Everything You Need to Know about Mayweather-McGregor

Floyd Mayweather puts his undefeated fighting record on the line against MMA star Conor McGregor in a boxing match on Saturday night in Las Vegas in what is sure to be a supersized spectacle of worldwide interest.

While most boxing experts expect an easy night for Mayweather, and while recent history suggests the best bet in boxing over the last 10 years is Mayweather by decision over anybody anyway, the Showtime pay-per-view bout is still sure to attract millions of viewers this weekend and may even surpass the current record-holding superfight promotion, Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao.

Here’s everything you need to know about the fight.

The Participants

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor are the two biggest stars in their sports, and each man has managed to break through the confines of his niche realm into mainstream sports stardom, too. These guys are tremendously popular.

Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) is the best boxer of a generation. He’s a counterpunching machine who’s as adept at making his opponents miss as he is landing a high percentage of his own punches. He’s faced a myriad of styles over the course of his 20-year boxing career, and he’s seldom been pushed to the limit.

The prevailing opinion in the press is that Mayweather will have no problem with whatever McGregor brings on fight night, but the bold Irishman has gone on record numerous times to predict not only a win, but a win by knockout.

By MMA standards, McGregor (21-3, 18 KOs) is a fantastic striker. As a youngster, he learned boxing before his transition over to MMA, so he is well versed in boxing basics. Moreover, McGregor has legitimate knockout power in both hands, particularly in his left, which he throws from a southpaw stance.

McGregor has been asking for this fight through the media for almost two years, and this Saturday night he finally gets his wish.

The Undercard

• Gervonta Davis (18-0) vs. Francisco Fonseca (19-0-1)
• Nathan Cleverly (30-3) vs. Badou Jack (21-1-2)
• Andrew Tabiti (14-0) vs. Steve Cunningham (29-8-1)

The televised undercard for Mayweather-McGregor is palatable by big fight standards.  Cleverly and Jack should provide a good match stylistically. Both Davis and Tabiti are highly regarded in boxing circles as prospects, the former going a little beyond prospect at this point by virtue of him winning a world title earlier this year. Both of them will have quality opponents in front of them on fight night so the fights are at least worth watching.

Where to Watch

The bout will take place on Saturday, August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It will be televised live on Showtime PPV starting at 9 p.m. EST. It will also be available in select movie theatres as well as a live stream via ShowtimePPV.com.

Odds

Per OddsShark.com, Mayweather is the favorite to win at -400 (bet $400 to win $100), and McGregor's odds to pull the upset are +300 (bet $100 to win $300).

Prediction

As noted before, the safest bet in all of boxing is Mayweather by unanimous decision. I expect no different here versus McGregor. Mayweather should win easily and comfortably while barely breaking a sweat. In fact, Mayweather—like in so many of his other fights—could probably win by knockout were he so inclined. But Mayweather fights in a manner that limits risk, so he will most likely box McGregor’s ears off to win a wide UD. Basically, Mayweather should win every single round.