Thoughts on Mayweather vs McGregor...

Floyd didn't fight that way because he "wanted to give the fans what they wanted". Neither did he fight that way because he is shot or washed up. Floyd fought the way that he did, because McGregor forced him to.

I said before the fight that Conor could provide some uncomfortable moments for Floyd, with his different style, which would be awkward for Floyd, as he wouldn't be boxing in the manner that Mayweather is used to. I knew that Conor could hit Floyd, and I also knew that Conor wouldn't just knock Floyd out when he hit him.

I picked Floyd to win by knockout, and I actually predicted it to happen in 5 rounds. I knew that Floyd would come at Conor, because inside and moving forward against Conor was the safest place for him. Conor is a master at fighting from range, with great use of distance, timing, and accuracy. However, inside boxing would obviously be Conor's weakest spot. In MMA, Conor would never experience a fight where him and an opponent would just be in each others chest, but only throwing punches. At that point in an MMA fight, they would be throwing knees, elbows, grappling, ect... definitely not just standing against each other boxing from the pocket. So, it was obvious that Conor would struggle most from that distance in a boxing match.

What surprised me about this fight, and I bet it surprised Floyd as well.... was exactly how damn successful Conor was at counter punching early in the fight. Not only was he completely controlling the action from a distance, but he also was making Floyd pay almost every time that he tried to throw a punch in the first few rounds. I was shocked at how comfortable Conor was in there, and how easily he saw Floyd's punches and stayed right in there returning successful counters.

Now, I would bet everything I have on the fact that Floyd had all intentions on going in there, walking Conor down, and taking him out in short order. He found out very quickly, within the first few seconds of the fight, that Conor's style, range, unique pressure from an uncomfortable distance for a boxer was going to be a problem.... at least in the early going. Floyd tried over and over again to implement his game plan in the earlier rounds, and was unsuccessful.

On to Conor's conditioning. Conor was in terrific shape. Floyd was too... don't buy all of the people trying to rewrite history. Conor didn't tire out because of conditioning, and he didn't tire out because he normally only fights 25 minutes. He fatigued because he isn't a boxer, and in his very first fight, he was in a 12 round boxing match against one of the best technical boxers of all time. The mental stress of a boxing match of that magnitude isn't something that you can train for in a single training camp. That comes from years of boxing, first as an amateur, then 4 round pro fights, then moving on to 6, 8, 10, ect... To jump in from nothing but gym work, to a 12 round fight against a 49-0 boxer is an insane jump. Amazingly, McGregor was able to have some real success in there, and in ways that most of the world never thought that he would. Credit Floyd for making Conor stressed down the stretch of that fight, by walking at him with his guard up the way that he did. He was making Conor feel like he had to throw punches when he really didn't, and I think that everyone could tell that Conor was starting to wear down. Floyd's is a really smart guy in that ring.

Anyone who says "Floyd carried him"... or "Floyd let him have early success", really needs to wake up. That doesn't happen in real life, fellas. No way on earth Floyd goes into that fight thinking "I'm going to let him have some real early success and allow him to sweep the first several rounds." Professional fighters never go into a fight with a plan to lose rounds, that's insane. The fact that McGregor forced that to happen is extremely impressive. Also, credit to Floyd for weathering the early rounds, keeping his composure, realizing what he needed to do in order to win, and making that happen. I'm sure it wasn't the way that he had hoped the fight would go, but in the end his record stays intact, he made a ton of money, and he can now retire for good.

Congrats to Floyd on a great career. He deserves everything that he has ever earned. He has cemented himself alongside the greatest names in the history of the sport. I hope that in time people will be able to look back at his career, and appreciate what he has done. I don't want to see him box again. I still think that he is super talented, and he's definitely not washed up. However, he clearly isn't in his prime anymore either, and I wouldn't want to see him lose at this stage of his career. It's nice to see one of the sports best retire at the right time, and be able to be healthy and enjoy the rest of their life.

For Conor, he really impressed me and put on one hell of a show. I don't feel like he should box anymore, other than for the extra money if he's after that. I feel like he can go back to the UFC and change the landscape and pay scale of MMA. He has a chance to really raise his own sport to a new level with this level of fame.