By Keith Idec
The lopsided odds and much of the public’s perception of their fight won’t affect Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s preparation for Conor McGregor.
Mayweather didn’t become one of the best boxers in the history of the sport by overlooking opponents and he won’t start with McGregor. The facts that Mayweather is 40 and won’t have fought in nearly two years by the time he meets McGregor on August 26 also will motivate Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) to train as hard as possible for their 12-round, 154-pound fight in Las Vegas (Showtime Pay-Per-View).
“I’m a realist,” Leonard Ellerbe, chief executive officer for Mayweather Promotions, said during a conference call Wednesday night. “Floyd is 40 years old. He’s been off for a minute. He’s gotta get his ass up and be prepared for Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor’s been active and he’s been knocking guys out.
“And we would be a bunch of damn fools to sit around and sleep on this, and listen to all the bullsh*t that everybody else sits around and talks. Floyd’s ass is getting out there and getting up, running, and he’s coming. He knows Conor McGregor is coming after him and Floyd’s looking to get him up out of there, too.”
Mayweather’s chin has been one of his greatest assets during a pro career that began in October 1996.
The former five-division champion officially has been down just once during a 49-fight career. That took place when his left glove touched the canvas after badly hurting his left hand in the sixth round of a May 2001 fight against Carlos Hernandez, who Mayweather went on to beat by unanimous decision in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Nevertheless, Ellerbe is impressed with McGregor’s stand-up skills in mixed martial arts and admits Mayweather must be extremely mindful of the southpaw’s power. The 28-year-old McGregor, who’ll participate in an official boxing match for the first time, has knocked out 18 of his 24 opponents during his MMA career (21-3).
“Conor McGregor, when he steps in there, his stand-up game, I’m very damn impressed with it,” Ellerbe said. “Because it’s like he doesn’t even look like he throws his shots hard. But he’s so slick with it, when he catches guys, even if he grazes them, excuse my French, it’s like, ‘Damn, he f*cked him up.’ And it’s just like, the next thing you know he’s stretched out or wobbling around the ring. And I’ll be like, ‘Man, he better not graze Floyd with one of them shots.’ Again, I’ve seen Floyd buzzed in a fight, from guys that swing wild punches. The sh*t happened in the [first Marcos] Maidana fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.