Experts give Conor no chance
By Joaquin Henson
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 27 Aug 2017
Filipino boxing experts were unanimous in giving MMA champion Conor McGregor no chance of scoring an upset over the heavily-favored Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in their scheduled 12-round bout in Las Vegas this morning (Manila time).
GAB chairman Baham Mitra went as far as predicting that McGregor would be disqualified for resorting to MMA tactics out of frustration. Former two-time world champion Gerry Penalosa picked Mayweather to stop the Irishman in the late rounds. Promoter Art Monis chose Mayweather to win on points and said the only way McGregor could pull a surprise is if he lands a lucky punch. Matchmaker Jun Gandesa said it won?t go beyond six rounds with Mayweather making mincemeat of McGregor while referee/judge Jerold Tomeldan couldn?t imagine the Irishman outboxing the elusive, unbeaten five-division world titlist.
McGregor will be fined a mint if he loses his cool and attacks Mayweather like an MMA brawler. The fight will use boxing rules under the supervision of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Referee is Robert Byrd, a 74-year-old former policeman who will be paid $25,000 for his work. The judges will be Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Guido Cavalleri. Their paycheck is $20,000 each. Clements has been a judge in four Mayweather fights, Moretti in 11 and Cavalleri in one. Clements and Moretti were judges in Mayweather?s bout against Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Cavalleri, an Italian, was a surprise choice because of his relative lack of Las Vegas exposure although he was a judge in the WBC/WBO superlightweight title match between Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol at the MGM Grand last year.
The odds show McGregor a huge underdog at +325, meaning a $100 wager will earn $325 for a win while Mayweather is -450, meaning a $450 bet will pocket only $100. At Friday?s weigh-in, Mayweather scaled 149.5 pounds and McGregor, 153. The limit for the fight is 154 pounds, the superwelterweight ceiling.
Mitra called it a ?show? and said the fight won?t affect the popularity of boxing or MMA, no matter the outcome. ?Mayweather is hard to hit, even Manny found it difficult to pin him down,? he said. ?McGregor will try to end it early. That?s his only chance of winning because there?s no way he can win by decision. Because Mayweather?s a defensive fighter and a counterpuncher, McGregor will get frustrated. In his exasperation, McGregor will try to take down Mayweather. He?ll go MMA and that will be the end of it.?
Monis said Mayweather will breeze to win by a one-sided decision. ?He?s too experienced,? said Monis. ?This is only McGregor?s first boxing match. Boxing is different from MMA. Maybe, McGregor has a chance with a lucky punch but I don?t think Mayweather will let himself get hit.? Gandesa said Mayweather is too smart for McGregor and will end it with a KO inside six rounds. Tomeldan said McGregor will try to grapple when all else fails and agreed with Mitra that a disqualification isn?t a remote possibility. Penalosa said Mayweather will toy with McGregor in the early going then step up his attack when the Irish tires. ?By the 10th round, McGregor will be ready to go,? said Penalosa.
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