Will Connor McGregor be the "1"
Along his journey to a professional record of 49-0, Floyd Mayweather has left behind him a blood trail, littered with the names of some of the greatest fighters in modern day boxing. Dispatching even some of the sport's most formidable stars. Canelo Alvarez, Shane Mosley, Ricky Hatton, Manny Pacquiao, and Oscar De La Hoya are just a small sample of those who believed they could remove the pound for pound king from his throne. As each one failed, it appeared he would retire with his crown. However, now returning from his retirement, it appears that on August 26th, 2017 we will find out what happens when this immovable object meets an unstoppable force. Enter, Connor Mcgregor.
Amid all his pro wrestling-esque antics and "f*** you" pin stripe suits, Connor Mcgregor brings to the table an interesting skill set that just might make history this Saturday night. A man with zero professional boxing fights, but impressive MMA resume, will enter the ring with the pound for pound king and attempt set his legacy in stone, as one of combats sports most monumental figures. Despite most of the main stream sports media brushing off this match up as a joke, and giving Conor no chance of victory, I'm here to take a closer look. Is there potential paths to success for Conor? Is Floyd the sure bet?
Break Down of Conor's Style/Tactics
Typically, in fighting, all tactics can fall under two categories: leading or countering. Either you are the first to engage, or you are reacting to your opponents engagement. Conor will do both when he has to, but his best performances come against opponents who will lead and allow him to counter. Especially, against opponents who over commit to their leading strikes.
While Conor is capable of leading and has achieved several knock outs doing so, he leaves himself considerably open to counters while he does. He tends to lean heavily on his lead leg, dropping his hands and leaving his chin vulnerable. We saw Nate Diaz capitalize on this in both of their outings.
Typically the Mcgregor game plan is simple, sit back at a distance throwing spin kicks to force the opponent toward his left hand, force them to either move back or finally lead with a combination. When his opponent leads, he skips back and throws the left over the top. Most of the time, that's all she wrote.This unique game plan and skill set could either be the making or the breaking of him in his fight against Mayweather. Lets take a look at the problems he could run in to.
First, Mayweather is an extremely experienced veteran of the sport. He isn't going to get angry at Conor's antics and come out swinging for the fences. He's one of the most disciplined, and calculated masters of the game. He's more then happy picking and poking small shots all the way to the end of a boring 12 round decision win. Mayweather historically has never been one to get agitated, lunge in and over-comit to strikes. This could possibly shut down the McGregor left counter, as he won't have an opening to counter.
Another problem we've seen Mcgregor have is cardio. He is a fighter that hits so hard that after he lands a few shots, most of his opponents have gone down. The problem is when he commits all of his energy to a few shots, and those shots don't end the fight, he doesn't have anything left for the later rounds. We only have to look to the Diaz fight again to see this.
This could be a serious problem against a fighter like Floyd, who you'll never even see get tired enough to need to take a deep breath.
All this aside, we can also talk about how Conor's typical game plan may just be the ticket to success. Assuming he isn't gasping for air by round five, that straight left hand might just find its way to Mayweather's chin. Let's take a closer look at Mayweather to see why.
Breakdown of Floyd's Style/Tactics
Let's throw out the common notion that so many people have been discussing; that Mayweather has had problems against Southpaws in the past. We can take a look at most of his fights against southpaws and see that the problem he runs in to against southpaws typically is the counter right hook coming over his left hand.
Connor has never had much success with his right hook or his jab. So the typical "Mayweather has southpaw problems" argument is void in this situation. However, he does present several opportunities for Conor to capitalize on. One being that he almost always squares up his stance after he throws a lead straight right hand.
A fighters stance is a huge factor in his ability to take a punch. When Mayeather throws his right hand and brings his back leg up from behind him, there's nothing there to keep him upright to absorb the shock of the blow. We've seen Conor take advantage of a similar flaw against another opponent. Watch the back foot of Eddie Alvarez.
One other thing that we could technically consider a "flaw" in Mayweather's game against south paw is he tends to give up the outside angle. Traditionally, in a southpaw vs orthodox match up, the person who gets their lead foot on the outside of the other person's lead foot has the advantage. The reason being, if your the person who's foot is on the inside you are standing directly in front of your opponents power hand. Incidental, Conor Mcgregor happens to be a master at utilizing the outside angle. Which could potentially cause a problem for Mayweather.
All this being said, let's not forget that Conor has in front of him, a challenge that 49 great fighter have faced and failed. This is Floyd Mayweather we're talking about; the greatest defensive boxer of all time. Many fighters have seen these potentially exploitable habits that Mayweather has. Many have tried to capitalize on them, and all of them were unable to do so.
Game Plan for Conor
If Conor has a shot at shocking the world this weekend, its going to be in the early rounds. Mayweather generally takes a couple rounds to establish his timing and distance. Conor is by far at his strongest in the opening 10 minutes. If he can draw out Mayweather right hand in the opening rounds and counter with that vicious left. He may have a shot and stunning the pound for pound king. Even maybe, a knock out?
Game Plan for Floyd
As the fight goes on, Floyd will more than likely begin to pull ahead. His ring savvy and fight IQ is incomparable. If Floyd sits back in the first few rounds and lets Connor punch himself out, all he'll have to do is utilize that fantastic defence until Connor slows down and then go to work. He'll need to stay sharp and adjust for the counter left hand as he did when he fought Robert Guerrero.
Once Conor leads and over comits his left hand like he tends to do, Floyd can find a home for his pull cross or check hook.
Prediction
Overall, this fight breaks down to a few facts. Conor relies mostly on countering rushing opponents. Floyd almost never rushes in. Floyd has no problem sitting back and making it a boring fight until Connor leads, and when Conor leads he's open to a counter. However, Conor has the touch of death in his left hand and Mayweather could possibly present an opening for it to be landed. Taking everything into account I place the odds 3:1 in Mayweather's favor.
Ultimately, nobody knows. Regardless, this will be a night of historic events. A fight that will be in the same pages of the history books as Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla. Forever cementing these too fighters' legendary status, among the greats like Ali and Foremen. Forget all the showboating and trash talk. On Saturday its time to fight.
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Amid all his pro wrestling-esque antics and "f*** you" pin stripe suits, Connor Mcgregor brings to the table an interesting skill set that just might make history this Saturday night. A man with zero professional boxing fights, but impressive MMA resume, will enter the ring with the pound for pound king and attempt set his legacy in stone, as one of combats sports most monumental figures. Despite most of the main stream sports media brushing off this match up as a joke, and giving Conor no chance of victory, I'm here to take a closer look. Is there potential paths to success for Conor? Is Floyd the sure bet?
Break Down of Conor's Style/Tactics
Typically, in fighting, all tactics can fall under two categories: leading or countering. Either you are the first to engage, or you are reacting to your opponents engagement. Conor will do both when he has to, but his best performances come against opponents who will lead and allow him to counter. Especially, against opponents who over commit to their leading strikes.
While Conor is capable of leading and has achieved several knock outs doing so, he leaves himself considerably open to counters while he does. He tends to lean heavily on his lead leg, dropping his hands and leaving his chin vulnerable. We saw Nate Diaz capitalize on this in both of their outings.
Typically the Mcgregor game plan is simple, sit back at a distance throwing spin kicks to force the opponent toward his left hand, force them to either move back or finally lead with a combination. When his opponent leads, he skips back and throws the left over the top. Most of the time, that's all she wrote.This unique game plan and skill set could either be the making or the breaking of him in his fight against Mayweather. Lets take a look at the problems he could run in to.
First, Mayweather is an extremely experienced veteran of the sport. He isn't going to get angry at Conor's antics and come out swinging for the fences. He's one of the most disciplined, and calculated masters of the game. He's more then happy picking and poking small shots all the way to the end of a boring 12 round decision win. Mayweather historically has never been one to get agitated, lunge in and over-comit to strikes. This could possibly shut down the McGregor left counter, as he won't have an opening to counter.
Another problem we've seen Mcgregor have is cardio. He is a fighter that hits so hard that after he lands a few shots, most of his opponents have gone down. The problem is when he commits all of his energy to a few shots, and those shots don't end the fight, he doesn't have anything left for the later rounds. We only have to look to the Diaz fight again to see this.
This could be a serious problem against a fighter like Floyd, who you'll never even see get tired enough to need to take a deep breath.
All this aside, we can also talk about how Conor's typical game plan may just be the ticket to success. Assuming he isn't gasping for air by round five, that straight left hand might just find its way to Mayweather's chin. Let's take a closer look at Mayweather to see why.
Breakdown of Floyd's Style/Tactics
Let's throw out the common notion that so many people have been discussing; that Mayweather has had problems against Southpaws in the past. We can take a look at most of his fights against southpaws and see that the problem he runs in to against southpaws typically is the counter right hook coming over his left hand.
Connor has never had much success with his right hook or his jab. So the typical "Mayweather has southpaw problems" argument is void in this situation. However, he does present several opportunities for Conor to capitalize on. One being that he almost always squares up his stance after he throws a lead straight right hand.
A fighters stance is a huge factor in his ability to take a punch. When Mayeather throws his right hand and brings his back leg up from behind him, there's nothing there to keep him upright to absorb the shock of the blow. We've seen Conor take advantage of a similar flaw against another opponent. Watch the back foot of Eddie Alvarez.
One other thing that we could technically consider a "flaw" in Mayweather's game against south paw is he tends to give up the outside angle. Traditionally, in a southpaw vs orthodox match up, the person who gets their lead foot on the outside of the other person's lead foot has the advantage. The reason being, if your the person who's foot is on the inside you are standing directly in front of your opponents power hand. Incidental, Conor Mcgregor happens to be a master at utilizing the outside angle. Which could potentially cause a problem for Mayweather.
All this being said, let's not forget that Conor has in front of him, a challenge that 49 great fighter have faced and failed. This is Floyd Mayweather we're talking about; the greatest defensive boxer of all time. Many fighters have seen these potentially exploitable habits that Mayweather has. Many have tried to capitalize on them, and all of them were unable to do so.
Game Plan for Conor
If Conor has a shot at shocking the world this weekend, its going to be in the early rounds. Mayweather generally takes a couple rounds to establish his timing and distance. Conor is by far at his strongest in the opening 10 minutes. If he can draw out Mayweather right hand in the opening rounds and counter with that vicious left. He may have a shot and stunning the pound for pound king. Even maybe, a knock out?
Game Plan for Floyd
As the fight goes on, Floyd will more than likely begin to pull ahead. His ring savvy and fight IQ is incomparable. If Floyd sits back in the first few rounds and lets Connor punch himself out, all he'll have to do is utilize that fantastic defence until Connor slows down and then go to work. He'll need to stay sharp and adjust for the counter left hand as he did when he fought Robert Guerrero.
Once Conor leads and over comits his left hand like he tends to do, Floyd can find a home for his pull cross or check hook.
Prediction
Overall, this fight breaks down to a few facts. Conor relies mostly on countering rushing opponents. Floyd almost never rushes in. Floyd has no problem sitting back and making it a boring fight until Connor leads, and when Conor leads he's open to a counter. However, Conor has the touch of death in his left hand and Mayweather could possibly present an opening for it to be landed. Taking everything into account I place the odds 3:1 in Mayweather's favor.
Ultimately, nobody knows. Regardless, this will be a night of historic events. A fight that will be in the same pages of the history books as Rumble in the Jungle and Thrilla in Manilla. Forever cementing these too fighters' legendary status, among the greats like Ali and Foremen. Forget all the showboating and trash talk. On Saturday its time to fight.
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