Mayweather vs. McGregor: The Only 4 Things We Will Remember

Fans clamored for years to see it. And it turned out nearly exactly how the analysts predicted. Still, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor was likely the most watched fight in history. It was a side-show; it was a spectacle. Yet because McGregor actually put up a noble fight, it was an unforgettable event.

Here are four things we will always take away from Mayweather vs. McGregor.

Don’t always rely on cable

Of course there had to be drama before the fight even began. Aside from the fact that T-Mobile arena wasn’t even sold out for the fight, the millions of people who paid the ridiculous $99 to watch the fight on pay-per-view had to sweat it out for awhile. Outages forced the fight to be delayed nearly two hours.

(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Fans on Twitter started freaking out.

Including legendary broadcaster Dick Vitale.

By the time things were squared away, McGregor had hearts racing, coming out punching right away. Which leads me to the next landmark moment…

McGregor got the moral victory

To analysts, McGregor, had zero chance to win last night’s fight. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. The odds Vegas gave to McGregor were similar to that of the odds you would be given to win the Power Ball jack pot. McGregor, a UFC champ who was a plumber five years ago and who had never boxed professionaly, in the ring against an undefeated (49-0) world champion boxer? Good luck and good riddance, right?

McGregor hung tight with Mayweather through the first several rounds, arguably winning some of them, yet simply didn’t have the stamina to keep up with 40-year-old Mayweather long-term. McGregor is a sprinter, used to short UFC fights. Of course this had to be part of Mayweather’s strategy, a marathon runner who is used to playing defense — Simply sit back, take some punches and let McGregor wear himself out. And it worked. 

By round 8 it was obvious McGregor had little to nothing left in the tank. Vegas had the over-under on the Irishman lasting 7.5 rounds. The fact that he didn’t get TKO’d until the 10th was still a moral win for not only McGregor, but the UFC and mixed martial arts as a whole.

McGregor put up a great showing.

(Photo credit should read JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

McGregor went out TKO, not KO

Non-boxing purists may argue the fight was stopped a punch or two too early. Again, by the 1oth round McGregor had nothing left. He could hardly stand. We will always remember that while McGregor didn’t have the energy to keep his fists up, he never hit the mat; he was never knocked out. A technical knock-out, standing up against the ropes, was a proud way to go. Especially considering everyone was waiting for that knockout blow from Mayweather, most likely three rounds earlier.

Referee Robert Byrd stops the fight in round 10 with a TKO of Conor McGregor by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their super welterweight boxing match on August 26, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Laughing their way to the bank

And some of us will also remember the ridiculous amount of money these guys just made.

Some analysts believe more money was bet on this fight than the Super Bowl. Pre-fight estimates showed pay-per-view revenue adding up to about a half billion dollars.

Mayweather is expected to make roughly $300 million from this fight; McGregor is expected to make about $100 million, which is why minutes after the fight was over these two were hugging and smiling. I would be too. 

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images )

It may not have been the fight of the century, but none of Mayweather’s fights are. And sure, he’s now 50-0, but he had to beat a first-time boxer to do it. Put an * next that ’50-0′ all-time record in my book.

On the other hand, McGregor had very little to lose in this fight and a lot to gain. His performance solidified UFC even more into the current bonafide sports landscape, and now he can buy that small country he may have always wanted.

Steve Harvey found of of Conor’s friends backstage. “Tell Conor McGregor he’s a f—ing man.” pic.twitter.com/lVvNc2fEKe

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 27, 2017

Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports. 

Photos: Getty