According to him, the referee stopped the fight “a little early” and he was only “a little fatigued” in the 10th Round when he [the refree] called it off in favour of Mayweather, giving the latter another Technical Knockout win.

“I thought it was a little early with the stoppage. I would have liked to have hit the floor, he (the referee) should have let me keep going. I was just a little fatigued,” he said in an interview after the fight at Las Vegas.

Conor McGregor after winning the first three rounds had nothing left with him after Mayweather took charge and dealt him very heavy punches until the 10th round when it was quite obvious McGregor could not stand extra hits from the unbeaten champion.

Conor McGregor credited Mayweather for being composed and allowing him [McGregor] to keep throwing from the initial rounds.

At the post-fight press conference Conor McGregor was coy over whether his next fight will be in a boxing or UFC ring after an admirable professional debut against Floyd Mayweather.

Despite predictions that McGregor’s encounter against the undefeated Mayweather would be a walkover, the UFC lightweight champion held his own before eventually succumbing to a 10th-round stoppage.

The 29-year-old is keeping his options open over his next project, albeit his next bout is likely to be in UFC, with the MMA promotion’s president Dana White not keen on him boxing again.

But McGregor, himself, would consider another boxing bout, amidst speculation that he could tackle ex-sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi.

McGregor said: ‘I have many options in mixed martial arts. I’m sure there’ll be options in the boxing game.

‘I’m not quite sure what’s next. I’ve multiple titles to think about in UFC and I could also continue in the boxing game.

‘I’m a student of martial arts and fighting as a whole. It was an honour to share the ring with Floyd and get up close and personal.

‘I thought it was close – 5-4 into round 10. I would have liked to get to the bell to see what was what.

‘I’ve reached great heights and I will continue to reach great heights.

‘I have some leading contenders in the MMA game. I have a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz which is there.

‘I’m certainly fresh to fight. I was not badly damaged there.’

Clutching a bottle of Irish whiskey as he returned to the ring for the post-fight press conference, McGregor was pleased with his performance and rubbished the marks of two of the three judges who thought he had only won a solitary round.

To most observers, McGregor won the opening three rounds, before fatigue began to settle in – an issue which the Irishman feels has hampered him before.

‘It was a good fight, I thought I smoked him in the early rounds, but I tell you what, you’re one composed individual,’ said McGregor.

‘You switched up your gameplan three times. That’s what a true champion does. I have to give you a lot of respect for that.

‘I have this patch in fights which I have to overcome, when I get a bit wobbly.

‘I would have liked to see the end of round 10 and see where it brought us. But you have to take your hat off to Floyd.

‘He’s composed. He’s not that powerful, but he’s composed.

‘He was pacing his shots. I’ve got to give him a lot more respect, fair play to him.

‘He’s handy enough. That’s what 50 pro fights will give you.

‘One of the main things in camp was to go from five rounds to 12 rounds. I had to experience that 12-round fatigue.

‘In the spars, I could get to six and couldn’t see the finish line.

‘But when I got through them to round 10, and 11, I could dig deep and get that second wind.’

McGregor also admitted he was shocked by some of the comments rubbishing his chances, prior to the bout.

‘I was a little bit taken aback by the disrespect and disregard I was shown,’ he added.

‘In fairness, Floyd and his team didn’t show that.

‘But the disrespect for my skill set took me back a little bit.’

McGregor walked on stage for the press conference clutching a bottle of his own brand ‘Notorious’ whiskey.

He yelled: ‘Notorious Irish whiskey – coming soon. I’m going to take over the Irish whiskey market – and this is delicious.’

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By: Jonas Nyabor with additional resources from Daily Mail UK

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