By Keith Idec
LAS VEGAS – The more Conor McGregor has studied Floyd Mayweather Jr., the less impressed he is with Mayweather’s renowned defense.
McGregor claims he has figured out how to penetrate Mayweather’s typically tight defense and that he will exploit those holes in Mayweather’s game Saturday night. He didn’t divulge details to reporters Tuesday because the UFC superstar says he didn’t want to tip off his heavily favored opponent.
Most boxing fans and media expect McGregor to spend plenty of time swinging and missing when he faces Mayweather in his boxing debut at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The powerful southpaw promises, however, that his unorthodox boxing style will make Mayweather vulnerable to an upset in their 12-round, 154-pound fight.
Mayweather is 40 and hasn’t fought in nearly two years. Those are among McGregor’s few advantages against the best boxer of this era, but McGregor continued talking Tuesday as if he is the favored fighter in their Showtime Pay-Per-View main event ($99.95 in HD).
“I know exactly how I’m gonna crack that code,” McGregor said after he and Mayweather made their ceremonial grand arrivals outside T-Mobile Arena. “I will show it, and then I will say it. Because people always ask me this question. I’m like, ‘You know what? I don’t give a f*** about his defense, the same way I don’t care about his record, his accomplishments, any of that. A fight’s a fight. And on fight night, it’s me and him in there.
“So I don’t care about his defensive capabilities, like everyone’s asked me. But then people continually ask me. And then I started watching some boxers attack him and how they approach him and what happens in the contest, in the early rounds to the later rounds, and I believe I know exactly how I’m gonna break him down. I will show that and then we will talk about it at the press conference.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
