Famed Boxing Coach Freddie Roach Breaks Down Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor
The talk of both the boxing world and the mixed martial arts universe is the potential superfight between UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and pound-for-pound boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Both fighters are pushing hard for the dream match to become a reality, and the idea of one of the deadliest strikers in cagefighting getting into the ring with one of the foremost students of the sweet science has provoked a great deal of discussion over how the fight would pan out.
Unfortunately, to this point there has been little in the way of thoughtful analysis, business or technical, from insiders in either sport. That changed on Monday, however, when famed boxing coach Freddie Roach appeared on The MMA Hour to speak with MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani and offered up his thoughts on the biggest possible superfight in combat sports today.
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“It looks like it’s gonna happen," said Roach on whether he feels the fight will come together (h/t MMAFighting.com's Marc Raimondi). "Everything is pointing in the right direction. I think Conor will have his hands full with a boxer like Floyd. But he’s sellable, he’s making some noise.” He continued on, “He told me he would fight him. Everything is pointing in that direction right now. At one point, I didn't think it was possible.”
Those are some interesting words from a respected name in boxing. Best known as the coach of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto, Roach has been at the center of some of the biggest bouts in boxing history.
His resume doesn't end there, however, as he has also coached a number of top-level mixed martial artists, including former UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Andrei Arlovski. That gives him a unique perspective when it comes to how an elite-level mixed martial artist could do in the ring.
So what does Roach think of McGregor's chances against Mayweather?
“[McGregor] is a pretty good striker. The thing is Floyd is a great boxer," he said. "He’s really good at hitting and not getting hit and so forth. I think it would take a long time for Conor to get ready for a boxing match, a pure boxing match...I think Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I wouldn’t count anyone out.”
Of course, there are still several promotional and legal hurdles to cross before fans of either competitor need to start worrying about how the fight could pan out. Still, people in the know seem to be looking at a McGregor vs. Mayweather bout as an inevitability at this point. And it's likely a good sign for McGregor that they don't quite feel that way about the outcome.
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