That's BS PR spin. Mayweather never has given two craps about the fans. Saturday was no exception. He went for the KO because it was available and because McGregor was fatigued and his power in a boxing ring was overrated.
In other words, McGregor was a sitting duck in rounds 8-10 for a KO. So Mayweather, ever the low-risk opportunist, took advantage of that.
It's time for everyone to acknowledge that boxing power and MMA power are different.
Boxers use bigger gloves, and mass x velocity = force. Newton's Second Law of Motion. So a punch with a boxing glove should deliver more force because the glove is heavier; maybe the lighter glove of MMA creates more velocity, so it's a wash.
But boxers are taught and hone much more compact, powerful punching technique than MMA fighters. MMA fighters also are far more open to being hit by big shots, exaggerating power, because of their open stances and low hand placement to protect against ground attacks.
It's also obvious that it's tougher to block shots with smaller MMA gloves, which exacerbates the perception of power.
Maybe McGregor could have concussive power in the ring if he trained exclusively for boxing. But his boxing power looked overrated to me Saturday night. Compare a puncher like James Kirkland at 154 or Andy Lee and GGG at 160 to McGregor (who probably was close to 170 on fight night), and McGregor looks like pillow hands.
McGregor never came close to cranking Mayweather with anything approaching the shot Shane Mosley landed in the second round of his 147-pound fight against Mayweather despite McGregor's vaunted power. Mayweather survived Mosley's bomb, so his vastly underrated chin had no problem weathering McGregor's best shot.
I was very impressed by McGregor's boxing skill and footwork Saturday night. I was not impressed by his power.
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