Conor, like all MMA guys, cannot box. Not even Anderson Silva is a good boxer. They can "box" well for MMA guys. In terms of boxing, they are horrible. One of the reasons why the Diaz's brothers, with mediocre technique, can box circles around the great "strikers". The Diaz bros. have no proper head movement or defense and very little power. But put together combinations well enough to beat the piss out of guys.
I agree with you completely in a sense, it isn't that they can't box, it's more the qualities of being able to have an effective boxing game in MMA vary so differently from the qualities needed to fight professional boxers in a boxing ring.
Just because you've displayed a good level of boxing in MMA which you could argue some fighters past & present do have does not mean you can immediately jump into professional boxing & expect to compete with the upper echelon of pro boxers. That works both ways though, even a boxer as great as Floyd would not be capable of jumping into a MMA match & even striking, nevermind grappling, with the upper echelon of mixed martial artists.
A top ten male boxer hits in ways a MMA guy just can't handle. It isn't the same the other way around.
This isn't strictly true if you're talking about purely punches & punching power, you couldn't put a group of boxers under an umbrella & say they're boxers therefore they can all hit harder than all mixed martial artists of similar weight. They've covered this subject in various sporting studies & even on Sport Science I believe that show this isn't the case & ultimately it comes down to several physical & technical factors.
Obviously though McGregor's kicks would be harder than any punch a boxer would ever throw or face.
I love that you brought up Toney, because this is exactly why I brought up Floyd's athleticism. Toney wasn't just over the hill, he was out of shape, looking like Charles Barkely in terms of movement. He couldn't even bend at his knees. Kind of like seeing Kimbo.
James Toney did fight a 47 year old Randy Couture though who was equally as over the hill, it's not like Couture was fast, powerful or had a significant athletic advantage. Their athletic qualities aside, it wasn't the only reason Toney got made a fool out off.
Floyd can avoid contact. He knows how to move from not only strikes but someone trying to grab him. He could theoretically avoid all contact with Conor if he wanted to.
You should rephrase that, Floyd knows how to move & avoid punches, not strikes. Strikes would include kicks, knees & elbows of which Mayweather has no knowledge in avoiding or defending other than keeping such a distance he couldn't throw anything in return.
No....no....no....Mac doesn't have a puncher's chance. For him to win, one of three things (that I can think of) has to happen. Floyd comes in out of shape (highly unlikely and even then he still wins), does something stupid (even less likely), or frells up one of his legs (prolly even less likely than the others). Oh....I forgot....he could throw the fight.....even less likely.
Floyd would definitely have a puncher's chance. My father was a professional boxer and these guys not only know how to punch, but are trained to avoid getting hit....at least the halfway good ones are.
Sort of a funny story...my dad was told to fight good, f*** good or drink good, but not to screw all of them up. He quit boxing.
What you've described is a punchers chance, Floyd would need to dismiss Conor as an opponent, not respect his power & get cocky. The only way McGregor wins is if he could somehow do what 49 other seasoned professional boxers have tried & failed to do. Land 1 clean punch, on the jaw that KO's Floyd stiff or hurts him enough that he can't recover. That is also the exact same sort of chance Floyd would have in a MMA bout, he'd have to hit Conor square on the button, KO him or hurt him that bad that he can finish him.
The reality is if Conor fought Floyd in the UFC, Conor would light Mayweather up like a Christmas tree with leg, body & head kicks outside of Floyd's hand range. If Floyd does fight Conor in a boxing ring, Floyd's going to give him a boxing lesson.
Really I find this potential McGregor/Mayweather fight somewhat silly & to an extent a little disrespectful to boxing, but I'll still get it out of curiosity & for the pure spectacle I expect it to be.
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