Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be the best defensive fighter boxing has ever seen, but he is going on the offensive against Conor McGregor in their Aug. 26 fight.
“Like I said on numerous occasions building up to this fight, I’m coming straight ahead,” Mayweather said in Thursday’s conference call. “So he don’t have nothing to worry about.”
Mayweather is a defensive fighter in the style of former and one of the original heavyweight champions, James J. Corbett. He is quicker and more precise than anyone else in the boxing world so he doesn’t have to engage with anyone. He can get in, land his shots, and get out before the other fighter knows what hit him.
While he says he will come after McGregor later this month, he will still be on his guard as he always is. Mayweather is one win away from overtaking former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano as the winningest undefeated fighter in boxing history, and he will remind everyone of that when he steps in the ring with the MMA champion.
Mayweather did confirm his fight with McGregor will be the final one of his career.
“This is my last one ladies and gentleman,” he said. “I gave my word to Al Haymon, I gave my word to my children, and the one thing I don’t want to do is break that.”
Other news and notes from Mayweather’s press conference:
-Mayweather on the Paulie Malignaggi sparring video with McGregor, “I think it was real interesting, but a lot of rabid punching, illegal rabid punching behind the head, a lot of shots was illegal, a lot of grappling, a lot of wrestling, a lot of illegal shots, I mean, that’s just my honest opinion.”
-On potentially going 50-0 to break Marciano’s undefeated record, “I appreciate the legendary fighters, even though this is No. 50, this is my 50th fight, that’s not really my focus, my focus is that I want to go out there and give the fans an exciting fight.”
On his comments about how he has lost a step, “I’m just being honest, I don’t think I’m the same Floyd Mayweather I was 21 years ago.”
-On who is taking the bigger risk between him and McGregor, “I truly believe I’m taking the bigger risk, I mean, but it’s a big reward for both, but I’m taking the bigger risk. I have the 49-0 record and, you know, when a fighter has lost before if he loses again people say, ‘Oh, it’s nothing he’s lost before,’ but when a fighter has been dominating 20-some years, never lost, everything is on the line.”
-Mayweather on hearing McGregor studied and emulated him growing up, “I don’t think there’s no fighter that’s been in combat sports period, that’s in combat sports right now that hasn’t looked at a Floyd Mayweather video or studied a Floyd Mayweather fight, I mean, at least I don’t think so because I think this is the Mayweather era. And I have dominated my era, and when a person has been so dominant in his era I think other fighters are going to pay attention.”
