Published 14:05 IST, December 7th 2020
Mayweather vs McGregor: Floyd reveals why he didn’t knock Conor out early in their fight
Mayweather vs McGregor: While talking about the Conor fight, Floyd revealed that he could have ended the match much earlier if he had wanted to.
Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement in 2017 to fight UFC superstar Conor McGregor in a money-spinning dream fight in Las Vegas. The Notorious One started strong, winning some of the opening rounds. However, he soon gassed out, giving Floyd Mayweather the chance to take over and finish him with a KO in the tenth round.
Recently, while talking about the fight, Floyd Mayweather revealed that he could have ended the match much earlier if he had wanted to. While talking to Drink Champs on Revolt TV, the 50-0 fighter stated that he kept on fighting till the tenth round because he wanted to keep the possibility of a future rematch alive. “If I wanted to go out there and f*** him up and blaze him right out the gate, I could've did that. But my thing is this, if I would've did that, then it wouldn't be probably a part two,” he added.
Mayweather's guaranteed paycheck from the 2017 fight was around $100 million, while Conor McGregor took home $30 million. However, after adding all the bonuses and sponsorship money, the purse for the two fighters was substantially higher. According to reports, Mayweather made $280 million from the fight and McGregor earned $130 million.
Following the McGregor fight, Mayweather announced his retirement, only to return and beat kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition bout where he made around $9 million.
What’s next for Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor?
Floyd Mayweather recently took to Instagram and announced that he’ll be fighting YouTuber Logan Paul in an exhibition bout on February 20, 2021. The tickets of the bout are already on sale and are expected to make millions, considering the popularity of everyone involved.
Conor McGregor, on the other hand, is currently training to make his much-awaited MMA return against Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on January 2021. The two lightweights have clashed with each other in the past at UFC 178 where The Notorious One knocked Poirier out in the first round to win the featherweight match. After the Poirier bout, McGregor is reported to fight Manny Pacquiao in the Middle East.
Image Source: AP
Updated 14:05 IST, December 7th 2020