I’m not counting McGregor out and neither should you
Read Time:3 Minute, 38 Second
I get it, you want to side with the critics. There are few who dare to go against the popular vote. All I hear is, “Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the greatest boxer of our time, do you really think Conor McGregor has a chance?” My answer to everyone is, “just watch and see.” But I’m going to elaborate more, “absolutely I think McGregor has a chance. And a good one too.”
What really angers me about this entire situation, is that people are associating MMA as the inferior sport. Now, MMA fighters train in multiple disciplines, if they didn’t, that would be foolish. However, stand up is a part of everyone’s game. As for McGregor, he began kickboxing and boxing at the age of 12, before eventually making the transition to MMA. He may have been young, but he’s been a fighter all his life. There are many aspects to his arsenal that could prove lethal against Mayweather.
McGregor is a Southpaw
But, he switches stances. In the boxing ring, Southpaw’s are always the hardest to fight, if you’re an orthodox fighter. Floyd has experience fighting some of the best Southpaws in the game: Manny Pacquiao, Robert Guerrero, and Victor Ortiz, so McGregor will be no different for him. However, Conor does have an advantage if Floyd doesn’t close the distance, his reach.
Mayweather has never fought someone with McGregor’s reach
I went and researched Mayweather’s last ten opponents in the ring. Not one of them had the reach advantage over him. This time, it’s different, McGregor’s 74in (187 cm) reach will most definitely play a factor in this fight since Mayweather has a 72in (183 cm) reach.
Take a look at the undefeated boxer’s last 10 opponents:
Andre Berto – 2015 – unanimous decision – 68in (174 cm) reach Manny Pacquiao – 2015 – unanimous decision – 67in (170 cm) reach
Marcus Maidana (II) – 2014 – unanimous decision – 69in (175 cm) reach
Marcus Maidana – 2014 – majority decision – 69in (175 cm) reach
Canelo Alvarez – 2013 – majority decision – 70 1/2in (179cm) reach
Roberto Guerrero – 2013 – unanimous decision – 70in (178cm) reach
Miguel Cotto – 2012 – unanimous decision – 67in (170cm) reach
Victor Cruz – 2011 – knockout – 70in (178cm) reach
Shane Mosely – 2010 – unanimous decision – 70in (178cm) reach
Juan Manuel Marquez – 2009 – unanimous decision – 67in (170cm) reach
The closest opponent in reach in the last ten fights has been Alvarez, who Mayweather beat by majority decision. As stated before, Floyd has always had the reach advantage over his opponents, so if that statistic alone doesn’t intrigue you then you’re just being close-minded.
Age isn’t just a number in combat sports
Whether people want to take this into account or not, they should. Mayweather hasn’t fought since 2015, he’s 40 years old, and he’s only going to get older. He’s a tremendous athlete and he probably is still in great shape, but he’s going up against a fighter who is in his prime. McGregor is 28 and has shown no signs of wanting to retire. He just keeps getting better and better.
For once, McGregor gets to solely focus on Boxing
I get it, Mayweather has trained boxing his whole life. McGregor has amazing standup, but people want to question whether it’s good enough against an undefeated champion boxer. Do you understand that for the first time ever, McGregor doesn’t have to worry about training his ground game or having to avoid takedowns? He gets to train solely on boxing and if there’s one thing we know about the Notorious one, when he wants something, he gets it. I highly doubt that McGregor would go into the ring thinking that he won’t last. This man is going for blood, gold, and history. That’s what he’s best at.
So please, stop thinking just because he’s a mixed martial arts fighter, that he can’t box against the best of them. MMA is not the inferior sport and I’m actually happy this crossover is happening.Though many say it’s bad for the sport, I argue against it.
Win or lose, he’s changing the game. And you, have to respect that.
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Follow our writer Joel Torres (@joelisacoolkid).
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