A former sparring partner for Conor McGregor doesn’t have high hopes for the UFC star when he steps inside the ring with Floyd Mayweather.
Chris van Heerden, who sparred with McGregor in May 2016, told TMZ Sports he landed shots “at will” on McGregor during their session when Van Heerden was “out of camp, out of shape.” The former IBO welterweight champion added that even if McGregor can land a punch, Mayweather could easily withstand it.
After months of hype, McGregor and Mayweather confirmed on Instagram they’ll step inside the ring Aug. 26 in Las Vegas:
While considered a good striker, many question whether McGregor will be able to hold his own against Mayweather, who’s one of the best boxers in the sport’s history.
On Wednesday, Van Heerden also shared video of a sparring session with McGregor, who looked overmatched:
Assuming the video is from their May 2016 session, McGregor has had a lot of time to continue training and would presumably be more comfortable boxing at this point.
Still, combat sports fans have seen stuff like this before, whether it was CM Punk’s less-than-encouraging training video or the clip of Ronda Rousey’s questionable boxing technique.
McGregor can train like a madman for the next two months, but he’s facing somebody who will have decades more experience in boxing. Bridging that gap is might be impossible, especially without Mayweather showing significant decline in his most victories over Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto in 2015.
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