Speaking to the media yesterday at his gym in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather admitted that it would be considered a victory for Conor McGregor if he makes it to the final bell on August 26th in Las Vegas.
“It is a victory for him,” Mayweather said when asked during a media scrum about the possibility of ‘The Notorious’ going all 12 rounds with him. “If he goes the distance, it’s a victory for him. In my eyes, also.”
However, the way Mayweather sees it, the fight isn’t going to last that long.
“He believes it’s not gonna go past four ,and I believe that it’s not gonna go the distance at all,” Mayweather said. “He feels one way, I feel another way. we’re both confident in our skills. We’ll just have to see.”
In some interviews Mayweather has talked up McGregor’s chances in the fight, noting how much bigger, stronger and younger the UFC lightweight champion is, but during yesterday’s media scrum he made it clear that he has no doubt that he is still the far superior fighter, and that he absolutely expects to win on the night.
“Of course, the so-called boxing experts, they say things like, ‘Oh when a guy is bigger and stronger, that means he’s better,’” Mayweather said. “What I’m saying is this: On paper, we know he’s taller, we know he has a longer reach, we know youth is on his side. OK? And I guess everybody is saying power is on his side. But I’m saying IQ is on my side, experience is on my side and i think just fighting knowledge is on my side.
“So I never said that I feel that I’m gonna lose. I never get involved in anything if I think I’m gonna take a loss. That’s like me saying, ‘Yes I’m gonna invest my money, but I know I’m gonna take a loss, but I’m still gonna invest it.’”
At times during his interview, Mayweather appeared to drop hints that he knows exactly what’s going on in McGregor’s camp.
For instance, with regards to his opponents weight, Mayweather said, “Even like right now, I know how much Conor McGregor is down to, his weight. He was a little bit heavy, I think he’s at 160 now. So he’s down. I know what’s going on.”
He also claims McGregor is going to try to throw him off by constantly switching stances – and that’s something the 49-0 boxer has adviced him not to do.
“Like I said before, I already know what he’s going to do. He’s going to come out southpaw, then he’s going to go the otherway and keep switching, but when you’re switching all your doing is burning energy.
“So, let me give him a little knowledge. When you keep switching you’re burning too much energy.”
In fact, Mayweather has made no attempt to hide the fact that he’s been looking to find out as much as he can about McGregor’s preparations ahead of the fight.
“It’s about doing your homework,” Mayweather said. “It’s not really watching fight tapes. It’s really just knowing the person you’re facing, that’s across the ring from you. You want to know what that person likes to eat, you want to know what that person is doing when they’re not in training camp. If they’re drinking, how much they’re drinking, who they’re hanging out with. Those are the things that you want to know. Thats called really doing your due diligence and your homework on your opponent. Not just watching fight tapes.”
