At 40 years of age, Floyd Mayweather might e in the best shape of his life…
Starting as a hardly believable round of trash talk in 2015, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor’s ‘feud’ has steadily gained steam. Retired from the sport, the boxing great would watch as McGregor went 2-1 in the UFC octagon in 2016.
Mocking his rival for the loss to Nate Diaz, Mayweather made sure he stayed relevant on social media. Was their eventual August 26 fight booking always on the cards? Most likely given the masses of cash it will generate.
In reality though, McGregor is much younger but is not a boxer, so does this even the playing field?
McGregor’s Size is a Factor, But Money Isn’t Small…
A number of images emerged last week showing McGregor in fantastic shape. We’d seen Mayweather six weeks ago looking ripped for a 40-year-old, but nowhere near in fight shape.
Now, just 19 days away, a new video has been released showing a vast improvement in Mayweather’s physique. Check it out:
Does Size Mean Strength, And Will Strength Win a Boxing Match?
Discussion about McGregor being the stronger man leads to some interesting possibilities. Boxing is the sweet science and being buff won’t earn you the diploma. One famous coach believes strength might be the key to McGregor winning, but only if he uses it wisely.
As per Matt McNulty, Tristar coach Firas Zahabi discusses McGregor using his strength against Mayweather:
“McGregor is a sniper. He’s going to snipe the first few rounds, but there’s going to be a point where in my opinion, he won’t be able to keep up with the boxing pace,” Zahabi said.
“The distance is different. McGregor is not used to having somebody so close to him, because there’s no kicks allowed. So when there’s no kicks allowed, we’re a little bit closer to each other and in boxing and in fighting, an inch is a mile. There might be just a few inches of difference but that’s a mile in fighting.”
“When Mayweather gets close, he better tie him up,” he said. “Use his physicality, use his background in wrestling to push him back out and keep the fight at a distance. Not to try to do what Maidana did.”
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“He’s going to have to control the range, but there’s going to be a boxing range and in fighting range where Mayweather is just going to be lightyears ahead, and McGregor has no chance in that range. McGregor has to use tie-ups, his experience in wrestling, his physicality of wrestling, his athleticism that he built from wrestling, to push Mayweather out, use his distance and reach, and beat Mayweather conceivably from the outside.”
“He’s gonna beat him by fatiguing him in the clinch or from the outside, sniping like he always does. McGregor is a distance fighter, mostly.”
