(Photo of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., at weigh-in for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao from Pixabay)
My initial reaction to the announcement of the fight was that Floyd Mayweather, Jr., will hit Conor McGregor 50 times before McGregor even lands a punch. Mayweather will tattoo the words "Tomato Can" on McGregor's face and midsection in the first round. It makes a nice addition to the gorilla and tiger.
Then I get a little nervous and think about McGregor's puncher's chance. He has one.
The thing is, if McGregor is to get the much-hyped, one-punch knockout, it will have to come early before he is thoroughly exposed by Mayweather. And McGregor knows this. He is sorely short in the skills of the sweet science necessary to take a decision victory from one of the all-time masters of the pugilistic arts, Mayweather.
There is no way McGregor can ever win a decision in this fight. In fact, McGregor will not win a single round. McGregor knows all this, so, instead of chasing Mayweather around all night, losing every round, getting embarrassed, exposed, and looking silly, he may try to end it early with the big one-punch knockout, the monster KO, the atomic bolo-punch of his fans' dreams. It will be executed virtually in desperation. And dreams turn into nightmares.
After McGregor wins the ring walk, round one will be a feeling-out affair. McGregor will begin to press early, as he is exposed, most likely beginning in round two or three. He may come forward, even lunge forward, throwing wild, looping, roundhouses that connect with nothing but air. This will open-up a counter-punching attack for Mayweather and may just give Mayweather the opportunity for a counter-punch knockout. That is the way the fight could end in the early-to-mid rounds.
However, McGregor is plenty tough and shows a resilient chin. If the fight makes it into the later rounds, I could see a technical knockout stoppage for cuts to the face of McGregor as he takes just too many punches to the mug from Mayweather.
Ultimately, however, I see the fight going the distance. But, a lopsided distance it will be. Mayweather is barely touched during the fight while defensively evading and putting-on a counter-punching clinic. He emerges from the fight with nary a scratch, as if stepping fresh from a bandstand. Mayweather's defensive style, counter-punching, and accuracy win the day. The scorecards tell the story. Decisions are based on scoring by the judges, so unless McGregor gets the desperately unlikely knockout, it goes to the scorecards.
Mayweather defeats McGregor in a 12 round unanimous decision winning every single round. Mayweather remains undefeated with a claim to being "The Best Ever" and McGregor, and his fans, can be proud he put up a good fight.
Rematch, anyone?