Boxing is only a popularity contest when the fight is thrown. Unless Floyd Mayweather throws the fight, Conor McGregor has a near 0% chance at beating him in a boxing match. No one is denying McGregor's skill in MMA. He is an amazing MMA fighter in his weight class. However, he is not even in the same class of Floyd Mayweather as a boxer. The arguments being made for McGregor's chance include:
- Bigger
- Younger
- 'More Powerful'
- He Is A Southpaw
- Fights with an unorthodox style because he is an mma fighter
The problem is that reasons 1 and 2 don't matter due to the fact that:
- Floyd Mayweather is light years ahead as a boxer than McGregor is. The spread between their skill levels is similar to the spread between the ages of The Bible and a toddler.
- Reason 3 is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY FALSE. Boxers are SO SO SO SO SO SO much harder punchers than MMA fighters. A boxer in Mayweather's weight class hits wayyyy harder than someone even in McGregor's weight class. Additionally, Mayweather has not been knocked out by far better fighters (some of the best of all time), including fighters who are specifically respected as power hitters with stopping power. MMA fighers use smaller gloves, increasing the chance of knockout; it wouldn't surprise me if Mayweather can take many shots from Conor (not that he likely will get many hits due to the fact Mayweather is probably the GREATEST DEFENSIVE FIGHTER OF ALL TIME).
- Pacquiao is a southpaw (and one of the best boxers of all time) and it didn't stop Mayweather. Mayweather has fought other southpaws and has never lost.
- The difference will be marginal, as a lack of adherence to a effective boxing stance/defensive style will leave him open for killing blows, and Mayweather has proven that he can block/dodge ANYTHING.
I never liked Floyd Mayweather. I wanted Manny Pacquiao to demolish him and prayed that it would happen. The problem is, it didn't. The fact that it didn't just speaks to the fact that Mayweather is a great fighter, whether or not you have a problem with him or don't like him.
THE PUNCHER'S CHANCE:
The reason I give Conor McGregor a 'near 0%' rather than a 0% chance is only because of the puncher's chance. Any fighter who gets in the ring with another fighter has a chance to knock the person out as long as they can throw a reasonably hard punch. People make mistakes and people get lucky; McGregor could get a lucky shot or Mayweather could have a fuck up of epic proportions. This means that McGregor could win. I'm just trying tou point out the obvious, which is that he is not LIKELY going to win.
RIGGED FIGHTS:
I think that Mayweather is a proud guy and I don't see him throwing the fight, as it would tarnish the reputation of boxing and tarnish his reputation for the rest of time. That being said, if he likes money more than he is proud, he could throw the fight. He will no doubt make at least 100 million dollars on this fight (he made around 400 million from what I understand with Pacquiao). If he chose to throw the fight, that is almost a GUARANTEE of a rematch (unless McGregor has no integrity), which means an additional $100 million+ payday for Mayweather. This is another small chance for McGregor to win.
If you disagree, please feel free to enter your thoughts in the comment section, as it is possible that every boxing expert is missing something, but I haven't heard a great argument in favor of a McGregor win over Mayweather yet.