Former UFC Champ: McGregor vs. Mayweather Could Beat Ali-Frazier
Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather‘s rivalry could rival that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
That’s what former UFC champ Pat Miletich believes as we are just less than a month away (Sat. August 26, 2017) from UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor and undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather’s boxing superfight at the T-Mobile Arena from Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor has been in deep preparation for his professional boxing debut, bringing in the likes of former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi as a sparring partner.
Miletich recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about the upcoming superfight, stating that if MCGregor were indeed to beat Mayweather it would the ‘biggest upset i combat sports history, and it’s already a fight that could rival or beat the biggest heavyweight boxing matches in the sweet science’s storied history. In fact, Miletich went as far as saying that McGregor and Mayweather’s rivalry could be as big, if not bigger, than that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier(quotes via MMA Fighting):
“It’s certainly the biggest combat event ever in the history of, I mean, this is, you think about Thrilla in Manila and [George] Foreman, [Joe] Frazier and guys like [Muhammad] Ali and Frazier and Foreman and all those guys, I mean, this is going to rival, if not beat that.”
Miletich looked into how McGregor could pull off said biggest upset, claiming that if he were training McGregor for the bout, he’d teach him to ‘cheat within the rules’ throughout the entire fight:
“[If] I’m training a fighter who’s going into that fight? Cheat within the rules, the entire fight,” Miletich said.
“Its got to be that close to a street fight. Get two warnings for everything before they take a point, and look, if you get a point taken, you get a point taken. It’s not like he’s winning on the cards anyway. I’m just being honest.”
He then pondered the possibility that “Money” could avoid his usual game-plan of ‘coasting to victories’ and instead attempt to bring the fight to McGregor. Miletich has enough confidence in the Irishman’s chin to survive for 12 rounds, and with his ‘monstrous’ left hand, he definitely has a chance to pull off the upset:
“Mayweather’s good at scoring points, staying ahead on the cards and coasting to victories,” Miletich said. “Will McGregor pull him out of that and make him go out on a limb and try to knock him out? That’s the thing. But McGregor’s got a good enough chin, and I think he can hang around, and that means he’s in there for 12 rounds with that monstrous left hand. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you are that weight and you get hit with that left hand, its going to hurt you.”
“The constant pressure of the tap of the back of the head and the push to the hip at the same time to make the head pop back to throw stuff,” Miletich said. “The bringing the head through and throwing a lead hook which would be opposite side for him. Stuff like that. Blocking the leg when he gets them in the ropes, because they’re the same stance, lean forward, clashing, block the outside of the leg, and get him off balance and take the leg out from under him. Make him stumble, make him lose his balance, and unload on him.
“A lot of different stuff like that to get people off balance, you know?” Miletich continued. “That’s the thing. And he’s got to go at the same time Mayweather goes. He cannot counter by getting out of the way and throwing back. He’s gone. You have to throw at the exact same time as he throws.”
