Floyd Mayweather won for the 50th time in his decorated career when the fantasy fight with Conor McGregor proved a mismatch and he stopped the Irishman in 10 rounds in Las Vegas.

The American has long vowed this would be his final fight, but even at the age of 40 and after almost two years of inactivity he showed few signs of decline in outclassing McGregor, who at the T-Mobile Arena was making his professional debut.

As had always appeared almost certain to be the case when interest in a match-up between the highest-profile figures from boxing and the UFC began building over a year ago, McGregor simply proved levels below perhaps the finest fighter of the modern era.

He remained game and began with confidence, but as with Mayweather’s opponents in his other 49 fights, swiftly learnt his skills were hugely inadequate as he became the first fighter to be stopped by him since Victor Ortiz in 2011.