When asked to give his take on the highly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor on Saturday night, Andrew Baker had a simple breakdown of the bout.
“It’s the best of MMA and the best of boxing,” said Baker, a longtime boxing coach in Robeson County and recent inductee into the Carolinas boxing Hall of Fame.
“It’s a different event, with different promoting. It’s looking to find out who is the best fighter — boxing or MMA.”
Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs), the best boxer of the last two decades, will return from a two-year retirement at the age of 40 to face the biggest name in combat sports during his absence — UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 in MMA).
Mayweather will seek his 50th career win, which would best the mark of former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. The greatest defensive fighter of his time, Mayweather simply needs to do the kind of things that won him 49 previous fights to beat a UFC star in his first boxing bout. But it’s also a fight between a 29-year-old southpaw in his prime and a 40-year-old veteran who hasn’t fought in nearly two years.
Baker has never met or trained Mayweather, but he’s confident the veteran boxer will come away with a victory.
“He’s just an all-around boxer strategy-wise. He’s 49-0 so he has to know what he is doing,” Baker said. “In this fight with McGregor, Floyd has the upper hand because McGregor is stepping in his domain. There’s no kicking or elbowing or submissions so it will be different for McGregor, even though he is a competitor.”
Baker likened the Mayweather-McGregor matchup to Mayweather’s fight against Canelo Alvarez in 2013, a match Mayweather won by majority decision.
“Floyd came out and out-boxed him (Alvarez). He’s got a style of his own,” Baker said. “I expect that it will be a good fight in the beginning, but once Floyd figures him (McGregor) out, it’s over.”
Representing the UFC side of the spectrum, MMA fighter Derek Brunson, a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, is also rolling with “Money” Mayweather to top the “Notorious” McGregor.
“This is definitely not your stereotypical fight in the way that combat sports ranking systems are all set up, but hey, we’re here now. The fight is going down,” said Brunson, who is the seventh-ranked UFC middleweight fighter.
“I think it may be competitive for a round or two. I had a feeling the whole time that McGregor was going to find a lucky punch and put one on Floyd due to Floyd taking this fight with no purpose other than money. Sometimes when you’re greedy it tends to bite you in the butt, but I like Mayweather to come in here and be the same, smart boxer, put on a boxing clinic and get the victory.”
McGregor’s improbable challenge of Mayweather could be seen by a staggering 50 million people in the United States as fans and the curious gather in small and large parties across the nation.
When the two fighters finally square up on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with strong potential to break Mayweather’s pay-per-view record of 4.6 million buys from his 2015 victory over Manny Pacquiao, a 60-day circus build will commence with an actual boxing match.
Each pay-per-view sale means more money in the wallets of both fighters. Though estimates vary, Mayweather is expected to make some $200 million, while McGregor will likely pocket at least $100 million.
Ticket sales have been slow in Las Vegas — largely because of astronomical prices — but the fight is shaping up as must-see TV at a price of $99.95.
“Floyd did not have to do much promotions with this fight like he usually does,” Baker said. “The crowd is excited and wants to see this fight. In the past, Floyd has done all the promotions himself, but McGregor has his promoters, too. So, it has had a lot (of promotion) on both sides. This fight was promoted good and should be a good fight.”
While he thinks Mayweather will emerge victorious, Baker doesn’t think McGregor is just in it for the money.
“He’s not just another opponent that has come to fight Floyd, and he’s not taking it lightly,” Baker said. “He’s stepping into somewhere he has never been before. He’s stepping into the lion’s den.
“I’m looking for the first four rounds to be devastating, and I know that McGregor won’t back down. If McGregor were to win, it would blow things sky high, but as a boxer and a boxing coach, and trainer, I don’t see that happening.”
