Two years in the making, but finally the hype has become a reality. Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. will face Conor “The Notorious” McGregor in a 12-round boxing match. This is one of the most talked about boxing matches of the recent era, and considering that only one of the fighters is a true boxer it sure has gotten its share of mileage in the sports world and on social media.
Let’s take a look at the participants in this match that is building in its hype to be one for the ages. First we have a 40-year-old Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. who is the best pound for pound fighter of his generation. He holds a perfect unbeaten professional record of 49 wins and no losses. He has 26 knock outs to his credit. Floyd has been a world champion in 5 divisions. He has been rated as a Super featherweight, Lightweight, Light welterweight, Welterweight and Light middleweight. Standing five foot eight inches tall and weighing in at 151 pounds and a 72 inch reach.
Floyd has excelled at every level as a boxer. He holds an 84-8 amateur record, three-time National Golden Gloves champion in 1993, 1994 and 1996. He also won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. That fight was protested by the American team unsuccessfully. He is the best defensive fighter in the game, he takes very little punishment during his fights. He has been in the ring with the best fighters in the world over the last twenty years, and in those twenty years no one has been able to solve the puzzle that is Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Conor “The Notorious” McGregor UFC Lightweight Champion and very good mixed martial artist. He has made a name for himself in the world of MMA. He is mostly a stand up fighter with 18 knock outs to his credit in 24 fights and only 3 losses. Now let’s look at his boxing resume… Wait there is no boxing resume. In this bout Conor finds himself in uncharted waters. There is no doubt that Conor is a gifted fighter within the MMA realm, but him being strictly a boxer is not where he will be great.
When it comes to boxing Conor does not have any professional boxing matches to his credit. He has not been in a boxing ring with the best in the world. He has such a mountain to climb that the odds are virtually impossible. With that being said, he always has a punchers chance to win, but he would still have to figure out the defense of Mayweather and catch him perfectly to knock him out. That is very unlikely to happen. Mayweather has frustrated the best fighters in the world and Conor being a virtual boxing novice the frustration will be evident.
The closest thing to a boxing match that McGregor has to judge his boxing skill is his second fight with Nate Diaz. They went at it for five rounds grueling rounds and Conor hit Diaz with everything that he had and could not put him down to stay. The fight went to the score cards and McGregor was declared the winner. When he gets into the ring with Mayweather, there will be no leg kicks to slow him down, there will be no elbows, there will be no take downs to work for a submission.
Here are my final thoughts on this epic bout. Yes, Floyd Mayweather is 40 years of age, but he is a young 40. He has not been beaten up like many fighters of the same age. His superior defense and overall boxing prowess will prevail. Conor McGregor is a great fighter in his own right, but in this particular instance he is out matched. In order for him to win this match Conor would have to fight reminiscent of a Floyd Mayweather shutout. A quote from A Knight’s Tale one of my favorite movies comes to mind: “Conor McGregor you have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have absolutely… been found wanting.”
Stone Samuels
Sporting Thoughts of Stone Samuels 