Tag: Saul Alvarez

Oscar De La Hoya Says Canelo Alvarez Would Knock out Conor McGregor in 1 Round

Oscar De La Hoya was openly critical of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision to face off with Conor McGregor on Saturday, and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO offered his two cents after Mayweather earned a 10th-round TKO victory over McGregor in Las Vegas.&nb…

Oscar De La Hoya was openly critical of Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s decision to face off with Conor McGregor on Saturday, and the Golden Boy Promotions CEO offered his two cents after Mayweather earned a 10th-round TKO victory over McGregor in Las Vegas. 

De La Hoya told reporters Monday he didn’t watch the fight and said Canelo Alvarez, who fights under the Golden Boy banner, would’ve knocked McGregor out inside of one round, per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi:

During an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani (h/t MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi), De La Hoya said he thought Mayweather had allowed McGregor to stay in the fight and win a few rounds early on.

“Because Mayweather let him. The first four of five rounds, he let him do that,” he said. “The punches are coming from different angles. It was a bit awkward to watch, actually.”

While many were impressed with McGregor’s ability to hold his own against one of the greatest boxers of his generation, it’s not as if Mayweather is in the prime of his career. He turned 40 in February and hadn’t fought in nearly two years when he stepped in the ring Saturday.

Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix thought McGregor would have a much harder time against younger fighters:

Regardless of De La Hoya’s opinion, Mayweather and McGregor will both be laughing all the way to the bank when they receive their full share of the revenues from the fight.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Mayweather and McGregor are guaranteed to earn at least $100 million and $30 million, respectively. Mayweather’s purse could climb to higher than $200 million, while McGregor could make upwards of nine figures when all is said and done.

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Paulie, Canelo, Golovkin: Crossover Fights for Conor McGregor to Consider

Conor McGregor had the most lucrative boxing debut of all time.
It’s safe to say he has more opportunities than any 0-1 fighter coming off a TKO loss.
Given the skills and mettle he showed while surviving into Round 10 against Floyd Mayweather at the T…

Conor McGregor had the most lucrative boxing debut of all time.

It’s safe to say he has more opportunities than any 0-1 fighter coming off a TKO loss.

Given the skills and mettle he showed while surviving into Round 10 against Floyd Mayweather at the T-Mobile Arena, some of the most frequent themes at the post-fight press conference focused on whether the chatty Irishman would consider a part-time ring gig alongside his full-time MMA commitments.

UFC boss Dana White seemed less than enthralled with the idea his top seat-filler might have other combat sports possibilities, but McGregor himself left the locker room door wide open.

“I have many options in mixed martial arts. I’m sure there’s options that will present themselves in the boxing game,” he said at the post-fight press conference following his loss on Saturday. “But right now I’m a free agent. My name is on the ring. I am certainly open to all options. I am young, I’m fresh and I am ready.”

Given that reality and the number of boxers who’d surely like to deposit a seven-figure paycheck, we came up with a list of possible foes should the Notorious one indeed decide to give boxing another go.

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Conor McGregor Gives Boxing Critique of Canelo, Gennady Golovkin, Manny Pacquiao

Conor McGregor, boxing analyst.
Just throw it on the pile of talents and career options for the Irish MMA champion. There is no shortage of these options. He doesn’t need this options, he just has them. The success is almost overwhelming.
As McGregor h…

Conor McGregor, boxing analyst.

Just throw it on the pile of talents and career options for the Irish MMA champion. There is no shortage of these options. He doesn’t need this options, he just has them. The success is almost overwhelming.

As McGregor heads into Saturday’s boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, it seems he is already towering over a second sport as well.

While holding court with a lucky band of reporters recently, per a Saturday report from Alexander Lee of MMA Fighting, McGregor offered free advice to some of the sport’s top stars. And if we know anything about McGregor, we know how wise they would be to heed that advice.

First up in the free workshop—none of these other boxers were there, by the way—was Canelo Alvarez, current Ring magazine middleweight champion. Also in his sights was Gennady Golovkin, the fearsome knockout artist who happens to be facing Alvarez in September. 

“Who else is in today’s game? Canelo and Golovkin,” McGregor said. “I’m not really too much of a fan of either of those. I think Canelo’s a little bit stuck, a little bit flat on his feet. When I watch footage of him, I see him just getting peppered, he has no feet under him.

“Golovkin I think came to camp for this preparation badly out of shape. I’m looking at him badly out of shape up in Big Bear [California] and I just see a drained individual.”

Perhaps the fighter who came out the worst in McGregor‘s breakdown was Manny Pacquiao, the past-his-prime Filipino who just lost an upset bout to virtual unknown Jeff Horn.

“Pacquiao wouldn’t be a bad [matchup] because he has a name,” McGregor said. “Look what happened to him in that last fight. He got mauled. He got absolutely mauled in that fight. People were crying ‘big robbery,’ I didn’t see no robbery in that fight. I saw a man that just got mauled in a fight.”

Sorry, guys. Looks like none of you will be enjoying a red undergarment night anytime soon.

“None of those names interest me at this present time,” McGregor said. “Like I said, I’m facing the god of boxing at the moment. [Mayweather] is supposedly the God of boxing and he could have stayed the God, he could have rode off 49-0. Instead, now I am here, and now I am the God of boxing.”

Any questions? I didn‘t think so.

By the way, was there anyone who gained McGregor‘s favor during the course of this discussion? Rejoice, Vasyl Lomachenko, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Gervonta Davis. You made the cut.

McGregor puts his skills to the test August 26 against Mayweather in Las Vegas.

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Canelo Alvarez Says Fight with Conor McGregor Possible If Floyd Mayweather Loses

Canelo Alvarez isn’t closing the door on a potential boxing match with Conor McGregor, but it comes with the caveat that the UFC star has to beat Floyd Mayweather. 
In an interview with Jack Jorgensen of Fansided, Alvarez laid out the scenario tha…

Canelo Alvarez isn’t closing the door on a potential boxing match with Conor McGregor, but it comes with the caveat that the UFC star has to beat Floyd Mayweather. 

In an interview with Jack Jorgensen of Fansided, Alvarez laid out the scenario that would lead him to want a match with McGregor. 

“If that miracle was to happen, then we have a conversation,” Alvarez said. “If that miracle were to happen, but I doubt it very much that Conor beats Floyd.”

McGregor and Mayweather are scheduled to fight on Aug. 26, but Canelo is also deep in preparation for his marquee showdown against Gennady Golovkin on Sept. 16. 

This will be the first professional boxing match in McGregor’s career. The 29-year-old has a 21-3 career record in mixed martial arts, including a 9-1 mark in UFC. He’s the only fighter in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously when he won the lightweight title while holding the featherweight title.

If any active boxer knows the difficulty of trying to knock Mayweather from the ranks of the undefeated, it’s Alvarez. The Mexican superstar’s only blemish in 51 career matches was a majority decision loss against Mayweather in Sept. 2013. 

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Oscar De La Hoya Says Mayweather vs. McGregor Scheduling Is ‘Disrespectful’

Oscar De La Hoya is unhappy with the date chosen for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Conor McGregor, as he says the Aug. 26 matchup clashes with Gennady Golovkin’s bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.
In an appearance on ESPN’s S…

Oscar De La Hoya is unhappy with the date chosen for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Conor McGregor, as he says the Aug. 26 matchup clashes with Gennady Golovkin’s bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.

In an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter (via MMA Fighting), the promoter took a swipe at Dana White and the UFC for scheduling the clash just three weeks before the middleweight title fight.

“It was disrespectful,” said De La Hoya. “I would have thought that Dana White would have a little more respect with this boxing event taking place, because look, you just don’t do that. I mean, it’s like having the Super Bowl and then three weeks later the World Series takes place, the final game. It just doesn’t happen.”

Here is the video of the legend’s comments (via Pop and Sports HQ):

De La Hoya said the UFC could have arranged the superstar fight in November or December.

Alvarez, meanwhile, said he is not interested in watching the action as McGregor’s lack of boxing experience will result in an easy win for Mayweather.

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Dana White: Mayweather-McGregor Date ‘Lost’ to Canelo-GGG

The biggest crossover fight in combat sports history has hit another snag.
After months of apparent negotiations and discussions, and the promotional tug of war and complications associated with something of its magnitude, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor Mc…

The biggest crossover fight in combat sports history has hit another snag.

After months of apparent negotiations and discussions, and the promotional tug of war and complications associated with something of its magnitude, Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor has lost its target date, at least according to UFC frontman Dana White. 

“We just lost our date to Canelo and [Gennady Golovkin],” he told Fight Hub TV (note: link and video below contain language NSFW). “But good. That’s a good fight. I’ll be at that one too.” White was in attendance for Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday and relayed this tidbit in real time upon learning of the Canelo-Golovkin booking. 

Alvarez won a dominant unanimous decision, after which it was announced he would meet the man known as GGG on September 16.

White didn’t seem too ruffled at the prospect, complimenting both boxers and giving a brief analysis of the matchup. He also discussed the differences between boxing and MMA and paid respect to the sweet science and its influence on his career as a promoter.

For his part, McGregor has bigger things than Mayweather to focus on after recently welcoming a son into the world. He also previously said he wasn’t expecting to fight Money before the end of this year anyway.

Assuming we believe White, that September 16 was being targeted for Mayweather vs. McGregor, it raises the question: When will this unprecedented fight be rescheduled for? In the meantime, fight fans can look forward to the biggest actual boxing match the sport could put together finally getting booked. 

   

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder.

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