Floyd Mayweather outclassed Conor McGregor to win their money-spinning superfight by technical knockout here Saturday, securing his place in boxing history to head into retirement with a record 50th straight victory.

Former welterweight boxing champion Mayweather, who had come out of a two-year retirement to take on the Irish mixed martial arts star, bided his time before exerting his superiority from the middle rounds onwards at the T-Mobile Arena.

The end came in the 10th round with a tired McGregor doubled over on the ropes as Mayweather landed two hard left hooks, prompting referee Robert Byrd to intervene as a 14 623 crowd with A-list celebrities roared their approval.

“He’s a lot better than I thought he’d be,” a jubilant Mayweather said of McGregor. “He’s a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight.”

Mayweather led comfortably on all three judges’ cards when the fight was stopped.

The American said he had deliberately taken his time early on in order to take advantage of a fatigued McGregor.

“Our game plan was to take our time, go to him, let him shoot his shots early and then take him out down the stretch,” he said. “I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn’t go the distance.”

CLINICAL DISPLAY

McGregor meanwhile suggested the fight could have been allowed to go on, but praised Mayweather’s clinical tactical display.

“He’s composed, he’s not that fast, he’s not that powerful, but boy is he composed,” McGregor said.

“I thought it was a bit of an early stoppage. I was just a little fatigued. He was just a lot more composed with his shots.

“I have to give it to him, that’s what 50 pro fights will do for you.”

It was an explosive finale to their much-hyped contest which proved surprisingly competitive in the early rounds as McGregor managed to land a string of scoring punches.

But once Mayweather began to find his range and McGregor wearied rapidly, there was only going to be one winner.

The 40-year-old American scored at will after the early rounds, snapping back McGregor’s head with a series of stinging blows.

McGregor, 29, somehow survived an onslaught in the seventh round when a right counter from Mayweather staggered him badly.

Finally McGregor’s resistance broke in the 10th when a Mayweather right sent him lurching across the ring.

A hard left put him on the ropes and another hook saw him bent over and helpless, prompting the stoppage.

The fight had followed a largely expected script but McGregor, in his first ever boxing appearance, by no means embarrassed himself.

‘A win is a win’

Mayweather will now head into what he says is a permanent retirement with a perfect 50-0 record, one better than heavyweight legend Rocky Marciano.

He rejected suggestions that his 50th win, against a novice boxer, would be destined to have an asterisk against it.

“A win is a win, no matter how you get it,” Mayweather said. “Rocky Marciano is a legend and I look forward to going into the Hall of Fame one day.

“This was my last fight tonight. For sure. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with.”

Mayweather is also expected to be around $200 million wealthier, taking his career earnings to around $1 billion.

McGregor, who was an unemployed former plumber four years ago before emerging as one of the biggest stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, is expected to earn around $100 million.

If pay-per-view television targets are met, the fight could become the most lucrative in history.

The start of the bout had been delayed by several minutes as anticipation built to fever pitch and television providers struggled to cope with the surge in demand from pay-per-view customers.

Anticipation had built steadily at ringside as an array of stars from the sports and entertainment worlds took their seats, including Bruce Willis, LeBron James and Mike Tyson.

Ever since the fight was announced in June, it had been dismissed as a farce and a freakshow by the boxing community.

But fears of a one-sided massacre failed to materialise and McGregor finished with some respectable statistics. The Irishman’s 111 landed punches were 30 more than Manny Pacquiao managed against Mayweather in their 2015 “Fight of the Century.”

Kenya’s athletes were set to fly out to London’s World Championships on Tuesday, their hopes for domination battered by the last-minute withdrawal of 800m Olympic champion David Rudisha with a quad injury.

Olympic 3 000m steeplechase runner Conseslus Kipruto was aiming to add a world title to the gold he won in Rio last year – and three-time world 1 500m champion Asbel Kiprop has vowed to retain his crown in the games that begin on Friday.

But Rudisha’s torn muscle robbed him of his chance to go for a third world title and gave his team a steeper climb up the medals table, which it topped in Beijing two years ago.

“We cannot be overconfident, even if we have such a good team,” head coach Julius Kirwa told Reuters on the eve of their departure.

He has good reasons to be cautious, given the political and legal distractions that have swirled around the team in recent months.

Its participation in London was cleared when officials finally filed paperwork showing it had met International Association of Athletics Federations’ anti-doping conditions, after missing two previous deadlines.

Kenya’s reputation for middle and long distance running has been tarnished by failed doping tests among its elite athletes, including former three-time Boston and Chicago marathon winner, Rita Jeptoo, and Jemimah Sumgong, the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic marathon gold medal.

With the paperwork filed, attention has switched back to the 48-strong team.

“As Olympic champion, this is what I have been waiting for. I would wish to be crowned a world champion,” 22-year-old Kipruto told Reuters in the capital, Nairobi.

“That will fulfil my sentimental wish. Twice, I have been silver medallist – 2013 in Moscow and 2015 in Beijing. It would be great to be a world champion.”

He will be up against compatriot and two-time Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, who delayed retirement after missing out in Brazil saying: “I must retire (from steeplechase) as a champion.”

The field will be even more competitive with American Olympic silver medallist Evan Jager in the mix, along with Moroccan Soufiane El Bakkali, who won Diamond League events in Stockholm and Rabat.

Kiprop was also in a confident mood. “I am winning my fourth title (in London). Trust me. I have been to six World Championships. I have won three times,” he said.

Rudisha would have been a particularly strong attraction at the London Stadium, where he stunned the world by winning the 800m in a world record 1:40.91 at the 2012 Olympics.

“I have accepted my fate with a very heavy heart and would like to wish the team well. They can still make it,” said the 28-year-old who announced his withdrawal on Monday.

Julius Yego, world javelin champion, is also in the team, as is London marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru, Paris Marathon champion Paul Lonyangata and Boston Marathon title holder Geoffrey Kirui.

Among the women in the 800m are former world champion Eunice Sum and Olympic bronze medallist Margaret Nyairera. Two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat will compete in the marathon, along with Hela Kiprop and Commonwealth Games winner Flomena Cheyech.

Football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in court near Madrid on Monday accused of evading millions of euros in taxes, the latest player to fall foul of Spain’s taxman.

The 32-year-old entered the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid where he lives, in a car with tainted windows via an underground garage to avoid the glare of the dozens of cameras gathered outside.

The player is expected to speak to the press after his court hearing. A podium was set up outside the courthouse behind metal barriers.

The Portuguese star – the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes magazine – follows in the steps of his arch-rival, Barcelona forward and Argentina star Lionel Messi, who was found guilty of the same offence last year.

Other footballers have also recently run into trouble with Spain’s taxman, some of them already convicted and others under investigation.

Prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of having evaded 14.7 million euros ($17.3 million) in tax.

They allege he took “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”.

They say this was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.

‘Conscience clear’

Prosecutors accuse the four-time world player of the year of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for low corporate tax rates.

In addition, they say the Real Madrid striker only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014, while what he really earned during that time was close to 43 million euros.

And finally, they accuse him of “voluntarily” refusing to include 28.4 million euros in income linked to the sale of his image rights for the 2015 to 2020 period to a Spanish company.

Ronaldo is expected to declare himself not guilty during his closed door court appearance. He has defended himself, saying his “conscience is clear”.

His agent’s company Gestifute has also denied any “fiscal set-up” and said “the player didn’t hide anything”.

But the allegations still took their toll on the man with the “CR7” brand. According to press reports, Real’s all-time top goalscorer, threatened to leave Spain over the affair, giving supporters a fright.

He has since hinted he will stay on, telling Spanish sports daily Marca that he would like to continue to win trophies for Real.

If he were put on trial and found guilty, Ronaldo would risk “a fine of at least 28 million” euros and could potentially be jailed for three-and-a-half years, the Gestha union of experts at Spain’s Inland Revenue has said.

Since extending his contract last November until 2021, Ronaldo is the highest paid sports star in the world with $93 million earned in 2016-2017, according to Forbes.

Super-agent Mendes

Ronaldo is not the only footballer to fall foul of authorities in Spain, which is only just recovering from a damaging economic crisis that saw countless people lose their jobs and inequalities rise.

Messi was sentenced to a 21-month jail sentence and 2.09-million-euro fine last year for tax fraud.

His prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of 252 000 euros, which corresponds to 400 euros for each day of jail.

Barcelona’s Argentine defender Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, agreed a one-year suspended sentence with authorities for tax fraud last year.

Brazil star Neymar, another Barcelona forward, and his parents are also due to stand trial for alleged corruption over his transfer from Santos in 2013.

Real have not been spared either.

Apart from Ronaldo, former player Angel di Maria, Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao and Jose Mourinho, who coached the club from 2010 to 2013, have all been accused of tax fraud.

All are clients of super-agent Jorge Mendes, who was also questioned and put under official investigation last month by a Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, another footballer in his stable.