(August 27, 2017 at 5:07 pm)Khemikal Wrote: People are already putting the fight up there in the top third of Mayweather's career...which is surprising, but, I think, justified. Anybody who goes ten rounds with him isn't what I'd call a shit boxer, personally.
OTOH, I doubt that Floyd could make the transition, that he would rank very highly in Connor's MMA career. Who knows, though, maybe if he put his mind to it and his heart in it he;d have surprised people too.
There are two reasons why the fight went ten rounds, 1) Mayweather is 40 and out of the game for two years. There's no way he's going to do anything but the safest of options. If this was young Mayweather in the prime of his career and with something to prove, McGregor would have been down for a ten count early*. 2) The longer the fight lasts, the more people look at it and think "hey maybe an upset might happen", and the more PPVs are sold. It made financial sense for Mayweather to drag it out beyond the point where he had already won, and at this stage in his career the money is everything.
*Frankly Mayweather given the tactics of McGregor could have floored him any time from the fourth round on if he were willing to risk it. McGregor believed in the hype of his big left (frankly, a slow looping and soft left that works in MMA because most fighter there don't understand about protecting their chins) and put his game plan on knocking out Mayweather early. Hence the flurry of punches early on, and when they turned out to be both ineffective and tiring McGregor had nothing in his repetoire only an ability to soak hits. And even in MMA he's not good at that, because he doesn't train hard enough when going for competition and definitely doesn't mind himself outside it. In terms of training he is essentially a version of Ricky Hatton without Hatton's discipline to get in shape coming up to a fight.
Urbs Antiqua Fuit Studiisque Asperrima Belli
Home
Home