The Boxing Thread

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I wouldn't discount that its fake or taken out of context.

And he could have improved a lot since then. Not enough to win but enough to last a few rounds at least.

[Bandit]

Floyd will take him 12 rounds winning every round. Conor has a great chin so I can't see Floyd knocking him out. And Floyd isn't going to get into exchanges with him because he knows Conor has a nasty left hand and Floyd isn't great against southpaw fighters. He'll work angles to rack up points for 36 minutes.

[Bandit]

Former UFC fighter Tim Hague is brain dead after a boxing match. It was 100% the ref's fault. He let him get knocked down 5 times before the KO. And he was showing nothing. Even in no-TKO commissions refs will stop it at 4, but he got two more and is probably going to be pulled from life support soon. Very sad.

[Bandit]

In more bad UFC fighter news, it's looking really bad for Matt Hughes. He hasn't responded to doctors since they brought him in Friday afternoon after his truck was hit by a train. He was a big reason UFC's boom period happened and was a great fighter in the 2000s. If 2005-09 UFC was like their Monday Night Wars/Attitude Era boom, this would be like if a draw on the level of Undertaker was dying. So I'm surprised it's not getting as much coverage as you'd expect. I know Conor/Floyd is a huge deal, but without Hughes you'd have a lot less big buy rates in 2006 since he was their #3 draw behind Ortiz and Liddell.

[Big Boss Man]

Yea both news really sucks. RIP Tim Hague and Matt was a fave back in the day so hopefully he will get well. As for Conor/Floyd I think it has more of a sideshow attraction air to it than a wow must see factor for non fans. One article was comparing it to Ali/Inoki. Conors one of my fave UFC fighters but I can't see beyond Money KOing him in the first round. The purse he will make will set him up for life so props to Mc for getting all this set up. If he wins can you imagine his swagger then it'll be off the charts. Also Triple H is trying to get both on Raw to hype up the fight but if I wasn't into sports and saw them turn up on the wrestling I'd think the fight wasn't on the level and worked.

[Bandit]

I can't see beyond Money KOing him in the first round.

Michael Bisping agrees with you



So does Chael Sonnen



But I still say we're going to see Safe Floyd. He's not going to want to get into big exchanges with him, because Conor's only chance is to land a big left hand that rocks him. Floyd knows he'll 100% win going the distance so why risk it. I don't think Floyd gives a shit about proving a point. He's established he's the greatest boxer for the past 18 years, so "I went head hunting to knock out the MMA guy" doesn't matter. He hasn't head hunted since Ricky Hatton (who said he's offering to help Conor train incidentally) and that feels like forever ago.

[Big Boss Man]

I think if he plays it safe there's more of a chance Conor will get a lucky punch and it's all about ego so say McGregor goes 12 or 15 rounds with Mayweather and it's a points decision then it's almost a moral victory for Mc. I see Money going in and wanting to end it quickly and then go back into retirement. He's got a legacy to uphold and a lucky punch will tarnish it however little so it's the wise bet to go full pelt and Connors not a technically brilliant striker he's more unorthodox and in a sparring video his boxing skills were a lot to be desired. I think this is more him doing this for a big payday so he can quit MMA and maybe go into fight promotions himself as he's a father now and there's a huge risk down the line he'll suffer concussions etc so one huge money fight with Floyd is a super smart decision win or lose.

[Bandit]

Floyd thinks that sparring video was a work to try to get him to let his guard down. Maybe, maybe not, but Conor is clever enough to do something like that.

And going the distance won't be a moral victory if his punches landed rate is inevitably under 10%. If Conor looks foolish swinging at air all night it won't get him any respect.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

Conor is going to spend his free time plotting how to get those judges.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Horn still won after a recount.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

[Bandit]

That surprises me due to Floyd breaking his hands often. And it goes both ways: Conor's left hand can knock out just anybody. Floyd has a great chin but he also hasn't been hit by that glove.

[Bandit]

That's not "Holy shit he could beat Floyd!" level. But it's also not the "He's getting KOed in 2 minutes" level MMA haters think of him. He's going to make it a fight, and maybe he could slip that nasty left in and pull off a miracle. But probably not. Even if he does Floyd can take a monster shot and keep fighting. Maidana should have knocked him out a few times but he took it.

[Bandit]

Floyd's other uncle Jeff (who actually is an MMA striking coach) said he's not impressed with the Conor video.

[Bandit]

[Big Boss Man]

Money/McGregor is fast approaching. Apparently the estimate is 4.9m PPV buys. Take the streams out of the question how high could the PPV buy rate have been?. For UKers, Sky Sports have been doing some 30min specials from Las Vegas about the fight. Dan Hardy has joined the Sky broadcasting team for this fight. I'm thinking Pauline is pushing for a fight with Conor so that's another fight down the line.

[Bandit]

I don't think it will do 4 million. I just don't see the excitement the Pacquiao fight had. Everybody was talking about that fight. This has more of a "I'll check the results in the morning" vibe because people don't take the match up seriously. They should have marked the price down to 70. I think 3 million, which is every UFC PPV buyer and a million boxing fans.

[Bandit]