Could Conor McGregor Be A Successful Boxer? (Yes, He Could)
With all this media attention surrounding Floyd Mayweather and Logan Paul, Showtime has uploaded Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor on their YouTube channel. As I sit here watching it, I can’t help but wonder how McGregor would do as a professional boxer. While he took on Mayweather, one of the most mind boggling fighters ever, and was finished, I do believe Conor McGregor could have a successful boxing career should he pursue the sport.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWvx6fK0Dho
McGregor catches a lot of heat, especially for holding up the lightweight division with the boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. But several times, he’s expressed interest in boxing in the future, he’s stuck to MMA for now. There was the rumored bout with Manny Pacquiao as well. So it begs the question: what if Conor McGregor forwent mixed martial arts and went after a boxing run?
Conor McGregor Boxing Floyd Mayweather
The only real litmus test we have of Conor McGregor actually boxing is the Mayweather bout. The only thing we remember is McGregor being kindled out in the tenth round after gassing from a fast start and forward pressure from Mayweather. But while watching the fight, I do see things McGregor does quite well. The announcers in boxing are notoriously (pun intended) biased. But even in the bout, they were giving McGregor props for a good jab and adequate footwork. As a matter of fact, the announcers even went so far as to criticize Mayweather’s lack of creativity and boxing in the fight.
While McGregor did tire as he was boxing Floyd, early in the fight we saw some good things. In addition to his jab, McGregor did a good job switching stances and attacking quickly. The problem is that Mayweather is faster than almost anyone in boxing’s history at 153. But, Floyd Mayweather picks up on these types of things abnormally fast.
While Conor McGregor’s fundamentals are fine tuned for MMA, making the adjustments for boxing full time can be done with relative ease, especially with the resources possessed by McGregor. Those adjustments can really make McGregor force to be reckoned with.
Conor McGregor also went backwards entirely too much against Mayweather. But that’s a: unexpected, and b: not as big of an issue against not-Floyd Mayweather. Going backwards led to the gassing of McGregor and ultimately the knockout. Against any other boxer sans Bud Crawford and Canelo, that won’t be a problem. McGregor can afford to stand in the pocket with any other boxer and trade. But with Mayweather and his elusiveness, that’s not as realistic.
Conor McGregor’s Boxing Career Management
Conor McGregor has propensity of wanting to fight the best. That’s how mixed martial arts is. Go and seek the best every time you fight. But boxing is completely different. Being so specialized, hince “the sweet science,” bouncing in and out of boxing to also fight MMA is not optimal. Conor McGregor will have to take boxing seriously.
Boxing has tune up fights. Boxers need to hone their skills to get in rounds to make sure they’re sharp due to the length of time required to get the business side of boxing done. While the idea of McGregor versus Pacquiao boxing is something interesting, it’s not optimal for his career. McGregor needs live practice boxing. He needs to crush cans, as bad as it sounds. He needs to take time to hone his skills. Let’s set our goals for a BBBofC title first, then we can go for a World Title. Let’s see McGregor hone his skills first before taking on any other champion. We know he will sell pay per views whoever he fights, just ask Cowboy Cerrone.
While he wants to represent himself, his contract with the UFC has him locked up for at least a six fight contract. He can convince Dana White and the UFC to finally start Zuffa Boxing with himself as the marquee fighter under the new promotion. Or he can take a page out of his boxing rival’s playbook and buy himself out of his UFC contract like Mayweather did, though it will be more expensive.
Regardless of what you think about him, Conor McGregor could have had a career in boxing but chose MMA instead. Now, at 32, time is ticking. He still has time, but does he want to?
