“This was my last fight tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, I chose the right dancer partner to dance with. Conor McGregor, you’re a hell of a fighter and the country of Ireland, we love you guys.”
Floyd Mayweather declared after his astonishing 50th career win record against Conor McGregor. Mayweather remained unbeaten throughout his professional career that started on 11th October 1996 against Roberto Apodaca and ended on 26th August 2017 against Mc Gregor. Perhaps this is the final announcement of his retirement.
Floyd Mayweather first retired in December 8, 2007 after defeating Ricky Hatton 88–82, 89–81, and 89–81. But he returned to the ring after 21-month to fight Juan Manuel Marquez. It was May 2, 2009 when Mayweather won a unanimous decision against Marquez after 12 rounds in a lopsided fight; scorecards read 120–107, 119–108, and 118–109.
He retired for a second time after beating Andre Berto on September 12, 2015. But he again officially came out of retirement to take on UFC’s biggest star Conor McGregor. In the fight, Mayweather tactically conserved his energy through the opening few rounds, then sprung into life, obliterating McGregor’s non-existent defence and winning by way of TKO in the tenth round. Thus, Floyd Mayweather wrote his name as a boxing great by becoming the only player to have a 50-0 win record. He surpassed the fabled 49-0 record set by heavyweight Rocky Marciano.
Born in 1977 in Michigan, USA, to former welterweight fighter Floyd Mayweather Sr., Mayweather Jr. won the prestigious Golden Gloves Championship when he was 16. He was nicknamed ‘Pretty Boy’, owing to the fact his opponents all struggled to land a punch on him.
Mayweather won a bronze medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics after being beaten in the semi-finals of the featherweight competition. That was the last time he faced defeat before starting his unbeaten professional career.
Some of the biggest fights in the history of boxing have featured Floyd Mayweather, with Forbes listing him as the highest paid athlete in the world four times. His ‘Fight of the Century’ against Manny Pacquiao saw Mayweather earned as much as $300m in sponsorship deals, pay-per-view buys and prize money.