OPINION
FORTY-nine have come and 49 have fallen at the hands of Floyd ?Money? Mayweather.
The American fighter isn?t always afforded unanimous praise due to his actions outside the boxing ring. But as a fighter, he?s a legitimate all-time great.
Forty-nine times Mayweather has stepped in a boxing ring and he?s never lost. In fact, you can count on a single hand the amount of times he?s even been troubled in a fight.
Shane Mosley rocked him, Marcos Maidana tested his chin with a right-hand, he took a knee against Carlos Hernandez and his glove touched the canvas against Zab Judah.
Even then, he still won each of those fights comfortably.
Still, he?s only been knocked down once in 49 professional fights and his list of vanquished fighters reads like a future Hall of Fame roll-call: Manny Pacquiao, Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya, Zab Judah, Arturo Gatti, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo.
Mayweather said it best at the final press conference before his fight with McGregor on Sunday.
?I?ve been here plenty of times,? Mayweather said.
?Guys say, ?Oh, I?m going to go to the body on Mayweather, I?m gonna hit him with the right hand, I?m going to hit him with the left hook.?
?After 21 years I?ve been hit with everything ? and I?m still here.?
So many fighters have claimed to possess Mayweather?s kryptonite but here he is, at 40, still winning.
Fighters have tried to outbox him, outwork him, test him with power or frustrate him with fouls. Somehow, he has found a way to beat them all.
Some criticised his win over Jose Louis Castillo, despite all judges scoring the fight in Mayweather?s favour. Floyd took the criticism, ordered a rematch and beat him again, this time much more decisively.
He did the same to Marcos Maidana after the Argentinian gave him a legitimate scare ? one judge scoring a 114-114 draw. But otherwise all others were to Mayweather.
Shane Mosley rocked Mayweather in the opening round, then lost the next 11. Manny Pacquiao stole some rounds early but Mayweather won comfortably. Pacquiao?s rival Juan Manuel Marquez barely won a round on any judges? scorecards against Floyd.
Canelo Alvarez was also handed a 114-114 draw in his fight with Mayweather from judge CJ Ross. But her scoring was met with widespread condemnation. Her other two judges had it 117-111 and 116-112.
Only Oscar De La Hoya has been able to take Mayweather to a split-decision in 49 fights. Judges scored their 2007 fight 116-112, 115-113 and 113-115 to Mayweather.
De La Hoya himself has ruled out McGregor?s chances of winning. He has long admonished the fight, saying the UFC star simply has no hope.
?No chance,? De La Hoya told TMZ. ?I wish he would, but c?mon. If I couldn?t get a shot in, c?mon.
?You think Conor McGregor, in my prime, is better than me??
The McGregor camp claims his performance against former boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi in sparring shows the Irishman can match it with the best. Malignaggi is a former champion but he never beat anyone near the calibre of Mayweather.
He was knocked out by Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton. Miguel Cotto and Adrien Broner defeated him by unanimous and split decision respectively.
In his favour, McGregor is awkward and will come from unique angles. He has knockout power but so did Pacquiao, Canelo, Cotto and countless others. Finding the chin of Mayweather is the problem.
In fact, the challenge of doing so is another reason why Mayweather?s opponents lose fights. They drain their energy looking for the shot. They chase him for 12 rounds, and if they do manage to land something, there?s no pop left in the punch.
McGregor has said if he knocks out Mayweather, it will come early, and with good reason ? he doesn?t have the petrol in the tank. The Irishman only fights a maximum of 25 minutes in the Octagon (five x five minute rounds). His fight with Mayweather is 36 minutes, 12 x three minute rounds.
We?ve seen the UFC champion fade early in MMA fights already. He has only ever gone the full five-round distance once in his MMA career ? in his second fight with Nate Diaz.
He also had just eight weeks to train for this fight (most fight camps are 12) and he has not fought since November 2016. Miles in the legs and rounds in the gym do not constitute a real fight either.
Crucially though, boxing is not MMA. In boxing you are always moving and even in defence you are throwing punches, if only to keep distance, rather than score on your opponent.
In MMA, fighters only generally commit to strikes when they are hopeful of landing on their opponent, as it could potentially open them up for a takedown. They are conservative in their output.
Mayweather has made a 12-round fight an art form.
?You never know what is going to happen in the ring,? De La Hoya said. ?But history shows that Mayweather against brawlers, bangers, big punchers ? he has an easier time, because they?re coming at him and he can easily see them and defend himself against him. I just think Mayweather is going to win easy.?
McGregor has a chance and anything can happen in boxing. But better credentialed fighters, with the same power and unorthodox movement have tried and failed.
What makes Conor McGregor any different?
I will watch like everyone else on Sunday, given the intrigue the fight provides. But I will watch another Floyd Mayweather clinic.
