of an inexperienced enemy. Then, feeling that the opponent had become a little less dangerous, the Mayweather turned into a bully and began to fight more impudently - he walked forward and was not afraid to let go in response.

Finally, in the last couple of rounds, a cautious Mayweather always felt blood and began to work to defeat the enemy. So the sniper, who has settled in a reliable shelter, shoots enemy soldiers. He clearly wanted to show atypical for him, a more ferocious box. It seems that such battles - more like a fight - Mayweather did not spend ten years. Or maybe more.

What next?

After the battle, the opponents, who said a lot of offensive to each other, traditionally hugged. Friedrich Nietzsche once said that any friendship is a disguised enmity. In this case, the enmity hid mutual benefit. Both received record fees and an epic battle, which is not a shame to remember. This duel is exactly what Mayweather lacked in his career without defeats: a confrontation in which there is a drama and a knock in the final.

After the final gong, Mayweather repeated once again that he was retired. He broke the record of the famous champion of Rocky Marshiano, who left boxing with a tracking list of 49-0. Mayweather leaves undefeated with 50 victories, zero defeats and the status of the cash boxer of our time.

But the defeat of McGregor does not look like the beginning of the end in this case. Losing the best is not shameful. McGregor demonstrated a non -standard box and had very good chances against the most famous opponent Floyd - Manny Pacquiao of his last battle. He could definitely give a tough fight to any of the champions of the first middle weight. His performance was praised not only by MMA fighters, but also by several great boxers. McGregor himself said that the battle was cheerful, but he will hold his next fight according to the rules of MMA.

Before the fight, many called the McGregor duel - Mayweather Show, Circus and Fars. As a result, however, the fight - albeit in a slightly exaggerated and poster manner - showed the essence of boxing as the ability to defeat a person who surpasses you into relics and physical strength.

Alexey Alekhin