Mayweather vs. McGregor, Aug. 26

[TyWebb]

A friend of mine who coaches amateurs hit the nail right on the head:

"Now that fight week is coming upon us, let's get over this charade. Take away the names. If I said to you the best fighter of his generation is fighting a guy making his professional boxing debut, what would you expect to happen? You'd tell me you'd expect something similar to the Boston Massacre right? So just stop with this "anything can happen" or "if he just lands 1 punch" bullshirt. It would be the single greatest upset in the history of all sports. You're putting this Irish guy into a situation he has NEVER been in before and people think he's gonna do something that no seasoned, world class, professional boxer has ever done to Floyd ? Cmon man. Cmon. That's just silly"

My favorite comparison I've heard is it would be like the best rugby team in the world coming in and beating the New England Patriots in a game of football.

 

[TyWebb]

And in case there was anyone still confused about what this fight was about, they are literally fighting for the "Money Belt."

'Money Belt' for Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor revealed

 

[StaggerLee]

I still don't think McGregor will win, but the notion that he has no chance is ridiculous, IMHO. A lot of people said the same thing about Brock Lesnar when he transitioned over from wrestling to MMA briefly, and he won a title. Similarly, the same thing was said about Daniel Cormier, who was an All-American wrestler in college and an Olympian. People said just because he was a good wrestler didn't mean he could take a punch. And he won a title.

It's a combat sport, so McGregor isn't an "amateur" when it comes to punching. I realize boxing and MMA are different, and honestly that's why I think McGregor stands a chance. He doesn't have to worry about getting taken down, doesn't have to worry about getting kicked in the thigh.

That said, I think Mayweather will out-class him. McGregor will try to land the big shots that he can get away with throwing in an MMA fight and he'll tire out. I don't see Mayweather knocking him out, but instead taking a decision win that will probably feature about six or seven really boring rounds of McGregor attempting to stalk Mayweather only to get peppered with counter-punches.

 

[JC]

I still don't think McGregor will win, but the notion that he has no chance is ridiculous, IMHO. A lot of people said the same thing about Brock Lesnar when he transitioned over from wrestling to MMA briefly, and he won a title. Similarly, the same thing was said about Daniel Cormier, who was an All-American wrestler in college and an Olympian. People said just because he was a good wrestler didn't mean he could take a punch. And he won a title.

It's a combat sport, so McGregor isn't an "amateur" when it comes to punching. I realize boxing and MMA are different, and honestly that's why I think McGregor stands a chance. He doesn't have to worry about getting taken down, doesn't have to worry about getting kicked in the thigh.

That said, I think Mayweather will out-class him. McGregor will try to land the big shots that he can get away with throwing in an MMA fight and he'll tire out. I don't see Mayweather knocking him out, but instead taking a decision win that will probably feature about six or seven really boring rounds of McGregor attempting to stalk Mayweather only to get peppered with counter-punches.

Wrestling is an integral part of MMA.

Mayweather has never been beaten by professional boxers, McGregor isn't close to being in that league.

 

[YankeeFan]

They're both assholes, but Mayweather is disciplined in the ring.

Is McGregor able to be disciplined enough to even give himself a chance?

 

[StaggerLee]

Wrestling is an integral part of MMA.

Mayweather has never been beaten by professional boxers, McGregor isn't close to being in that league.

I agree. McGregor is not in Mayweather's league. But Mayweather is also 40 years old and coming off a two-year hiatus. I wouldn't bet on McGregor, but I also wouldn't just completely dismiss McGregor as having "no chance." I think his chances are slim. I'd have no chance with Mayweather. You'd have no chance with Mayweather. But a guy that's trained in combat sports (which does include boxing in his camp) for 17 years, I'd give him a puncher's chance. McGregor is a striker. He's not a wrestler (like Lesnar) trying to be a boxer. He started in boxing, that's his base.

The other factor that not many boxing people are talking about is McGregor's unorthodox style. He doesn't stand like a boxer. He has more of a karate stance and he comes at different angles than boxers. His angles account for one of the reasons he's knocked out 18 of his 21 opponents he's beaten. He's also bigger than Mayweather.

But again, we'll see. I've got Mayweather winning an ugly decision (probably a couple of 10-8 rounds in the last few rounds). But if McGregor were to drop him, I wouldn't be completely shocked, especially if Mayweather is being honest when he says he's not going to run and that he's going to go straight at McGregor.

 

[JC]

I agree. McGregor is not in Mayweather's league. But Mayweather is also 40 years old and coming off a two-year hiatus. I wouldn't bet on McGregor, but I also wouldn't just completely dismiss McGregor as having "no chance." I think his chances are slim. I'd have no chance with Mayweather. You'd have no chance with Mayweather. But a guy that's trained in combat sports (which does include boxing in his camp) for 17 years, I'd give him a puncher's chance. McGregor is a striker. He's not a wrestler (like Lesnar) trying to be a boxer. He started in boxing, that's his base.

The other factor that not many boxing people are talking about is McGregor's unorthodox style. He doesn't stand like a boxer. He has more of a karate stance and he comes at different angles than boxers. His angles account for one of the reasons he's knocked out 18 of his 21 opponents he's beaten. He's also bigger than Mayweather.

But again, we'll see. I've got Mayweather winning an ugly decision (probably a couple of 10-8 rounds in the last few rounds). But if McGregor were to drop him, I wouldn't be completely shocked, especially if Mayweather is being honest when he says he's not going to run and that he's going to go straight at McGregor.

If McGregor were to drop him he chose the wrong career path and should have stuck to boxing.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Has anyone posted odds on hospitalization and/or death?

"The thing I really fear, truly fear, is that somebody's going to get really hurt in this upcoming fight."

Is McGregor Safe Fighting Mayweather? Ringside Physicians Say No

 

[StaggerLee]

If McGregor were to drop him he chose the wrong career path and should have stuck to boxing.

Except that he's a UFC champion in two weight classes, has a net worth of $27M and about to triple that in one fight. I think he took a pretty good career path. He's only 29 years old, and a multi-millionaire. I think he's doing OK. And I'd argue that being the face of the UFC, he's in better shape than if he were the face of boxing right now.

 

[JC]

Except that he's a UFC champion in two weight classes, has a net worth of $27M and about to triple that in one fight. I think he took a pretty good career path. He's only 29 years old, and a multi-millionaire. I think he's doing OK. And I'd argue that being the face of the UFC, he's in better shape than if he were the face of boxing right now.

If he can beat Mayweather, like you suggest he would have been worth far more than 27 million at this point.

This whole things a complete farce, it's a joke. I am suppose to believe that McGregor catching Mayweather is plausible when nobody else ever has? If he does, this more WWE then boxing or UFC.

 

[playthrough]

I thought Rory McIlroy, of all people, made a decent point in a press conference yesterday while joking about whether those guys do all this trash talking then get together behind the curtain and laugh about how they're fleecing everyone. If Mayweather goes down, the rematch will be booked and they get the megabucks all over again. So, Rory asked, is losing the zero off the career record worth another couple hundred million to Mayweather?

 

[cjericho]

Except that he's a UFC champion in two weight classes, has a net worth of $27M and about to triple that in one fight. I think he took a pretty good career path. He's only 29 years old, and a multi-millionaire. I think he's doing OK. And I'd argue that being the face of the UFC, he's in better shape than if he were the face of boxing right now.

And Mayweather owes a lot more than that in taxes. And he has a lot more say in who he fights and when he fights than anyone in the UFC does.