Mayweather will crush McGregor

There are some things in life that I’ll probably never understand.

I’ll never understand why kids wait in line for an hour to get a small little fidget spinner toy that spins around in a circle over and over, but does nothing else – especially in our world where we have iPads, laptop computers and cell phones that can do anything.

I’ll also never understand why anything is done before 10 a.m. I’m not a morning person and never will be. I can be productive until 1 a.m. with ease. But if you ask me to be awake at 7 a.m. for an 8 a.m. meeting, I’m a zombie for the rest of the week – if not the rest of the month.

This past week, we added another thing to the list, and it’s topical to the sports world right now, so it’s what I want to rant about for the next 600 or so words of my allotted space.

I’ll never understand why fight fans are enamored by this prized bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

The fight is going to cost a fortune to watch and at the end of the day, we’re going to be left wanting more bang for our buck because what unfolds in the ring is not going to be competitive.

Mayweather is going to crush McGregor in that ring, folks.

There’s really not much to see here.

It’s insulting to the legacy of Floyd Mayweather Jr. to assume that this is actually going to be a decently entertaining fight.

Mayweather is one of the best boxers of all-time. He’s 49-0 with 26 knockouts. Since 2010, he’s beaten Hall of Fame-level talents like Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez and even Manny Pacquiao – most of the wins in decisive fashion.

He gets heat from uninfomed fans because his fights are “boring”, but last I checked, the goal of boxing was to not get hit, right?

No one in history is better at not getting hit than Mayweather. This idea that he should willingly take punishment and risk his livelihood to please the audience (who have proven over and over that they’ll buy his fights regardless of the action in them) is absurd and is one of the most overrated, tired and overused arguments in sports.

McGregor has quick hands and has good power, too, but boxing is boxing and MMA is MMA. In the cage, it’s more difficult to defend McGregor’s hands because of the threat that he can kick, elbow or wrestle an opponent to the ground.

Guess what?

In this bout with Mayweather, he won’t be able to do any of those things. When clinched, McGregor will not be able to push and shove to gain leverage. He will not be able to grab Mayweather’s head and try and knee him.

All he will be able to do is stand upright and attempt to hit Floyd in the face or body with his heavily gloved fists.

McGregor will not be able to do either. If Canelo and Paquiao couldn’t, neither will McGregor.

In fact, it’s likely that in the process of trying, McGregor is actually going to be the one getting hit by rapid-fire counter shots coming from Floyd.

To me, this fight reminds me of a hockey player challenging a soccer player to a soccer match because the hockey player is the NHL’s leading goal scorer, so he believes he can score goals in soccer, too.

But McGregor will find out right away that that’s not how this works.

Yes, he’s allowed to punch in his sport and yes, he has a pretty nice power punch.

But landing it with a smaller glove and also while on the ground in a clinched position is a completely different animal than trying to hit a moving target that’s faster, more experienced and in better condition than you to fight a 12-round bout.

McGregor is taking this bout as a businessman. He is going to make an absurd amount of money in this fight – an amount that he would never possibly be able to get in the UFC, which is known for woefully underpaying its fighters in relation to the amount of revenue the company brings in.

But without a warmup bout or any prior experience in the boxing ring, he faces one heck of an uphill challenge – maybe even the greatest uphill challenge which we’ve ever seen in sports.

I don’t mean to be overly negative, and I should preface that I actually am very grateful that the fight is going to happen, because it’s going to speed the time gap between now and football season.

The press conferences will be golden. Both of these guys can talk the talk, and they also understand good theater and how to sell a fight.

But when push comes to shove and it’s bell-time, I don’t think this is going to be competitive – not in the least.

Mayweather is going to either knock McGregor out fairly early and/or humiliate him in a 12-round decision filled with some awfully lopsided rounds.

Is it possible that McGregor lands a shot that knocks Floyd out? I’d say it’s a 1 out of 100 chance. And even that is probably generous, because it’s probably closer to 1 out of 500.

But I’m going to have a hard time paying $100 for a 1 out of 100 chance.

Luckily, I have a lot of friends who are big-time fight fans.

It won’t be too hard for me to find a watch party. •

Floyd Mayweather

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