Mayweather v Mc Gregor

[6th sam]

Obviously Mayweather is one of the greats of all time and is a defensive master.  He should win easy.  I'd probably be saying that no matter who he decided to face for his 50th fight.

People need to remember though that McGregor is a professional fighter too.  He also throws punches for a living and has been quite good at it.  This talk of him getting hurt or that he is a complete amatuer is false for me.

Also, I have been surprised by the amount of Irish people who are hoping McGregor to fail. Now i'm not for one minute saying that we should support everyone from ireland blindly but there is certainly real hatred of this man.  Or maybe it's just that they feel is he ruining the sport.

The problem for mcgregor is that he totally goes against the grain in terms of how we expect our sportsmen to behave. We punch above our weight in several sports and the typical likeable Irish sportsperson e.g. ruby walsh, katie Taylor, carl frampton, Robbie Keane will harness universal respect and support. Those that are more vocal such as Rory McIlroy, Roy Keane , James McClean tend to divide opinion however, with most of us appreciating their strong-mindedness , is part of what makes them successful. McGregor is different. He is "off the scale" as an athlete, and as a competitor in the toughest sport of all, his behaviour and ethos though probably part of a promotional act, is what really grinds . We are not used to it. McIlroy , for example, has reached no.1 in arguably the most popular individual sport in the world. Self-confidence is part of the reason why he got there, but as a person , he has done much more besides eg Rory Foundation, promotion of Irish open etc. , and though not afraid to share his opinions , behaves with dignity. Conor on the other hand, is undoubtedly vulgar , foul mouthed , in your face , brash and boastful, with questionable values around his wealth etc. We are not used to this, and many can't see past that. Though Many cringe at his foul mouth and flashiness, some of his one-liners are classics, and there is no doubt that his behaviour has contributed to his success both promotionally and in terms of getting in the heads of his opponents. Mayweather , also, will have his work cut out winning the psychological battle with mcgregor inside and outside the ring. For the first time in his career he won't know what to expect and will undoubtedly be unnerved when he faces up to this "freak of nature" ( and I mean that in a positive sense).
I hope mcgregor wins , retires, and admits that his brashness and vulgarity was all an act and invests much of considerable wealth to the benefit of others. Only then will he gain the respect and admiration his athleticism deserves

I'd agree with that. I would give McGregor the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the persona he has created. If this was his actual self I wouldn't have much time for him, however I do believe it's all an act that he is happy to live up to. I think we will see him fight no more than 2 or 3 more times before he retire's early. I enjoy the charade that goes with the build up to his fight's precisely because I don't believe that any of it is actually genuine. If I did I would have to move over to the bulging anti-McGregor camp.

I say good luck to him, he has carved out a career based on dedication and no small amount of ability but has made his fortune largely on the back of his out of octagon persona. He is a good sportsman not a great sportsman. He is though a great showman.   

He's one of the best fighters of all-time in his sport, and his sport is global. By Irish standards (who celebrate the likes of Sonia O'Sulivan and mediocre soccer teams) he is way above being a great sportsperson.

Nobody can seriously question Conor's credentials .?Regarding Sonia, we have won 3 Olympic athletics medals in over 80 years, Sonia won one of them and won several other medals & records including World championship Gold , and dominated her sport for a period of time. At her peak , illness probably deprived her of Olympic Gold. Regarding mediocre soccer teams presumably your referring to our reaching the wuarter finals of the World Cup at a time when international soccer was much more competitive and prestigious. I'm no great soccer fan but it is easily the most widely played sport in the world. It isn't even our top sport ( compared to football, hurling ) , yet as a small nation we reached the last 8. Coming from Roscommon I appreciate your sporting standards are high but do you seriously expect a country of our size to be Dominating world sport to the extent that we shouldnt celebrate Sonia's measly achievements 😜

[PAULD123]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

[tiempo]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

A straight left bax to the ja, done.

[PAULD123]

I know you are only joking but this is the exact thing I am talking about. Technically that is not credible. Pacquiao was famed for his straight left and Mayweather avoided it pretty easily.

Some other technical matters:

Style - Mayweather is a superbly skilled at defensive boxing. If your main skill is strong attack then Mayweather is the worst possible person to fight. Mayweather isn't all that exciting to watch, he is more like an amatuer boxer in his approach. Avoiding blows and picking off lots of point scoring jabs. Basically the only person likely to beat Mayweather is silky moving point scorer that doesn't get drawn in. Hatton tried to out-power him and Pacquiao tries to out blast him with ferocity of throws. Pac threw 429 punches but landed only 81 (19%). Against Marquez Pac landed 37%. McGregor's punch is not going to be much good if he can't land it.

Endurance - Since winning his first title he has gone the distance in 60% of fights which is quite a lot. Klitschko (20%), Steve Collins (33%), Pacquiao (52%), Morales (45%), Barrera  (48%), Del la Hoya (37%), Cotto (24%).


Left attack - Mayweather fights almost side on and orthodox, with chin tucked under shoulder. To get to him, McGregor would have to come a hell of along way with a left.  McGregor is a Southpaw, so to throw a straight left he needs to open up his whole right hand side. Mayweather is superb at right hand jab-straight combinations.

Stance - MMA generally stand square on an present a large surface area to hit because they are pretty much obsessed with head shots because body shots require close distance and close distance in MMA means grappling. No grappling in boxing so body shots are very attractive.

Hands - Mayweather like any great champion is two-handed. McGregor basically employs his left exclusively. His right rarely lands with any power as he mostly uses it as a distraction for the left.

Ropes - Boxing has ropes. If you force an opponent against them he can use the spring to his advantage, and Mayweather is an expert at that. In MMA it is a solid cage. Forcing am opponent against it hems the opponent in and gives him no room to maneuver, no shoulder roll, no spring. MMA fighters use the cage to pin opponents, McGregor can't do that in the boxing ring.

So, ok "A straight left bax to the ja, done." was a joke, but it is worth saying once again that no technical reason has been given to justify McGregor has a chance. All evidence would indicate that technically Mayweather would lap up a south-paw fighter who thought a quick straight left would have any hope against him.

[Syferus]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

[shark]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

No, she was bloody great. She was world class for almost 10 years. World champion in an extremely competitive and global sport.

[imtommygunn]

She also got done out of medals by some very doped up chinese.

[Syferus]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

No, she was bloody great. She was world class for almost 10 years. World champion in an extremely competitive and global sport.

How many outside Ireland even know who Sonia O'Sullivan is, let alone what sport she competed in? It's not even a comparison worth entertaining.

[shark]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

No, she was bloody great. She was world class for almost 10 years. World champion in an extremely competitive and global sport.

How many outside Ireland even know who Sonia O'Sullivan is, let alone what sport she competed in? It's not even a comparison worth entertaining.

I wasn't comparing. I never disagreed with you over your comments on McGregor. He is clearly great at what he does. Sonia is one of the all time greats in her sport. Her peak was 20 years ago. Back then she was extremely well known, certainly by standards at the time (pre Internet, for most). I guarantee you that every young athlete back then knew who she was whether they were in Europe, USA or East Africa. 

[Syferus]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

No, she was bloody great. She was world class for almost 10 years. World champion in an extremely competitive and global sport.

How many outside Ireland even know who Sonia O'Sullivan is, let alone what sport she competed in? It's not even a comparison worth entertaining.

I wasn't comparing. I never disagreed with you over your comments on McGregor. He is clearly great at what he does. Sonia is one of the all time greats in her sport. Her peak was 20 years ago. Back then she was extremely well known, certainly by standards at the time (pre Internet, for most). I guarantee you that every young athlete back then knew who she was whether they were in Europe, USA or East Africa.

I'm sure tennis players know the top 20 off by heart too, but that doesn't mean they have much cross-over with the public, does it?

Middle-distance running is a very niche sport and one that people only really pay attention to for a couple days every four years - and then usually only if your country has a contender running - MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world that is a massive part of the weekly and daily sports news churn.

What Sonia did was good but even in her own sport she tended to be one of the also-rans. McGregor is the first man to ever hold two UFC titles at once and is the biggest draw in the history of the sport. We should celebrate McGregor while we have him, but mostly we seem to have begrudgers. We seem more comfortable with glorious losers like the soccer team and Sonia.

[shark]

Sonja was a great of her sport and you are right to not allow her denigration.

But I just think McGregor has bitten off more than he can chew. In every cross code challenge match I can remember the crosser got pretty much wrecked - rugby to GAA, rugby union to league, snooker to pool.

As for not being able to question his credentials. Off course we can. He has almost none. McGregor has been shown to be a decent Irish Amatuer level at boxing. Even olympic boxers struggle to adjust to the pro style and that's virtually the same sport. Just because McGregor's sport involves striking doesn't make it the same type of thing as boxing. So virtually no boxing credentials. Never beaten won any senior boxing match in his life. Credentials for this - None

He's not even undefeated at UFC. Battered by Diaz and then only edged the man by a single point split decision in the rematch. Credentials here - Questionable!

At UFC has only had three title fights. Credentials here good but very little record of consistency in defending title in a sport that seems to be hard to hang on to a title

Opponents - he has never beaten an opponent that was undefeated in a main card fight and never beaten anyone in those fights that was undefeated within two years otherwise of McGregor's fight. Credentials here - questionable.

So yeah plenty of questions over his credentials the most important being that he had ABSOLUTELY NO PROFESSIONAL BOXING CREDENTIALS AT ALL

Anyway. I have not heard one person speaking in his support that has offered a technical reason why they think he has a chance.

Sonia was good at her sport. McGregor is, however, great at his. The inverse of what I was originally responding to.

No, she was bloody great. She was world class for almost 10 years. World champion in an extremely competitive and global sport.

How many outside Ireland even know who Sonia O'Sullivan is, let alone what sport she competed in? It's not even a comparison worth entertaining.

I wasn't comparing. I never disagreed with you over your comments on McGregor. He is clearly great at what he does. Sonia is one of the all time greats in her sport. Her peak was 20 years ago. Back then she was extremely well known, certainly by standards at the time (pre Internet, for most). I guarantee you that every young athlete back then knew who she was whether they were in Europe, USA or East Africa.

I'm sure tennis players know the top 20 off by heart too, but that doesn't mean they have much cross-over with the public, does it?

Middle-distance running is a very niche sport and one that people only really pay attention to for a couple days every four years - and then usually only if your country has a contender running - MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the world that is a massive part of the weekly and daily sports news churn.

What Sonia did was good but even in her own sport she tended to be one of the also-rans. McGregor is the first man to ever hold two UFC titles at once and is the biggest draw in the history of the sport. We should celebrate McGregor while we have him, but mostly we seem to have begrudgers. We seem more comfortable with glorious losers like the soccer team and Sonia.

Don't disagree with you regarding celebrating McGregor, but you're talking nonsense regarding Sonia. How could Sonia have been an "also ran"? She was a 3 time world champion, a 3 time European champion and an Olympic Silver medalist. And that's when you don't factor in the number of proven cheats that beat her to titles.
MMA is indeed growing rapidly and will do doubt continue to, but to say middle distance running is a niche sport is nothing short of ignorant.
To make an argument for one athlete, you don't need to run down the achievements of another. Especially when you haven't a notion what you are talking about in respect of the other athlete. And you may not remember, but Sonia had plenty of begrudgers back in the day. It's a national pastime after all.

[PAULD123]

Firstly, Sonia proved herself over a decade of performance and at several distances. She didn't just win a couple of races.

Secondly, just because MMA is a well known popular sport doesn't mean that someone who does a less popular sport isn't a sportiing great. That's just ignorant. So does teh popularity of the sport determine how much value the athlete has? Crap talk. Buster Douglas won a Heavyweight world title does that make him a far more worthy sportsman than 5 time gold medailst Chris Hoy becuase less people watch track cycling??

Thirdly, McGregor is not a great. Christ, he has only had three title fights. He has lost 3 out of 24 fights. He's unusual yes in that he transferred divisions but that is hardly a jaw dropping feat. Very common in combat sports. In fact every combat sport has some multi-weight champions. It's not like he is Pacquaio who won across seven weights. Come to think of it Mayweather has won across five.

Whhat is great about a huge self promotion drive and three title wins. Good - yes, Very good - probably, Best around now - Well lets see a lot more fights first. Great - Laughable, three championship wins and only one defense. Stop kidding people. Many, many more wins needed to earn that accolade.

[square_ball]

Is Kavanagh going to McGregors main coach for this one?

[ONeill]

Can't help but think this is already sorted in advance. A heroic show by McGregor prompting a rematch and another 100m each.

[Wildweasel74]

Diaz was about only the 5/6th rated fighter in his division, why doesn't McGregor figth the 1-2 seed at that weight to see if he can cut it, some ufc fight fans say some of those lads would destroy him