It wasn’t the embarrassing loss for Conor McGregor that many thought it would be, but the three judges scoring the fight at T-Mobile Arena thought Floyd Mayweather Jr. was winning handily.
Judges had Floyd Mayweather well ahead of Conor McGregor before 10th round TKO
Two judges thought Conor McGregor won just one of the first nine rounds.
A 10th round technical knockout for Mayweather meant the judges’ view of the fight didn’t come into play, but if it had, the fight was already out of reach and McGregor wouldn’t have been able to win, even if he finished with three strong rounds.
McGregor’s surprisingly strong performance may have swayed the opinions of viewers — especially those who listened to commentary on the Showtime pay-per-view that was complimentary of the UFC lightweight champion’s impressive boxing skills in his first professional bout in the sport.
Here at SB Nation, the fight was scored 86-85 in McGregor’s favor after the ninth round by one writer, and another had Mayweather ahead in a close contest. Showtime’s scorer had it 86-85 for Mayweather.
But the closest of the three judges scoring the fight was Dave Moretti with an 87-83 advantage for Mayweather. On the other side, Guido Cavalleri scored it 89-81 through nine rounds, with both he and Burt Clements giving McGregor only the first round and Mayweather each of the next eight.
McGregor said after the fight that he thought the contest was stopped early, but ultimately there wasn’t much fuss after fatigue made him an easy target for Mayweather against the ropes. At the postfight press conference, he said he thought the fight was five rounds to one fighter and four to the other, although he didn’t specify who he thought was ahead.
The real controversy and outrage from many fans would have come if McGregor finished strong but lost unanimously.
That was averted by Mayweather finishing the fight before it went the distance.
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