VIDEO | Floyd Mayweather explains why Conor McGregor could win their fight

If Conor McGregor makes the transition into boxing for a battle with undefeated great Floyd Mayweather – and there’s plenty of reason to believe this will be the case – he will enter the fight as a massive underdog. He’s never competed as a professional boxer before, after all.

This does not mean McGregor can’t win. The crafty striking specialist will have an edge in the age, power, and perhaps even speed departments, and so his winning this massive boxing bout is certainly possible. At least, that’s what Mayweather believes.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Mayweather explained why Conor McGregor is such a dangerous challenge for him.

“I can’t sit here and knock Conor McGregor,” he said. “Conor McGregor is the second biggest name in MMA. So I’m not going to sit right here and knock Conor McGregor. He’s gone out there and done what he had to do. It’s obvious that he’s done something right thus far to get to the point where he’s at. I’m not here to bad mouth him.”

“I’ve been off a couple years,” he continued. “I’m 40 years old now. So I’m a lot older, and he’s still in his 20s. I’m in my 40s now. So I mean, that could play a major key, we don’t know. And he’s a heavy hitter. We don’t know. Has he signed the contract yet? Absolutely not. In due time, we’ll just see.”

“Any time Conor McGregor goes out there and defeats fighters, he’s standing up defeating fighters. He’s in a boxing position, and he’s beaten fighters. When he did get defeated, he was on the ground. So it’s obvious Conor McGregor is a better standup fighter than he is a grappler. So does he have a good chance of upsetting Floyd Mayweather? I can’t say, but anything can happen in the sport of boxing – in contact sports period.”

Do you give Conor McGregor a chance against Floyd Mayweather?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 5/3/2017.