By Keith Idec
Dana White and many others have pointed to Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s troubles with southpaws as a reason a huge underdog has a chance to upset him August 26.
Mayweather had no such difficulty dealing with the last two left-handed opponents he beat – Manny Pacquiao and Robert Guerrero. And the undefeated five-division champion can’t envision his 12-round, 154-pound fight against Conor McGregor being any more troublesome than either of those two victories over former world champions.
“Well, the last time that I checked I was undefeated,” Mayweather said Thursday night when asked about his southpaw struggles before an open workout at his gym in Las Vegas. “Whether you was orthodox or southpaw, I was undefeated against you. So everybody’s entitled to their own opinion.”
Zab Judah and DeMarcus Corley were two southpaws who provided some tense moments for Mayweather in their fights. The 29-year-old McGregor, while powerful, isn’t nearly as skilled as a boxer as Judah or Corley were when they lost to Mayweather in April 2006 and May 2004, respectively.
“A fighter is a fighter,” Mayweather explained. “It doesn’t matter. McGregor, he’s gonna come out and he’s gonna keep switching, keep switching. I know what he’s gonna do. I already know. Like I said before, I already know what you gonna do. He’s gonna come out southpaw. Then he’s gonna switch the other way. He’s gonna keep switching, but when you keep switching all you’re doing is burning energy. So let me give him some knowledge, so that he can see. As you keep switching, keep switching, you’re burning too much energy.”
Mayweather will end a nearly two-year retirement when he faces Ireland’s McGregor two weeks from Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite that he’s 40 and hasn’t fought since September 2015, Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) is more than a 5-1 favorite over an inexperienced opponent who’ll make his pro boxing debut that night.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.