Freddie Roach is on board for Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather.
The legendary boxing coach joined MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on today’s (Mon. February 20, 2017) episode of The MMA Hour (quotes via MMA Mania) and revealed that ‘Money’ actually stopped by his gym to reveal to him that he will be fighting ‘The Notorious One’:
“Floyd actually came to my gym and told me, Freddie, I hear Conor talked to you.’ And I told him that he never has. He said, ‘If he reaches out and wants you to train him, I would take that job because I am going to fight him and we can all make a lot of money,’” said Freddie.
“So, according to Mayweather, yes, he said he was going to fight him and everything is pointing in that direction. At one point I didn’t think it was possible. I tried to make a fight one time when I was training Andrei Arlovski, and I tried to put him in with one of the Klitschkos,” said Roach.
“I thought I had a good idea. I went into Ari’s office, and I hadn’t seen Ari in 10 years. At that time they said it would never happen. But, we’re in a different era now and it looks like it is going to happen. Everything’s pointing in the right direction. He will have his hands full with a boxer like Floyd, but he’s sell-able and making noise. For a while I wanted him to be Georges first fight.”
McGregor has only lost one fight in his UFC tenure, a short-notice bout with Nate Diaz at 170 pounds, and has won all but two of his Octagon victories via knockout. This past November the Irishman became the first dual-weight champion in UFC history by defeating Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their historic main event meeting for the lightweight title at Madison Square Garden.
While his striking may be viewed as some of the most elite in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) he’s staring at a possible boxing superfight against arguably the greatest defensive fighter of all time. Roach believes McGregor certainly has a puncher’s chance against Mayweather, but says he would need a long time to prepare for a boxer the caliber of ‘Money’:
“Well, he is a pretty good striker. The thing is, Floyd is a great boxer. He is good at hitting and not getting hit. It would take a long time for Conor to get ready for a pure boxing match, But, one punch can change anything, so I am not going to count him out completely. Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I will never count anyone out. He (McGregor) throws, he throws hard and he’s not afraid to throw,” said Roach. “I like that about him. He’s sell-able, and he makes me laugh. But, when that bell rings he better be ready because he is fighting one of the best boxers of his era.”
Mayweather hasn’t boxed since his 2015 unanimous decision win over Andre Berto where he extended his historic win streak to 49-0. He has remained ‘happily retired’ since the bout but is more than willing to step back into the squared circle if the paycheck is to his liking.
To step into the ring against a young combat sports star such as McGregor, with a left hand that has been the downfall of many of his adversaries, could Floyd be taking an unnecessary risk towards his legacy if he decides to fight the UFC lightweight champ?
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