Your Cheatsheet for the Mayweather vs. McGregor Fight
*Note: I am not by any means an expert — my goal is to provide some foundational knowledge from other professionals without trying to impose my thoughts on the outcome of tonight’s fight.
For many of us, boxing is a sport we casually watch, only tuning into the Pacquiao or the Mayweather fights. It is especially interesting when we get a stylistic matchup like the “King of Boxing” vs. the “King of MMA”. But what are the real stylistic differences between the fighters? Here’s a quick primer for those who want to understand the dancing between the slugfests and truly understand the mastery on the canvas.
The Very Basics: Stance
To really understand boxing is to first understand the importance of stance. This is what varies greatly between different styles of martial arts. Here is a great primer on fighting stance:
Mayweather: Mayweather takes on an orthodox stance withclassic boxing foot positioning. This allows him to quickly move in and out as well as to load weight onto the front leg for heavy punches.
McGregor: It is well known that McGregor takes a southpaw stance, but what is less discussed is that McGregor has traditionally taken a relatively long stance. This can be considered taking an “MMA style” stance. This stance is effective in MMA because it more effective in throwing and avoiding kicks. In addition, this allows for McGregor to effectively use is back step counter left hook. The long stance allows Conor to spring quickly out of punching range.
Fighter Strategies: The Great Dance
Here is a primer on basic boxing strategies:
McGregor: He is infamous for his counter-left-hook or counter-left-straight. Here is a little more on how he sets up his counter-left earlier in his MMA career:
Mayweather: Mayweather often uses the “shoulder roll” as a defensive technique. He has spent decades honing in the skill of pulling back from punches and counter-punches. Here’s a little more discussion about the “shoulder roll”:
Here is a more detailed breakdown of Mayweather’s style, including offensive style:
The Rules of Party: Differences Between Boxing and the UFC
Time:
UFC — 5 rounds x 5 minutes = 25 minutes* to “go the distance”.
*for title fights.
Boxing — 12 rounds x 3 minutes = 36 minutes to “go the distance”.
Gloves:
UFC — 4oz gloves.
Boxing — 8 oz gloves (exception from the Nevada rules requiring 10z gloves for all weight classes other than welterweight).
Opinions are like *ssholes…
..and I won’t share mine. I am not by any means an authority on boxing, so my opinion doesn’t really mean anything. Regardless of people’s thoughts on the fight, the first few rounds will definitely be exciting to watch. Especially with a little fundamental understanding of the sport and the background of the two fighters.
If you’re dying to get a professional opinion, I suggest reading this article by Jack Slack (the creator of most of the videos I’ve shared), which you can find here.
