Fredde Roach not counting McGregor out of Mayweather superfight

Throughout the course of 2017, the possibility of a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing match has continued to dominate combat sports headlines. While it has been made extremely clear that the odds of a Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather superfight happening are slim to none, talks have continued to progress and give fight fans hope of a potential fight materializing.

While in a boxing match, McGregor is of course a heavy underdog due to Mayweather’s undefeated record, the power he possesses in his left hand is extremely lethal, and as a result many believe he could actually defeat Mayweather.

While initially, famed boxing coach Fredie Roach, didn’t give McGregor much of a chance against Mayweather, the famed coach has since changed his tune, telling MMAJunkie:

“He is a pretty good striker,” Roach said. “The thing is, Floyd is a great boxer. 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.

“But, ya know, one punch can change everything. It’s the sport we’re in. I’m not gonna count him out completely. I think Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I wouldn’t count anyone out. Because he throws, he throws hard, and he’s not afraid to throw.”

Prior to that however, Roach had stated:

“He’s [McGregor] fun to watch. He’s a character. But again, he’s not that good of a fighter. He’ll let his hands go and so forth and he’s a little wild and so forth but as far as boxing wise, I mean supposedly he went to Wild Card West and boxed with Chris Van Heerden and Van Heerden told me, he says, ‘I f***ing killed him.’ But I wasn’t there so I don’t know. But Chris Van Heerden, he’s a tough kid, good boxer. But I just don’t think he’s in that class of boxing.”

Only time will tell which Roach prediction is accurate.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com 2/21/2017.