Friday August 18, 2017
By Morgan Campbell
Bettors love underdog Conor McGregor, but 40-year-old Mayweather says his boxing IQ will decide Aug. 26 megabout in Vegas.
At 40, Floyd Mayweather says training is tougher than ever ... but his mental game remains strong. (JOHN GURZINSKI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Floyd Mayweather insists he isn’t kidding about feeling each of his 40 years as he trains for the final fight of his hall of fame boxing career.
More than two decades after turning pro, Mayweather says training seems more demanding, and requires more comprehensive recovery. He has added yoga to his regimen, and employs a team of professionals to keep his body tuned up.
But as he approaches the richest fight of his career — an Aug. 26 boxing match against UFC champ Conor McGregor — Mayweather maintains he’s a diminished fighter.
“I’m just being honest,” he told reporters during Thursday’s media conference call. “I don’t think I’m the same Floyd Mayweather that I was 21 years ago . . . I’m not even the same Floyd Mayweather that I was five or two years ago. But I still have a high IQ in that ring. Experience-wise, it leans towards me.”
It still isn’t clear whether Mayweather, undefeated in 49 bouts, is downplaying his skills to gin up interest in a cross-genre bout that projects as a mismatch. But McGregor, a mixed martial arts fighter who has never boxed professionally, is amping up his trash talk, predicting Wednesday he’d finish Mayweather within two rounds.
Last week, a short video surfaced of McGregor pot-shotting retired boxer Paulie Malignaggi during a sparring session, along with another clip showing him sending Malignaggi to the canvas.
Malignaggi says 30 seconds of video culled from a 12-round session reveal nothing, and replays show McGregor dragged the boxer down rather than dropping him with a punch. But the footage has convinced UFC president Dana White that McGregor is equipped to topple Mayweather.
“I want him to win and I expect him to win,” White told reporters during McGregor’s conference call on Wednesday. “I expect him to knock Floyd Mayweather out.”
Mayweather told reporters he’s seen the videos and isn’t impressed.
“It only counts once you get under those lights,” Mayweather said. “That’s just the gym.”
But the videos and the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s decision to allow the fighters to downsize from 10-ounce to eight-ounce gloves have bettors sharing White’s optimism about McGregor. Before the fight was officially announced, Mayweather was a 25-to-1 favourite, but by Thursday afternoon a steady stream of McGregor money shortened those odds to 4-to-1.
During Thursday’s conference call, Mayweather and his team pointed out that the fighter is the beneficiary of one of the smartest bets in sports history.
In 2006, Mayweather paid $750,000 (all dollar figures U.S.) to void the remainder of his promotional contract with Top Rank, becoming his own promoter and going on to make more money than any fighter before him. Mayweather grossed a reported $200 million for his 2015 win over Manny Pacquiao.
“Without the courage to make that move, without the foresight to make the move, nothing of the rest of this is possible,” said Showtime Sports executive VP Steven Espinoza. “It all starts with taking risks. No one has this level of success without taking a risk.”
Whether or not he wins in the ring, Mayweather’s latest gamble — ending a two-year retirement to fight a UFC star — will pay off financially. Earlier this week, Mayweather told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel that next week’s fight will earn him $350 million, and added that he plans to place a cash wager on himself.
“I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t take risks,” Mayweather said on the conference call. “I don’t mind putting everything on the line for this fight. I feel like it’s worth it.”