The result of the fight did play out as expected, but the journey there was a little different than what I expected to see. I really thought Conor would be rougher on the inside and try to dirty box Floyd ala Maindana on the inside. I even expected a couple elbows, Tyson style while on the inside and for Conor to manhandle Floyd in the early rounds. While I was glad the elbows and rough house tactics didn't occur, I was quite surprised to see Conor try to out box Floyd in the early rounds using angles and controlling the range.
Floyd was definitely a man of his word and took the fight to Conor. As soon as he saw Conor tiring and realized there was no danger as he felt Conor's power, he just waded right in and walked him down. I couldn't believe what I was seeing out of Floyd. He forced he action and put Conor on his bicycle. As soon as Conor started initiated clinches my mind immediately went back to the first Diaz fight when Conor panicked and tried to take Diaz to the ground and got choked out. He was a desperate man and was looking for a breather. Fatigue truly does make a coward out of the best of us, and we all knew it was only a matter of time.
They both gave it their all and put on a great show. From the first press conference to the post fight interviews, these are two champions that "get it". Their as much business men and entertainers as they are fighters. I loved the shove from Floyd after round 5 asking Conor where's the knockout at, I'm still here. He said he did it for the fans to give them a little something extra to see. Floyd will be greatly missed and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to watch his brilliance over the years. He leaves a huge void in boxing now, and hopefully Canelo or Joshua can fill it. Conor will produce some huge fights in the future and the Diaz trilogy will be a huger draw. My hat is off to both of these great fighters for delivering a great show. A spectacle worthy of it's moniker, "The Money Fight."