MMA/Boxing: What does the "Money fight" do for Boxing and MMA?

“The Money Fight” between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor this past Saturday night in Las Vegas ended in the most probable way, but not without some fireworks along the way. McGregor did much better than anticipated, and left us with an entertaining fight between boxing and mixed martial arts’ two biggest stars.

Going into the fight many narratives arose;

Popular boxer-turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya tweeted a NSFW comment bashing the fights existence as “a fraud.” Boxing analyst Max Kellerman said that “McGregor won’t land a single punch.”

The MMA community was more optimistic we’d see a dogfight. UFC president Dana White kept selling the fight on McGregor’s power, size, and youth. “When McGregor hits guys, they go to sleep,” he reiterated. But really, no one knew what to make of the event.

Luckily, it ended the best way possible for all parties. McGregor came to fight in his pro boxing debut against one of the best to ever do it, showing bravery and making things interesting as he caught Mayweather with clean shots to win some early rounds. He landed 111 punches on Mayweather throughout the bout, more than many other world-class boxers before him. But ultimately, he was still in with a legend, even if he looked his age, and in the 10th round he had nothing left as Mayweather connected on each punch he threw, forcing the referee to stop the fight.