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Boxing

29th Jun 2017

UFC champion explains how Conor McGregor can win without actually beating Floyd Mayweather

That would be something else

Ben Kiely

Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor doesn’t need to beat Floyd Mayweather in order to leave the ring as a winner, according to Tyron Woodley.

The UFC welterweight champion firmly believes that a ‘moral victory’ is well within Conor McGregor’s grasp against arguably the greatest defensive boxer ever.

With the vast majority not giving ‘The Notorious” a hope in hell of doing anything but be thoroughly outclassed in his professional debut, Woodley feels that nicking a couple of rounds would say a lot. In his book, that kind of show would be as good as a win.

“If Conor McGregor can go out in this fight and he can capture two, three four rounds and actually fight 12 rounds and look competitive, I’m standing to my feet, brother, you won.”

“I don’t care what the scorecard says. If you can do that against the best defensive boxer in the history of boxing, then you have won in my opinion, brother.”

While McGregor’s mural shows him landing that patented Celtic cross, the predictions of the cognoscenti paint another narrative. Woodley does not think Mayweather will find it easy to put the Dubliner away though. ‘The Chosen One’ believes that McGregor will have serious lasting power.

“Conor McGregor has a crazy chin. He can take a punch. When he knocked out Jose Aldo, he actually got hit with the harder blow on the way down when he hit the canvas, so if you’re going to think that Floyd Mayweather’s going to stop him within the first six rounds, I think you’re going to be sadly mistaken.”

“He will get in his face, he’s ging to taunt him, he’s going to take some punches. If he’s going to finish him, I think it’s going to be after the sixth round.”

That would be a Rocky Balboa-esque performance alright.