Oh I wasn't necessarily saying he would throw harder on average than some of Mayweather's opponents in a gym. But none of them (to my knowledge maybe you know someone who did) just said "%*%* it, we're doing it live!" Bill OReilly style and went in willing to absorb punches to land some hard shots of their own. Even Pacquiao was trying to box with him not land some haymakers. And in their prime there is NO one not even Pacquiao who can bob and dance and toss out some pitter patter punches with Floyd. He won that game every single time.
And I'm not talking about a 30 second bumrush we've seen those before and Floyd can dodge that for a period of time. I mean a relentless follow you and corner you taking shot after shot until you can land a couple of haymakers of your own.
But no I wasn't necessarily saying McGregor is some heavy handed knockout king...far from it. He's got heavier than average hands for a lightweight but unless he hits the button you're not going to go down on one punch. But, what everyone will say about McGregor is that 1) he's got accurate punches and tends to score more than an average MMA fighter and 2) he can deliver those accurate punches while getting hit himself i.e. He's "relentless". So other than missing "one punch knockout power" he's almost the perfect person to bumrush Floyd.
Actually on that note, he's smaller than McGregor and far less famous but the person I would want to see in a freak show versus Mayweather is Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. An absolutely fearless (i.e. perfectly willing to take massive hits with no defense) little guy with true one punch knockout power. Now THAT I would pay to see.
I follow you now. And yes, you're onto it, the key to challenging Mayweather. It takes pressure, and the times he's been pushed to the edge, against Castillo, De La Hoya and Maidana, that's the key. Even though I thought he clearly lost the fight, I thought the washed up De La Hoya showed the way with the pressure. I thought that fight was well within DLH's grasp, and he could have won that fight if he was a few years fresher. To be fair, I also think Mayweather may have had one of his rare tactical off nights in that fight, and if they played it back, maybe he would have whitewashed him. For a close, mega-money fight, DLH certainly never seemed all that interested in a return.
Castillo beat Mayweather and got robbed, with pressure. I think prime Margarito would have given him hell, and I think Cotto back in his 140 days would have had a good chance before he became more of a boxer (and extended his career considerably...good for him). But 140 Cotto was a terminator.
I think it takes more than just the will though to challenge Mayweather, I think it takes an elite skill set/intelligence/arsenal. And it's very hard or unusual for a guy with that kind of skill set (like Pac or Mosley or late model Cotto or young Canelo) to adopt that pressure tactic. That's usually a tool for guys with B level skill sets, like Ricky Hatton.
That's kind of a lost art, the pressure fighter who is also highly skilled...Joe Frazier and young Tyson are examples of what I'm talking about that people would immediately recognize. Pressure PLUS brilliant footwork, exquisite punch placement, defense, power. Today, a guy that has those skills is taught to fight in a manner that minimizes risk and lengthens the career. You also have to be willing to put gloves on Mayweather anywhere...shoulders, arms, back of head, forearms...just tough him. DLH did that great. Again...not a tactic that guys with world class skills easily adapt to...even when they claim that's what they're going to do.
But Margarito fit that bill, and Floyd wouldn't fight him. Castillo fit the bill and gave him all he wanted. That wasn't DLH's style, but he adopted it for the Mayweather fight and had success. Maidana is a little different...not as traditionally skilled as what I'm talking about, but a certain level of genius to his "rawness." I guess Maidana's success would be what McGregor fans might use to try to convince themselves because he looks raw and unorthodox, but that belies a guy in Maidana who was a really world class fighter for quite a few years and got a lot of nice scalps.
I'm not saying any style or any certain fighter is a lock to beat Mayweather by any means, but that's the strategy that can cause him problems.
I personally think McGregor lacks the boxing skill set to do that effectively, and if he does it will look like the Ricky Hatton fight at best, but I agree with your general line of thinking.
