There were some boxing purists who refused to acknowledge Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor, describing the event as a ‘freak show’ and, in some cases, much worse.Although this was the most lucrative fight in boxing history, was this really an event that would enhance the reputation of the sport?McGregor, from UFC, had never boxed before in his life. Yet here he was, in Las Vegas, taking on one of the sport’s all-time legends - purely because it made sense from a business point of view.Compare the pre-fight hype to that of Canelo Alvarez v Gennady Golovkin - a genuine super fight between two world-class boxers - and you can see why some boxing fans were turned off by the prospect of Saturday night’s fight.But in the end, McGregor produced a performance which surprised many. He lasted 10 rounds at the T-Mobile Arena and, although he was outclassed by his opponent, didn’t disgrace himself inside the ring.

Tony Bellew: It was exactly what I thought would happen

British boxer Tony Bellew, who beat David Haye back in March, was in Las Vegas to watch the fight.

And after Mayweather’s victory, he perfectly summed up the fight in a frank interview with iFL TV.

Asked what he made of the fight, Bellew responded: “Exactly what I thought. It only went to 10 because he carried him.

“He should be very proud of himself, Conor McGregor, though. He showed an immense amount of balls. If [Floyd Mayweather] got in the [UFC] cage, it would be as one-sided as that was.”

Bellew: McGregor's punching was horrendous

Asked if McGregor had surprised him, Bellew continued: “With what? His punching was horrendous, there was no technique in it. There was no weight in the punches.

“I’m not joking, Floyd could have ended it in the first round if he wanted to. He carried [McGregor], there’s no two ways about it.

“Our sport has been shown so little respect, to think a man could come from a totally different sport and even have a hope.

“Because of the build-up, because of how entertaining [McGregor] is, it sold and good on him.”

Bellew: I felt sad for McGregor

Bellew then went on to say that this fight has been good for both boxing and UFC, although he admitted he felt sorry for McGregor at times during the bout.

“I felt a little bit sad for him - don’t get me he’s getting $100 million, so you can’t feel that sad - but I just felt a bit sorry for him," he added. "To do what he’s done is unbelievable.”

You can watch Bellew's interview in full here...

Twitter agrees with Bellew

People on Twitter thought Bellew got it spot on…