Freddie Roach: Conor McGregor Is Not That Good Of A Fighter
Legendary boxing coach Freddie Roach isn’t convinced that UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor is as good a fighter as he says he is.
It was made official earlier this month that “The Notorious One” will be making his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest to ever step into the squared circle – Floyd Mayweather Jr. The fight has been the biggest topic of discussion for almost a year in the combat sports world, and after a ton of hype from fans and media, UFC President Dana White worked out a deal with Mayweather and company to make the ‘dream fight’ a reality.
The bout will go down on August 26 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on HBO pay-per-view (PPV). The boxing world has heavily criticized the fight since its announcement, calling it a joke and claiming it is a mockery of the sport.
Roach didn’t give his exact stance on the bout’s creation during his recent interview with FightHubTV, but explained why he doesn’t think “Mystic Mac” will make it past four rounds:
“He’s fun to watch, he’s a character, he’s – but again, he’s not that good of a fighter,” Roach said. “He’ll let his hands go and so forth, he’s a little wild, but as far as boxing wise – I mean, supposedly he went to Wildcard West and boxed with Chris Van Heerden. Van Heerden told me, he says (chuckles) “I killed him.”
“I mean, I wasn’t there so I don’t know. Chris Van Heerden is a tough kid and a good boxer, but I just don’t think he’s in that class of boxing – he’s (McGregor) putting himself at a very very high level. I think he’s more of a four round fighter at this point.”
When asked if he believes there are any boxers around today that he thinks McGregor would beat in the ring, Roach jokingly answered that he believes there are a few ‘stiffs’ the Irishman could probably get past:
“Yeah, I’m sure there’s some stiffs out there,” Roach joked. “I mean, we’ve dug ’em up before. Nobody of note though.”
