“It’s going to be another twelve-round snoozer.”
– Oscar De La Hoya
I was with De La Hoya, right up until about 22 hours ago after Conor McGregor’s media workout was posted on YouTube. It took me all of ten minutes, skipping through the three plus hour video to see what he brings. And it’s nothing special. He has power, and he is a tremendous athlete. McGregor is a lot of things, but a boxer he is not. And if you think being bigger, stronger, and full of confidence is all he needs, then please, give your head a shake. Stop drinking the Irish Kool-Aide.
The whole farce around his camp is done. Media day broke that wall of secrecy, and it’s revealed a man who has no idea what he is doing, or what he is in for. But that’s what happens when you surround yourself with guys who only say yes. McGregor’s crash down to Earth is going to be brutal, public, and embarrassing for the MMA community who are delusional in their ideas that the sport of boxing is somehow easier than the sport of MMA. They are two different monsters.
For anyone expecting a quick knockout from either party, stop it. Just stop it. It’s not going to happen. Mayweather takes zero risks in his fights, and he is never going to bum rush, McGregor. McGregor might come out aggressive, but Mayweather is too fast, too smart, and too experienced to be caught with one punch, or get trapped in a barrage of punches out the gate. It’s just not going to happen.
Mayweather does not get hit. People always want to show clips of Mayweather getting hit by Marcos Maidana and Shane Mosely, but come on people. In a professional career spanning over 21 years, all the McGregor fans can find is half a dozen clips of Floyd getting caught? McGregor has taken more punishment in the two Nate Diaz fights than Mayweather has in his entire career!
McGregor’s natural style is a counter puncher… A slow counter puncher, but a counter puncher none the less. That shot that put Jose Aldo to sleep? A beautiful counter left hook. Eddie Alvarez? Over the top counter lefts that floored him multiple times. Dave Hill? Counter lefts till he fell. Marcus Brimage? Counter left uppercut highlighted that KO. Denis Siver? Counter left straight until a salvo of hammer fists ended the fight. Chad Mendes, ate lefts all night.
Are you getting the picture here? McGregor is a counter puncher which is the exact opposite style you want to have against Mayweather. And if all he is bringing to the ring is a power left hand, then it’s going to be a long night for McGregor, this isn’t MMA. The only weapons in boxing are your fists, and McGregor only brings his left. And while it may be fast enough, and powerful enough, and accurate enough in the sport of MMA, it’s going to come up way short in the boxing ring.
Another thing, I’m tired of people talking about is Mayweather’s “brittle” hands and lower KO percentage as if it makes him somehow less of a boxer. He doesn’t need power. All he needs is speed and timing. Especially when it comes to McGregor. He’s stepping into the ring with a guy, who on media day looked slow, obvious in his movement and punches, with poor foot work. All this mean a bigger, easier target for Mayweather.
I think we’ll see a frustrated McGregor come out in the sixth or seventh round with aggression, but with five rounds or so of calculating and sizing up, Mayweather will catch him coming in. It won’t be a one punch KO, it’ll be a corner stoppage probably on the stool, probably before the ninth round starts. He’ll sit on his stool, his bravado will be gone, his chest deflated, with his head hung low. He’ll be exhausted, frustrated and educated.
I hate this fight. Why do we need boxing versus MMA? Why does McGregor want to be the poor man’s version of Mayweather? I don’t get it… But I, will watch it, like every other schmuck. I can’t help it.
When you watch Mayweather, you’re watching arguably the best pound for pound boxer ever, and then you switch over to McGregor and that stupid Benny Hill song starts playing in my head. He’s trying to play checkers in a chess match against a chess master. He’s in over his head. He’s renting a Lambo while Mayweather has a fleet of Bugatti’s. McGregor is a sheep in wolfs clothing.
