Thread: A good, thorough analysis of Mayweather vs. Mcgregor [long]

Not my content but I thought it was a good read. I posted everything here if anyone has the attention span to read it.
http://imgur.com/gallery/Of4a5



A quick reminder to not use your data while reading.

It is a strange world we live in Ladies and Gentlemen. In a world full of tough and talented boxers the biggest boxing match of all time will only feature one. Floyd Mayweather has been the most dominant, intelligent in ring personality since Roy Jones Jr lost his prime to Antonio Tarver's left hook. But he is edging 40 now, his defense has kept him relatively unharmed but boxing is like cooking, If you want to make some pasta you have to expect to get a little sauce on the apron. His opponent Conor McGregor is a phenom in MMA. At just 29 years old McGregor is a 2 division champ with brutal power, outrageous athleticism and the arrogance to think he can pull off this madness. His suit tells you all you need to know about Conor's mind game. It is a custom job, richly designed with a thousand little "**** you"s sewn in. But can he actually pull this off?

Spoiler!

Early on in his career Conor had a very wild and aggressive style. It made him very unpredictable and difficult to time. He threw a lot of flashy kicks and times a takedown beautifully ducking under his opponent's right. But when he enters the boxing ring he will be stripped of all those tools. But not his last and best one. Conor's straight left hand is an absolute rocket. He has the power to put anyone to sleep with just one punch.

Spoiler!

Seemingly he has the psychological game down as well. His opponent is Jose Aldo, the greatest featherweight in MMA history. A cautious, intelligent technician, unbeaten for 10 years and 18 fights. The fight had a long build up before Aldo got injured. The fight was scheduled again and the pre fight hype got built into epic proportions. Conor made Aldo hate him. 10 seconds into the fight a combination of nerves and anger caused the usually stoic Aldo to rush in with a left hook. Conor simply backs off and lands that touch of death left straight. Just like that Conor became a sensation.

Spoiler!

Following the Aldo fight Conor took on Nate Diaz after lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos got injured and was forced to pull out. McGregor put Diaz through a buzzsaw of punches in the first round. But at the 9 minute mark of the fight Conor gassed badly. Diaz started lighting him up with his boxing. The 9 minute mark in terms of a boxing match is round 3 of 12. Conor got beaten down and choked out when he couldn't knock Diaz out. Though Diaz is tall, a lefty as well and has freakish cardio. He isn't particularly fast or strong but he could take what Conor could give until Conor got tired.

Spoiler!

Here is the second Diaz fight, which to his credit McGregor demanded after losing the first encounter. But the result is essentially the same. The nine minute mark strikes again and McGregor has run out of gas. This is after putting another vicious beating on Diaz in the opening minutes and knocking him down twice. There is a world of difference between the Conor McGregor before the nine minute mark and after it. Conor would go onto win a close decision after cutting Diaz costing him his vision.

Spoiler!

This is what Floyd looks like in round 11. His entire style is designed to go deeply into fights, often giving away early rounds just taking his time to figure out his opponents. But as the fight wears on Mayweather has shown a tendency to get more and more aggressive. This of course says nothing of his incredible defence which keeps him safe as he is downloading his opponent's style and habits. Safe to say that at some point in the fight Conor is going to get tired and from there Floyd will takeover.

Spoiler!

Conor has a tendency to fight at a much longer range than a traditional boxer. He uses his lead hand to hand fight with his opponent and occupy the line for their jab. When his opponent steps into range or circles into his left hand he throws the jab to try and blind his opponent to the coming left hand. The jab makes Eddie Alvarez move his head directly into the path of the straight left.

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When the opponent decides to try and pressure Conor his long Karate stance gives his an excellent range of motion on the step back, meaning his opponent's punches will fall short and he can spring forward attacking into his opponent's attack.

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Here's where it gets interesting though, if there is one punch Floyd has ever shown a weakness to it is that southpaw left straight. THe reason for this is the philly shell defense Floyd uses to such great effect has no real answer for it. Zab Judah is much like McGregor a hard hitter and hyper athletic. Floyd forgets he is fighting a lefty for just a second as he brings his lead hand low and power hand high. Against an orthodox fighter all the power punches are covered. But against a southpaw the angle remains open for the straight left. He corrects his mistake by switching to the high guard immediately.

Spoiler!

It happens again here against Demarcus Corley. You can see Mayweather get behind that right hand to defend the incoming left. Against an orthodox fighter the left hook will land often on the ear or neck area. Against the southpaw the left hand looks like it will follow the same path but instead straightens out at the last second catching Floyd on the point of the chin.

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But that was a younger Floyd. His defense has grown in leaps and bounds since those two fights. The last lefty Floyd fought was the incomparable Manny Pacquaio. Though Pac had his moments flashing his surreal hand speed, he was never really able to get to Mayweather's head effectively. Floyd still used the philly shell a bit but never as he stepped into Manny's left hand. The moment Manny stepped around his lead foot to line up the left straight Floyd made damn sure to be behind the high guard defense or step away out of range.

Spoiler!

I'm guessing Conor has about 4 rounds to do his damage before he gets tired and Floyd figures him out. The real problem is Floyd is incredibly good on defense. His head is constantly moving and he is an incredible judge of distance. He lands his shot and ducks under Marquez' right hand before using his feet to step around Marquez forcing him to turn and face him before he can attack again. When McGregor fought Diaz, Diaz was able to survive the early onslaught due to his incredible chin and cardio. Floyd won't need to. Floyd's defense is light years beyond anything Conor has dealt with before.