I think he would’ve done ok if he just focused on boxing. In mma he looks built for just punching. He’s heavy handed, a sharp puncher, and has potential to be a weight bully. If he worked on cardio more and was boxing focused he’d definitely be an above average fighter imo. I’m not sure how far he’d go, but I think he would’ve at least picked up a European, NABF, diamond, or one of those other whatever titles. Thoughts?
Sure, of course, he would have been ranked, elite, etc., he had everything needed. Would have sculpted him a little differently, presumably, engine-wise. Everyone who is truly elite at a combat sport is going to be very good at any other combat sport if that's the combat sport they focused on from the beginning.
Him and tons of other guys in MMA would be great boxers but boxing had so much more politics involved with it and still does before the rise of MMA becoming mainstream. The one great thing about MMA is the best fight the best, if they are in the same promotion of course. Unlike boxing you can only pad a guys record into a couple of fights before someone spoils it. Conor has been a mixed martial artist since 2007, nobody was looking for boxers outside of three countries during that time. That was always the flaw of mainstream boxing and it's problem with inclusion of "the world" that MMA filled. Boxing was only concerned with British, Mexican, and American fighters.
He certainly has the physically attributes. 5’9 with 74 inch reach. Skillful left hand he could have been good at 147 and 154.
That's because he uses a Karate stance lol, in boxing you obviously cannot kick or use takedowns, hence his stance
Josh taylor is basically what you would get, he's the same type of guy connor is, only hes scottish instead of irish and he stuck with boxing. Josh trained tae kwon do before he was a boxer
I think he could have gotten a lower top 10 ranking. Not champion material though imo. People overrate the value of his Mayweather performance. Had that been an active pro boxer his size that wasnt completely beyond their prime, there would have been no 'moral victories' that night for McGregor.
I think he'd be a flashy prospect, climb the rankings, then he'd get exposed if taken into deep waters. His success in MMA is generally in the first 10-15 minutes, where he practically just uses his hands and has power and sharp counters. But you can't take people out as easily in boxing and so many guys would be able to survive the early danger and get him into the second half of a fight, where he would potentially crumble physically and mentally. Malignaggi was basically right about Conor's character. Conor's losses to Diaz and Khabib were partially quit jobs when the going got tough, and even the Mayweather fight seemed similar.
