Floyd Mayweather defeated MMA star Conor McGregor with a 10th-round TKO on Saturday night, improving his boxing record to 50-0 and breaking the mark he shared with former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano (49-0) for most wins without a loss or tie in boxing history.
Mayweather became the sixth championship-level fighter to win 50 consecutive fights to start his career, according to CompuBox research, after Julio Cesar Chavez (87 wins), Nino Benvenuti (65), Willie Pep (62), Carlos Zarate (52) and Tom Bogs (52).
WBC minimumweight champion Wanyeng Menayothin, at 47-0, is the closest active fighter to Mayweather in wins without a defeat.
Marciano retired at 31. Mayweather, 40, has said Saturday’s fight was his last.
How Mayweather did it
Mayweather outlanded McGregor 170-111, according to CompuBox. That advantage was built in the later rounds, as McGregor had a 42-28 advantage in punches landed after four rounds.
It was Mayweather’s first win by stoppage since his 2011 knockout of Victor Ortiz.
Mayweather was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards at the time the fight was stopped.
Long layoffs for both fighters
Mayweather, formerly the top pound-for-pound champion, was fighting for the first time since he defeated Andre Berto by unanimous decision in September 2015. The layoff of 714 days was the longest of Mayweather’s career.
McGregor made his boxing debut after headlining the most successful event in UFC history last November, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez by second-round knockout. That win at UFC 205 gave McGregor the UFC lightweight title (to go along with the featherweight title he held at the time) and drew a live gate of 17.7 million, the largest in company history.
Mayweather, who now has 27 knockouts in his career, entered the fight as statistically the best offensive and defensive fighter of this era. Mayweather ranked first in plus/minus, first in connect percentage and fourth in opponent connect percentage entering the fight, according to CompuBox.
In Mayweather’s previous two fights, Manny Pacquiao and Berto landed 81 and 83 punches, respectively, the fourth- and fifth-lowest totals allowed by Mayweather in a 12-round fight. In 40 previous pro fights tracked by CompuBox, Mayweather was outlanded one time, by Jose Luis Castillo in 2002 (203-157)
Before Saturday, nine of Mayweather’s previous 10 fights were won by decision. His average fight time in that span was 33 minutes, 36 seconds. McGregor’s average fight time in his previous 10 fights was 8:38 (including seven knockouts). He had fought the MMA maximum of 25 minutes once (against Nate Diaz at UFC 202).