Mayweather Sr. on McGregor, Malignaggi: Neither One Can Fight!

By Keith Idec

Floyd Mayweather Sr. couldn’t care less what happened when Conor McGregor sparred against Paulie Malignaggi.

“That was a joke, man,” Mayweather told Colin Cowherd on Thursday during his TV show on FS1. “Them two – neither one of them can fight.”

When Cowherd suggested to Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s father/trainer that his assessment was harsh, the elder Mayweather wouldn’t budge on how he feels about McGregor, a UFC superstar who’ll make his pro boxing debut against his son, and Malignaggi, a retired two-division world champion who’ll call the fight for Showtime Pay-Per-View.

“I’m being real to you, man,” Mayweather said. “If you got me here, man, I’m being real with you, man. They cannot fight, either one of them. It’s harsh, but the truth.”

Mayweather also told Cowherd that his son’s training camp hasn’t been as intense as previous training camps, an admission Mayweather Jr. has made because he says he cannot train the same way at 40 years old as he did when he was younger.

“His training is good,” Mayweather Sr. said.

Cowherd asked if that meant his training camp wasn’t great, and Mayweather Sr., replied, “I’m saying it’s good enough. I can say many times before it was better, but I’m saying here now he’s training good enough for a guy like this.”

According to Mayweather Sr., the fact that his son requested to wear eight-ounce gloves when 10-ounce gloves are the standard for 154-pound fights should tell you all you need to know about how competitive their scheduled 12-round fight will be August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“If Floyd allowed him to do it, Floyd knows what he’s doing,” Mayweather said. “He’s fought in 8-ounce gloves many and many of times. He fought in eight ounces more than he ever fought in 10 ounces. You’re gonna find out. I’m gonna tell you – don’t just listen to me, look at TV.”

Cowherd suggested that McGregor’s only chance at pulling off an upset is to “go after” Mayweather.

“When he goes at Floyd,” Mayweather Sr. said, “that’s when he’s gonna get all the daylights whipped out of him.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.