Floyd Mayweather has still got it…
Scheduled to collide on August 26 this year, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have done the unthinkable. Crossing over to a completely different sport, McGregor will debut against arguably the greatest pure boxer of our time.
Many have lamented about the fight, whereas others are just excited to see a big spectacle. Aside from Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko, boxing has pretty much been silent this year. The highly hyped Canelo vs. GGG bout could claw it back, though.
The same could be said about the UFC, who have made more headlines recently over poor treatment of fighters than actual events.
Should They Even Be Fighting?
Surely the Nevada Athletic Commission would never actually sanction a squash match? That’s a question a lot of fans have been asking, and unfortunately the NSAC will do a lot of things for the right money.
The fight will bring insane amounts of cash in to Sin City and Nevada, making it well worth the commission’s while to allow such a bout. Here’s the first of two clips of Mayweather training for McGregor, 70 days out:
Will Mayweather Be The Same?
Now 40 years of age, Mayweather has no doubt lost a half step since his prime. That said, he has the experience of actually being in the boxing ring for 20 years, and he’s hardly ‘old’ in the ring.
According to boxing coach Angelo Reyes, Mayweather will score a rare knockout over McGregor:
“Mayweather will knock him out in three (rounds) or less,” Reyes told MMAJunkie Radio. “Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, well, Floyd is just going to dance around.’ Not in this fight. And he doesn’t dance around. I don’t think he dances around anyway. You have to truly understand the craft of boxing to really understand what he does.”
Continue below for Dana White’s thoughts and more training footage…
Dana Riding The McGregor Train
“Listen, if McGregor knocks him out he’ll be the biggest star in sports ever,” White said. “If Mayweather turns this thing into a track meet and runs away from him, whatever happens, I don’t know.
“I don’t know what the outcome or the answer is when this thing’s over, but what the hell, we’re going to give it a shot and see what happens.”
“I know Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor has done things that people think he couldn’t do since he go into the UFC. This kid is amazing. Some of the things that he’s pulled off. He wants this fight. I stopped doubting the kid a long time ago,” said White. “I’m going to give [the fight] to [McGregor].”
“It wasn’t even a hesitation. I absolutely did not want to do it. I was like, ‘this is ridiculous’,” said White, about how he didn’t want to make the Mayweather-McGregor fight in the beginning. “Conor wanted this fight really bad.
“Let me tell you what, Conor McGregor came out and said, and for the people who are boxing fans that might not know this but there’s a guy named Jose Aldo who is the only 145 lb. champion ever in the history of the UFC. [McGregor] went out and said I will knock this guy out in the first round.
“I said, ‘Conor man, you might be overselling this thing’. Conor McGregor knocked [Aldo] out in 13 seconds. Knocked him unconscious in 13 seconds, a legend in the sport. He wants to fight Floyd Mayweather. He believes that he will beat him, and I stopped doubting Conor McGregor a long time ago.”
