Issue 158
September 2017
How likely is it that McGregor could beat the greatest boxer of the last two decades despite having zero pro boxing fights of his own? Athletes, coaches and experts from both sports break down his chances
TOM DUQESNOY - UFC BANTAMWEIGHT
“It’s so different, you can’t compete with the best. If (Mayweather) went to MMA he’d be beaten in a few seconds. I’m not sure McGregor would be beaten in a few seconds against Mayweather because he’s very strong, very good and he works a lot, but I don’t see him winning.
"I’m bad at predictions but if I lose at that one I’ll just shut up forever (laughs).”
SHONIE CARTER - VETERAN OF 90 PRO MMA FIGHTS
“This match makes no sense because it's two different animals. All too quickly, people forget about James Toney in the cage with Randy. I personally feel that this is an even worse case scenario due to the fact that Conor McGregor has problems with the boxers in MMA, let alone an Olympic medalist and a guy who has clowned the best boxers around the world.”
PATRICK CÔTÉ - UFC ANALYST AND FORMER TITLE CHALLENGER
“How crazy is this? One of the best in history, 49-0, against 0-0. I would like to think Conor maybe has a chance, but Mayweather has fought his entire life against the best boxers in the world and nobody was able to touch him.
"How will McGregor be able to touch him if those guys weren’t able to do it? I don’t think you can mix MMA and boxing at that level. Even if he gets a punch and rocks him, that will be insane.”
MANNY PACQUIO - EIGHT-WEIGHT WORLD BOXING CHAMPION
"I can say Floyd Mayweather will win because the fight is in boxing, not MMA. So the advantage is with Floyd. I'm hoping it's not going to be a boring fight. We'll see."
ERICK KOCH - UFC FEATHERWEIGHT
"It will be Mayweather by unaminous decision, all day."
STEVIE RAY - UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDER
“If he tried to make it dirty and didn’t actually box him – he just went in and fought him – McGregor would have a chance.
"The reason Floyd is so good is he is used to out-boxing boxers. There’s a certain stance and a certain style. He’s comfortable with that.”
JOANNE CALDERWOOD - UFC 115LB CONTENDER
“You don’t know how experience and youth will decide things. Floyd has all that experience in boxing.
"Although Conor has a lot of experience in fighting and martial arts, it’s completely different when you give all your time to one sport. In MMA, you’re not giving all your time to boxing. You’re giving it to other things as well. Mayweather has been concentrating on just boxing since he was a child. It’s a completely different world.”
LARRY MERCHANT - HBO BOXING ANALYST FOR 35 YEARS
“If the chance is a million to one, what is the real chance? You can never say it’s zero, but my expectation is that Mayweather will frustrate McGregor and McGregor will struggle to land much and there will be a lot of clinching and finally McGregor will foul him and that will be the end of the fight.
"I think that the most likely end is a DQ. I wish they would put that up on the odds boards. I’d take my shot at a DQ.”
CUB SWANSON - UFC 145LB CONTENDER
“I think Mayweather should be the smarter fighter and win a bland decision like he normally does. But it's the what-if thing people are excited about and I do think MMA fighters fight differently.
"I box a lot and I hang because I box differently. I'm awkward, I throw overhand, I come from weird angles. Whatever's landing, works. That surprise factor Conor could have on him and having a powerful punch could make it super exciting. He could shock the world.”
ALAN JOUBAN - UFC WELTERWEIGHT
“Mayweather is just on a whole different level. Conor will be the bigger, stronger guy so his best chance is to land something in the earlier rounds. After that, he will start to slow down and Mayweather will have him figured out and picked apart."
JIMI MANUWA - UFC 205LB CONTENDER
"If he hits him...I say this to a lot of people: It's a fight. The way I see it, I don't see it as a sport or competing. I see it as a real fight where you're trying to hurt each other. If Conor hurts him I think he could win."
TIM SYLIVA - UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
“Mayweather’s going to have the upper hand. He’s one of the best point fighters there is. That’s how he wins. I don’t see him jeopardizing his so-called legacy against Conor McGregor.
"I think he’s like, ‘Hey Conor, how would you like $75 million to let me win a fight?’ To be honest, I don’t think I’d say no to that either.”
ANDY LEE - FORMER WBO WORLD 160LB CHAMPION
“It’s an easy night for Mayweather. He’ll sit back, pick McGregor off and more than likely won’t get hit with a meaningful punch all night. The question is, can Mayweather stop McGregor? "Floyd doesn’t seem to have KO power at 154lb, so there’s a good chance McGregor will go the distance. If he does, I guess that’s some kind of moral victory.”
SHANE BURGOS - UNDEFEATED UFC FEATHERWEIGHT
“A lot of people aren’t realizing this is a boxing match. Conor has power. If he catches him clean he could knock him out. I’m not going to count him out completely but we are talking about Floyd Mayweather, the best defensive fighter of all time.
"I don’t see Floyd Mayweather losing to anybody, let alone an MMA fighter.”
ERIC ESCH - FORMER MMA AND BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT
“Conor McGregor doesn't have the experience.
"I don't think any commission should sanction it but Mayweather would take him in the first round.”
RYAN LAFLARE - UFC 170LB CONTENDER
"I don't think Conor McGregor stands anything more than a puncher's chance."
ADAM BOOTH - COACH OF THREE WORLD BOXING CHAMPIONS
“McGregor will miss all night except for a few shots. Floyd Mayweather will shoulder roll and pout, periodically stabbing McGregor with right-hand prods.
"He won’t stop him, though. He’ll be too wary of the leg sweep and rear-naked choke, or something like that.”
RICH FRANKLIN - FORMER UFC CHAMPION
“I just have real trouble wrapping my brain around how somebody that does boxing as an aspect of their martial arts training would be able to stay on par with somebody who trains full-time.
"I’ve worked with top-10 level boxers. When you’re playing by their rules it’s a long day in the ring.”
DANIEL COMIER - UFC CHAMPION
"That singular skill, man. (Boxers) are too well rounded in it. Floyd Mayweather is the best boxer I've ever seen. They're fighting very tough guys as amateurs."
CATHAL PENDRED - FORMER UFC WELTERWEIGHT AND MCGREGOR'S TRAINING PARTNER
“Conor brings something new to the table, something fresh, something different. I think there are problems there for Mayweather and a lot of what-if questions.
That's what interests me. Conor has talked on and on about it. He's told me he's going to beat him. I don't doubt that man, no matter what he says. If he says he's going to become the next President of the United States, I'll believe him.
"Whatever he says, he does. He goes into fights and he may as well have already won. That's what separates him from everybody else – that belief and that work ethic, on top of that.”
MICHAEL CHANDLER - FORMER BELLATOR CHAMPION
“I think Conor doesn’t stand a chance. He’s one of the best fi ghters in the world but boxing is a whole different animal. It’s a whole different speed, a whole different reaction time, a whole different style of fighting.
"Being a mixed martial artist going into boxing and trying to box a guy who’s been boxing since he was three years old and has as much experience as Floyd has... If ‘Canelo’ (Saul Alvarez) couldn’t do it, I don’t think McGregor is going to be able to do it.
"I have (sparred a lot with pro boxers) and it’s just different. The ease at which they dodge punches and counter punches, the speed and the reaction time they have is just different.
"The boxer is just going to have better everything when you talk about pure boxing. That’s just simple science when you talk about the law of 10,000 hours.”
TONY BELLEW - FORMER WBC CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPION
“It would be quite funny if Conor McGregor won. I’d probably enjoy it. But when you look at it from a neutral perspective, how can you even make a claim for McGregor winning this fight? I saw Dana White put clips of Floyd Mayweather getting caught by Shane Mosley.
"You’re talking about one of the greatest lightweights of all-time landing a shot on him. He hit him clean on the button and Mayweather took the shot and regained his composure very quickly.
"He didn’t go down. He still dominated the fight. Conor McGregor does not hit anywhere near as hard as Shane Mosley. Even though he’s getting older, Mayweather is still going to win any way he wants.
He can stand in the pocket and go toe-to-toe with McGregor if he wants. He’ll make Conor miss and he’ll hurt him with every shot he lands.”
LENNOX LEWIS - FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
"McGregor, the MMA guy, is trying to come in and be the master of another sport. It's no contest."
MARCUS DAVIS - FORMER MMA AND BOXING PRO
“Mayweather by stoppage by the sixth round. If the fight goes any longer it will be an embarrassment to boxing.”
MIKE TYSON - FORMER BOXING HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
"If two people are fighting, people will pay for it. I don't believe it can ruin boxing at all. The only way it can ruin boxing is if McGregor goes and (out) boxes Floyd. But he's going to look ridiculous boxing him."
HENRI HOOFT - MMA STRIKING COACH
“For MMA it would be huge. There’s not a lot of people like McGregor in MMA. But it doesn’t make sense for McGregor to win. It would be strange.
"It would be like the best Olympic judo guy fighting the best kickboxer in kickboxing. He’s going to get smashed... I think it will be a TKO for Mayweather later in the fight after Conor gets frustrated.
"Maybe he won’t get knocked out but the referee will stop the fight.”
RANDY COUTURE - UFC HALL OF FAMER
“It’s probably not the wisest decision (McGregor’s) made. I think he’s got one or two things going for him. He’s long and rangy for that weight class.
"I don’t think Mayweather is used to fighting a guy as long as he is. And he’s unorthodox. He’s not going to throw punches like every other boxer Floyd has faced. Those things give him a slight chance but I think that’s all he’s got. Mayweather has been basically untouchable for 15 years.”
MATT MITRIONE - BELLATOR HEAVYWEIGHT
“I think boxing fans want to watch it because they want to watch an MMA guy get his ass kicked. I wouldn’t put $200 down that Conor would win. I wouldn’t put $2 down.
"I really don’t care about it. It’s great for Conor. He talked himself into that. But I think it will be the second most boring fight in combat sports history. Pacquiao-Mayweather was the first. If (McGregor) wins it will be the biggest upset in sports history.”
FIRAS ZAHABI - TRISTAR HEAD COACH
"An MMA fighter going into boxing, it's the wheelhouse an MMA fighter going into boxing it's the wheelhouse of Mayweather. McGregor's odds of winning are probably slim after the first few rounds, so I pick Mayweather to win."
URIJAH FABER - UFC HALL OF FAMER
“Mayweather is the greatest of all time but he's also a bit older and he's never fought a guy like Conor. There will be different types of movement. Conor has heavy hands and we're all human. I think there's too much to gain."
LAMON BREWSTER - FORMER WBO WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
“It will be like taking the best shooting guard in high school and putting him against a prime Michael Jordan in a one-on-one situation.
"He’s going to knock McGregor out. This fight won’t go past seven rounds. McGregor will find himself in over his head.
"Once he realizes his skills don’t matter, he’s going to resort to heart, like any man should. He’s going to try and stand his ground and he’ll go out fighting. It’s true he has a puncher’s chance, but so did every great boxer Mayweather has fought, from Castillo to Pacquiao.
"You saw how they fared.”
ASHLEY THEOPHANE - MAYWEATHER'S SPARRING PARTNER AND FORMER WBA 147LB TITLE CHALLENGER
“I’ve been watching Floyd Mayweather training camps going back to 2012 when I was British champion. I’ve seen Manny Pacquiao and various world champions train and Floyd is by far the hardest worker I’ve watched.
"You could watch him for three hours working intensely and then he can still find the energy to go for a run an hour later. Floyd has faced and beaten the best of his era: Miguel Cotto, Ricky
Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao to name a few. Conor doesn’t have a chance.
"It’s very possible Floyd stops Conor.”
DAVID RICKELS - FORMER BELLATOR TITLE CHALLENGER
"Conor McGregor is too slow to handle the speed and elusiveness. Mayweather uses the five DS to achieve victory: duck, dodge, dip, dive and decision and win."
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