Floyd Mayweather RETIRES with record of 50-0 following tenth round TKO win over Conor McGregor in Las Vegas
FLOYD MAYWEATHER has retired after his tenth-round TKO win over Conor McGregor.
Mayweather said: "This was my last fight tonight ladies and gentlemen.
"Tonight I chose the right partner to dance with. Conor McGregor is a great champion, and Ireland we love you.
"I told you the fight would be blood, sweat and tears and that's what I gave you."
McGregor’s professional boxing debut was a raging success and he earned the respect of the game’s greatest with his performance before his fitness levels let him down.
Mayweather said: "I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see.
"I owed them for the (Manny) Pacquiao fight. I had to come straight ahead and give the fans a show. That's what I gave them.
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"He's a lot better than I thought he'd be. He's a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.
"Our game plan was to take our time, go to him, let him shoot his shots early and then take him out down the stretch. We know in MMA he fights for 25 minutes.
"After 25 minutes, he started to slow down. I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn't go the distance.
"I want to thank all the fans from Ireland and all the fans around the world for coming to see this event.
"I couldn't do any of this without the fans.
"Our game plan was to go straight ahead. I said numerous times that I wouldn't back down and that's what I did."
Boxing greats however were not impressed with the bout.
Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said UFC star McGregor was "brought to school" by Mayweather.
Lewis told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek that McGregor should know his place.
"In the beginning, I didn't look at Conor McGregor as a boxer, this guy has never been 12 rounds and he's in there with a professor of boxing," the Brit said.
"Floyd took him to school, he made him punch himself out and when he was tired he took him out. It's textbook boxing.
"It shows that boxing is a superior sport. In the ring, you can't beat a boxer, it's not as easy as everybody thought it would be, just because McGregor is a fighter. This is fighting where you can only use your hands."
Despite Lewis' criticisms, the money the fight attracted means another boxing outing for McGregor seems inevitable, possibly against Paulie Malignaggi who has denied claims he was put down by the Irishman in sparring.
Lewis, though, hopes McGregor's ring appearance will never be repeated.
"I didn't see the point of the whole thing," he added.
"A lot of people found it exciting, could Conor McGregor beat Floyd? It wasn't the case. It was a case of a textbook style brought to school, Conor McGregor got brought to school. He got schooled."
Asked if he had a message for McGregor, Lewis said: "Stay in your lane. Boxing is superior."
Carl Froch admitted he was on the edge of his seat but also believes Mayweather "outclassed" McGregor.
Four-time world super-middleweight champion Froch praised the UFC star's resilience but the 40-year-old was not surprised by the result.
Froch, speaking on Sky Sports Box Office, said: "He (McGregor) did well from the fact that he's a mixed martial artist. If that was a boxer, you'd say it was an 'outclassed' job, a mismatch.
"In reality, he (Mayweather) was in there with a UFC fighter. Conor came, he was proud, he tried, he didn't go over.
"It was a great event, promotion, a good show, we've all been on the edge of our seats. But what happened is what we thought would happen."