It was only a matter of time before I started to cover this story. What started out as a playful jab turned into one of the biggest spectacles, they world has ever seen coming out of the combative sports. We have two of the biggest juggernauts from two different worlds finally facing off in the sport. Now if we want to really keep count, MMA is up one to Boxing (James "Lights Out" Toney Vs. Randy "The Natural" Couture - UFC 118) via Arm Triangle choke. However now we move into the boxing ring, and Conor McGregor will now be battling Floyd Mayweather on August 26th in Las Vegas. Could it be a one-sided fight? Sure it could be. Does Conor actually stand a chance in the boxing ring? Yes, he does. Will the fight end in a knockout? Probably not.
For those of you who say that Mayweather will destroy Conor and KO him early in the boxing match, I say this:
Here are some of the reasons why I think Conor could stand a chance:
SOUTHPAW:
It is no secret that Conor is a southpaw. What we have seen recently from Mayweather in his last few fights, is the difficulty to box southpaw fighters. Taking this into account sure Mayweather could train with fighters who box southpaw; sure he could try and find guys who mimic Conor. However, you can not plan for Conor. Sure you take away knees, elbows, and feet from Conor but he is still a great boxer. Conor loves his left hand and Floyd will still plan for it, but it is still tough to know without being in the ring with Conor:
Aggression:
Though Conor loves to be on the attack but one thing he also loves to do, is play the counter puncher. Just remember when Jose Aldo came out on the attack:
He counters and looks for the finish in all of his fights, and Conor does well on his feet to avoid punches. While Mayweather is a counter puncher, we know Conor is not afraid to take the fight to Mayweather and eat shots while looking for the counter:
Endurance:
This will be both an advantage and disadvantage for Conor. In the first four rounds Conor understands he will need to push the fight and continue to throw punches. However, knowing he is going from 4oz. gloves to 10oz. gloves will eventually take its toll on Conor as the fight goes on. He will need to continue to push the tempo of the fight, however after the four rounds Mayweather will take over the fight and it could cost McGregor in the long run.
Conor's Chin:
Conor has one of the toughest chins in the UFC. There is no question about it, he has taken multiple punches from numerous fights and have come back to win the fight (Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor II). Mayweather has been known to break his hands with the punches Mayweather can through, Conor needs to withstand the fury of what Floyd can throw.
Now let's not say that Conor is going to win this fight, we are watching him battle the most dominate fighters in the Boxing world. A man who is undefeated, can take time off and still collect some of the biggest paychecks in the world. He has fought the best of the best in the boxing world and has stood tall among all of them: Vitor Ortiz, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Canelo Alvarez, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya. The list goes on and on, what makes Floyd so good: simple answer everything.
Fast Hands:
There is no doubt he has some of the fastest hands in the fight world. He can land a punch without you seeing it coming.
Some of the best do not see it coming. With Conor normally fighting in the MMA world, most fighters do not have the speed like Floyd. Conor needs to work on his head movement and his defensive tactics to counter Floyd. But, even if you can get Floyd to miss and you get your counter off, he still will slip your punch and land another one:
Defense:
Whether you are the 2015 Denver Broncos, the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, 2001 Baltimore Ravens, or 1985 Chicago Bears...Defenses win championships. 9 out of 10 times the defense is going to win, and Mayweather is a master a slipping punches:
making you miss:
or simply just blocking your punches. Mayweather is so good at making his opponents miss and capitalizing on what you throw. Conor is not ready for this type of fighter and will need to throw punches in bunches and look out for the counter punch, which I do not see him doing.
Stopping Power:
Sure it has been a long time since we have seen Mayweather knock a guy out, I mean Victor Ortiz never saw it coming. But when Manny Pacquiao was throwing punches Mayweather was able to move and stop him in his tracks:
This will be an interesting match up, however I do not see it going Conor's way. Floyd is going to be tough to hit and even tougher to KO, but with every fighter has a puncher's chance to win the fight. If Conor wants to win the fight, he is going to have to corner Mayweather and avoid the clinch as much as possible. If Conor can limit the ring and corner Mayweather, there is a small chance Conor could win this fight.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming fight, I know its six weeks away but we can talk all day. Let me here your comments and see what you think.
Also you guys can catch me on Get The KO podcast apart of anchor.fm or just go to anchor.fm/gettheko and listen up. You can call in and the following week we will address what you brought up. Myself and Lou will talk with all of you and look forward to hearing from you.
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