By Rick Reeno
The headlines continue for a fantasy fight between former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
Mayweather got the ball rolling by throwing McGregor's name around, and even went as far as to tell Showtime, during a televised interview, that he would only consider unretiring if McGregor was the man facing him in the other corner.
McGregor would entertain the fight - if Mayweather forked over a $100 million to make it happen. The very popular MMA superstar is under an exclusive contract with the UFC, who have little to no interest in having their current cash cow get demolished in a boxing ring.
According to former two division champion and Showtime expert analyst Paulie Malignaggi, McGregor has no business stepping in the ring with someone like Mayweather. Malignaggi feels McGregor would struggle, and likely lose, to most ranked fighters in the welterweight division - and he fully expects someone on the level of a Mayweather to completely blow McGregor out. Going a step further, Malignaggi doubts McGregor would be able to overcome his cornerman and close friend, Peter 'Peter Cards' Sferrazza.
"I don't even know what to make of it anymore. I'm a Conor McGregor fan, but Conor McGregor can't even beat me in a boxing ring, let alone Floyd Mayweather. And if I went into the cage, I wouldn't last a minute with Conor either. It's that simple. You can't just walk into a different sport. You have measure your distances correctly. You have get used to the environment around you in the ring," Malignaggi told BoxingScene.com.
"You can't just walk into a different sport and face the best fighter in the sport. I commend the attempt and that Conor is a very well known fighter in Mixed Martial Arts and I think the fight will sell [on pay-per-view], but honestly Conor couldn't beat me....not in a boxing ring. I don't even think he could beat Peter Cards in a boxing ring."
