Former sparring partner of Conor McGregor talks about another boxer’s real ‘scary’ power

After his first sparring session with Conor McGregor, Paulie Malignaggi said that McGregor’s punching power was good, but it wasn’t something that really blew his mind. Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say after their first session as things turned sour after their second sparring session and Malignaggi removed himself from helping in the training camp.

Another former boxing sparring partner of McGregor’s also had a bad taste in his mouth after his sparring session with “The Notorious.” Former champion Chris van Heerden was upset by some edited footage that made its way to the Internet that showed McGregor getting the better of him during sparring. However, Van Heerden, unlike Malignaggi, had some footage of his own that he released that painted a different picture.

With the talk of Mayweather vs McGregor, many believe Conor’s size, power, and unorthodox style will be the factor in the fight that will be able to have the current UFC lightweight champion serve Mayweather his first professional loss in boxing.

Speaking with Fight Hub TV, van Heerden stated that a former opponent of Mayweather has some real shocking power. However, Mayweather had his hand raised with ease back when the two fought in 2013.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with Canelo for seven weeks as his sparring partner,” said van Heerden. “I’ve never been hit as hard as by Canelo with 16-oz gloves and headgear.”

Van Heerden also told Fight Hub TV that McGregor’s power wasn’t anything he was phased by during their sparring.

“I’m not a guy that says what people want to hear. I call a spade a spade and I’m going to say this, we had 16-oz gloves on, we had headgears on. I was not phased by his power at all,” van Heerden said of McGregor. “I wasn’t. And, I’ve been in the ring with a lot of guys that can hit and I’ve been hit harder, way harder by guys with 16-oz gloves and headgear on. I was not phased. So it’s difficult for me to say what his power is like because honestly, I was not phased. Not at all.”

What are your thoughts on what Chris van Heerden had to say about Conor McGregor and Canelo Alvarez’s power? Let’s discuss this in the comment section.

on 8/21/2017.