The Dark Tower star Idris Elba: If McGregor gets one on Mayweather’s chin, it could be over

The popular actor from The Dark Tower also weighs in on the upcoming bout between UFC champ Conor McGregor and undefeated five division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.

Widely known for his work on the acclaimed HBO series “The Wire,” as well as the even more widely beloved BBC series “Luther,” Idris Elba has been a media darling in the last few years.

As part of the promotional tour for his new film The Dark Tower, actor Idris Elba was asked about the upcoming boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. Elba took part in a discussion on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman regarding the bout, noting that Mayweather may not be ready for McGregor’s unorthodox background. His view is made more interesting as he had trained for a kickboxing match on a reality series last year, which he won.

So with that background, his opinion was one that boxing specialist Kellerman had some serious disagreement with. Asked if he envisioned the possibility of McGregor even landing a punch on Mayweather, he had this to say (link to video here if unavailable on page).

Idris Elba: Listen man, I’m gonna tell you something a little controversial. In my opinion, I think that McGregor has a really good chance of winning that fight.

Host Molly Qerim: Really?

Elba: Here’s why, here’s why. I know it’s controversial, but listen, I have a kickboxing background. The agility of kickboxers and MMA (fighters) is very different from a boxer, OK? And I think what’s gonna happen is, is that, you know, Floyd is gonna – and I love Floyd, he’s a friend – he’s gonna fight his fight. But I think McGregor is gonna topple that, he’s gonna topple his composure, he’s gonna throw some things around that Floyd’s not gonna be used to. And the other thing about McGregor is that he can strike really, really, really quickly out of nowhere. Where I think, you know, if Floyd does what he does normally, which is just hold a tight fight, I think McGregor’s gonna topple that, strike him. If he gets one on his chin (shrugs), it could be over. Not a lot of people agree with me, but I just…

Stephen A Smith: Max doesn’t.

Elba: You know, kickboxers move differently.

Qerim: Now that’s a hot take

Max Kellerman: Yeah, they do. But when I’ve seen kickboxing, I remember as a kid, ESPN used to have kickboxing on a lot and they’d have like, at least North – North American championship, I think sometimes world championship as I recall, going back to the 80s. And I remember they used to have to enforce a rule where kickboxers, you had to throw at least five kicks in a round or you’d be penalized. And that suggests to me that a boxer a kickboxer is at a disadvantage or you wouldn’t need a rule saying “hey, no – you have to kick.“ In other words, you become vulnerable against a boxer when you pick your feet off the ground.’ And Floyd is one of the best boxers who ever did it, and McGregor hasn’t had a (boxing) fight since he was an amateur, how many years ago.

Elba: Yeah, but you know, listen – McGregor’s not gonna go in there and try and box Floyd, he’s gonna fight Floyd. That’s a different sort of thing altogether. MMA’s mixed martial arts, so McGregor’s not just a kickboxer, he has the agility of so many different, you know, uh, disciplines. Which is what I think is going to be a disadvantage for Floyd. Floyd’ gonna try and box, uh, Colin (sic), Colin’s gonna fight Floyd. I’m telling you, I think what’s gonna happen is Floyd’s gonna end up taking off his gloves and landing one on him, really.

Elba’s optimism is something different here. It should be noted that McGregor’s mostly got a karate stance and has done most of his striking training in the vein of a boxing style, but not someone that’s done kickboxing in a more traditional sense. Elba didn’t elaborate on what precisely constitutes McGregor making this more of a fight as opposed to a boxing match, either.

As for Kellerman, he went down that path as well. McGregor’s not exactly a kickboxer like the fighters he would have seen in the ISKA or K-1 days on ESPN. He has a partially valid point, but it doesn’t really apply here since the real disadvantage for McGregor is largely rooted in expertise.

At least Qerim was right. That was a hot take.