Lighter gloves spell quick end of Mayweather, says McGregor

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Lighter gloves spell quick end of Mayweather, says McGregor

By Larry Fine

 

 

(Reuters) - Mixed martial arts champion Conor McGregor is happy about the switch to lighter gloves for his Aug. 26 fight against undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather and says his opponent will now struggle to make it past the second round.

 

The Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday, just 10 days before the hotly anticipated Las Vegas fight, approved requests from Mayweather and McGregor to wear eight-ounce gloves rather than 10-ounce ones.

 

"That was a good thing for me. I'm very happy with it," McGregor told reporters on a conference call.

 

Mayweather had nearly all of his 49 professional wins using eight-ounce gloves, which may accentuate one of his advantages - his hand speed.

 

McGregor preferred the lighter gloves since he is used to the fingerless, four-ounce gloves typically worn in MMA.

 

"That's it in a nutshell, you've got pros and cons on both sides," he said. "Favours us both in certain ways.

 

"I believe now that the gloves are eight ounces, I don't believe he makes it out of the second round," McGregor added.

 

"Part of me ... kind of wants to show some skills and dismantle him that way. (But) I do not foresee him absorbing the blows in the first two rounds."

 

While most pundits have McGregor, who has never boxed professionally, as a heavy underdog, the Dubliner said he was determined to prove the doubters wrong.

 

"I'm just looking forward to Aug. 26, going in and proving what I'm saying and educating the world on what martial arts is," he said. "And earning my respect in this game also."

 

The Irishman said his gruelling preparations for the fight would enable him to triumph no matter how the fight develops.

 

"There is no way in hell that I am not ready to fight in the deepest of trenches in this contest," McGregor added.

 

"The training sessions and the practice that we've been putting in has been through hell and back. We are ready for absolutely every scenario.

 

"I'm ready to go to war for the full 12 rounds and I am ready to put him away in the first 10 seconds. That's where my head's at."

 

Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), followed McGregor on the conference call and predicted the fight could even threaten the reported $600 million haul from the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao 2015 showdown.

 

"This is the biggest event ever in combat sports history. This is the most distributed event in pay-per-view history," White said, also citing the additional digital reach.

 

"This thing is in like 200 countries on pay-per-view. Boxing doesn't usually do a lot of digital. If you're in Manhattan or on a desert island somewhere, if you have Wifi you can buy this fight."

 

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-17

[ELVIS123456]

I hate Mayweather, but I cant see him losing this huge payday fight. He will just duck and weave and grab, and pick off McGregor for the points.  He may even 'do an Ali' and when McGregor is completely stuffed from throwing punches,  he might just take him out with a few hard blows. 

 

Perhaps there will then be a return bought with some of the boxing rules waived to give McGregor more of an advantage, but I doubt Mayweather will ever risk his 100% record - unless he loses all his money.

 

Either way, I will wait for the replay/free viewing. No way I will ever pay (again) to watch a Mayweather 'fight'.

 

[lovelomsak]

I have been watching many Conor McGregor fights on youtube. He will lose sorry to say.He is a heads up fighter with little real boxing training.and Mayweather will find him. Mayweather will have him on the mat in the second round and out by 4 th

[foxboy]

Let's not forget that Mayweather is the BEST boxer pound for pound on the planet, and McGregor is at best an alright AMATEUR boxer. This whole build up is just a circus act. It's actually an insult to the sport of boxing in my opinion

[Lucky mike]

And the winner is.........$$$

[Baerboxer]

16 hours ago, lovelomsak said:

I have been watching many Conor McGregor fights on youtube. He will lose sorry to say.He is a heads up fighter with little real boxing training.and Mayweather will find him. Mayweather will have him on the mat in the second round and out by 4 th

 

There both gonna walk away with a large amount of money. Mayweather, for all his critics, is a proven very accomplished professional boxer. He's fought and beat some very accomplished professional boxers.

 

McGregor knows how to market himself and entertain. He has some amateur boxing experience and whilst he's had mostly good results in MMA his career isn't that lengthy and he hasn't always fought world class opponents. Sure, he's in very good condition. But he isn't used to fighting boxing rules and is likely to get tagged a lot, which will take their toll. But of course, he may just land a few shots himself - no one knows his punching power though.

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it lasts longer than expected, and is somewhat choreographed.

[Mahseer]

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

 

There both gonna walk away with a large amount of money. Mayweather, for all his critics, is a proven very accomplished professional boxer. He's fought and beat some very accomplished professional boxers.

 

McGregor knows how to market himself and entertain. He has some amateur boxing experience and whilst he's had mostly good results in MMA his career isn't that lengthy and he hasn't always fought world class opponents. Sure, he's in very good condition. But he isn't used to fighting boxing rules and is likely to get tagged a lot, which will take their toll. But of course, he may just land a few shots himself - no one knows his punching power though.

 

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it lasts longer than expected, and is somewhat choreographed.

Excellent points here.

 

This will be a classic boxer v fighter and we all know who wins these type of bouts. McGregor's best punch is from his left and if Mayweather adopts his usual defensive stance and shows his left shoulder then McGregor will be tempted to throw his best shot and could take Mayweather out.................providing he beats him to the punch but that is highly unlikely to happen even though Mayweather is 40 years of age.

[TVGerry]

I like Mcgregor but it's going to be hard for him to beat Mayweather without using any of his MMA moves.