5 things that make you wonder if Conor McGregor really does have a chance against Floyd Mayweather
"Conor McGregor will not land a single punch against Floyd Mayweather," said Max Kellerman, in a matter-of-fact tone.
As a fan hooked on by all of the furore surrounding this super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, that's the last thing you want to hear from a boxing expert on ESPN.
However, it does reflect what most of the boxing fraternity thinks about Conor McGregor, a fighter with a 0-0 professional boxing record, stepping into the squared circle to fight the most decorated boxer of this generation in Floyd Mayweather.
But is it really as black and white as they make it out to be?
Conventional wisdom would suggest that it may indeed be so from a technical standpoint, but in their incredulity at an MMA fighter's cojones in challenging one of the all-time great boxers, are they conveniently ignoring the intangibles attached to any combat situation?
Because if the Irishman's rhetoric is to be believed, he's not here to box with Floyd Mayweather like 49 people before him tried to.
He's here to fight him.
And in a fight, especially one with Conor McGregor involved, anything can happen.
8 oz. gloves
Floyd Mayweather was the first person involved in this fight who suggested on social media that they use 8-ounce gloves instead of the 10-ounce ones that 154-pound contests in boxing generally require.
Conor McGregor -- the quintessential power puncher -- was only too happy to oblige.
Duly, the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted on it and agreed that the willingness of both contestants alone was enough for them to sanction the move.
And it's a move that, at least on paper, favours the Irishman.
McGregor is a knockout artist and while 8-ounce boxing gloves are still twice as heavy as the 4-ounce gloves that he uses for MMA, they are two ounces lesser than what was agreed upon initially.
At the end, none of this may actually end up mattering if Floyd schools Conor in the sweet science like many are expecting him to. But for what it's worth, lighter gloves do increase the chances of Conor McGregor getting the flash knockout early in the fight.