Anyone who likes sports in general would had to have been living under a rock if they didn’t hear about the year-plus of build-up that has finally culminated in an official set date for the next fight of the century, pitting MMA superstar Conor McGregor against Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
Let’s be real here though, the buildup was everything, will continue to be everything as we’ve still got nearly three full months until the match itself, and said match itself will be the most disappointing part of this entire saga. Basically, this is kind of like a slightly watered down version of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao all over again, except McGregor is a way more entertaining shit-talker and as colorful and flamboyantly outspoken personality as Mayweather himself.
But the result is going to be the same, and that, I would actually wager money on: Mayweather will win via decision after 12 rounds.
As much trash Mayweather spouts, it’s kind of laughable that his boxing style revolves almost entirely around defense, dancing around for 36 minutes and occasionally landing a jab only after he’s 100% certain it will hit after endless time spent observing and circling, instead of actually boxing. He spends 36 months talking shit, and when it comes time to throw down, he always turtles up and waits for his opponents to make the first moves before methodically playing the counter attack game all the time.
I mean really, the guy is 49-0 where 23 of them came via decision.
“I’m gonna defend myself against you to death!”
Regardless, I predict McGregor-Mayweather will just be another typical Mayweather fight, where McGregor throws a ton of punches, lands a mediocre percentage of them, Mayweather throws very few punches but lands an above-average percentage of them, and in the end Money wins after 12 rounds by decision.
Or, based on the fact that McGregor is currently a -1,100 underdog to win, Mayweather takes a dive and then the two secretly split gambling winnings. That’s the nihilistic prediction, but honestly I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility, either. Both guys really love money, and with such divisive odds, it’s one of the more legitimate means of making the maximum amount of money possible.
Either way, I don’t anticipate the expected actual fight to be anything memorable, but I’d be pleased if it did. Everyone loves to see a champion eventually fall, and Mayweather is no exception, but if I had to take a guess, I don’t think McGregor is the guy that will succeed.
