We’re just hours away from Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) ending his 23-month retirement to face UFC superstar Conor McGregor. The fight will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and will be broadcast on Showtime PPV beginning at 9 PM ET and 6 PM ET.
While Conor McGregor is a great MMA fighter and deserves credit for making his boxing debut against one of the best boxers of all-time, barring a freak injury to Floyd Mayweather Jr. or landing a lucky punch, he has absolutely no chance of winning.
Boxers like Oscar De La Hoya, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquaio — all of whom are either in the Boxing Hall of Fame or will be in the Hall of Fame when eligible — couldn’t beat Mayweather. So to think an MMA fighter who has only been training for a boxing match for a few months can beat an all-time great boxer is laughable.
Sure, Mayweather is 40 years old and is coming off the longest layoff of his career. But he’s still vastly superior to the 29-year-old McGregor when it comes to boxing.
Boxing is completely different than MMA, a fact McGregor will learn on Saturday.
In fact, on Saturday night, Mayweather will score his first knockout victory since he knocked out Victor Ortiz in September of 2011.
If you don’t believe me, just ask him. Mayweather said “One hundred percent, it will not go the distance.”
Mayweather’s best asset is his defensive skills. But in this fight, expect him to be more aggressive after the first few rounds to make a statement that McGregor or any other MMA fighter can’t compete with him in a boxing ring.
He may not be a big puncher but Mayweather throws fast and accurate punches, unlike anything McGregor has seen fighting in the octagon. Punch stats show that Mayweather is by far the most accurate boxer of this era, and McGregor is not used to getting hit with clean punches to the head round after round. Eventually, Mayweather’s punches will have their toll on McGregor and he’ll begin to fade.
By round four or five, Mayweather will be in complete control and McGregor will be battered, fatigued and frustrated. From there, it will be up to Mayweather on how much longer the fight will last.
Prediction: Mayweather wins by TKO in the 7th round
