Mayweather or McGregor? Athletes make their picks
— -- Whether you think Conor McGregor has a real chance to beat Floyd Mayweather or that it's simply a spectacle, it's likely you have an opinion on the fight.?
We asked professional athletes in a variety of sports which fighter they thought would prevail when Mayweather and McGregor square off in the ring on Saturday night, Aug. 26 in Las Vegas.
Special thanks to NFL nation team reporters, Buster Olney, Jerry Cra snick,?Jesse Rogers and Michael Collins for helping to obtain answers.
Golf
Rory McIlroy
"I think it really depends how long the fight lasts. If Conor can't get him out of there within three or four rounds, as he's been saying, Mayweather is just going to make him miss and tap him around and jab the head off him for 12 rounds, and that will be the end of that. If Conor goes in there and roughs him up a little bit, and Mayweather says, 'I haven't seen anything like this before,' you never know. Conor talks a good game. ... The more you watch him and listen to him speak, the more you believe in him. Conor is going to be the aggressor, but he'll start to get tired after five or six rounds and Mayweather will do what he usually does and outpoint him. It'll be nearly as boring as [the Pacquiao fight]."
MLB
Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels
"Yeah! Mayweather, decision. I don't think Floyd can get beat."
Anthony Rizzo, 1B, Chicago Cubs
"I think it goes the distance but Mayweather wins. I think it's going to be great. I think McGregor is going to come out hot. I want to say the media has tried to sway me to believe there will be a knockout but it's Mayweather. He's smart, he's going to bob and weave and not get hit."
Lance McCullers, Jr., P, Houston Astros
"The smart way to go is Floyd, but I'm a huge Conor fan. I say Conor via KO in the sixth."
Noah Syndergaard, P, New York Mets
"Can I choose Jon Snow? I like underdogs. So McGregor in second round."
Jason Heyward, OF, Cubs
"I'll hang out and watch it with the guys. I hope Floyd wins because I don't want to see him lose his first fight. If he had already been beaten, I wouldn't care. And to lose against a non-boxer, that would suck too. This is also a circus fight, so you don't know what's going to happen."
Kyle Schwarber, OF, Cubs
"I would say it's going the distance and Mayweather is going to win a unanimous decision. It's just two different sports. I know McGregor has the punching power but Mayweather is pretty damn quick. He's a really good technical fighter. His record speaks for itself. He's undefeated for a reason."
Andrew Miller, P, Cleveland Indians
"Ha, I'm about the worst person to ask about that, but I can't imagine Mayweather losing. I'll go fourth round."
Curtis Granderson, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers
"I'm going with Mayweather. McGregor is a great MMA fighter, but he's had to become a drastically better boxer in the time that they announced the fight, and I don't know if he's caught up to Mayweather's boxing skill. I think it's going to be entertaining, because it has to be. The two of them know they have to put on a good show, because the world is watching.''
NFL
Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
"I swear those both are my favorite guys. I'm just going to watch the fight, man. I can't lose. Or win. It's fine. I think they're misunderstood. People mad just because of how successful they are. Me being around Floyd, he's got to be one of the greatest guys I've ever seen in my life as far as him and people. I think that's what people don't see. And he's a caring dude. And, you know, that's why I like him and he cares about what he does. Same with McGregor. He cares about what he does."
LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills
"I mean this is a no-brainer. I think Mayweather's gonna blow him out. [McGregor] doesn't box. Floyd's one of the best boxers of all time."
Tyrann Mathieu, S, Arizona Cardinals
"I think Mayweather's going to win. Just more experience. He's a defensive guru, so everybody he faces it's been hard for them just to get a hand on him. I think McGregor is going to come out and try to be overly aggressive. [But] it's not UFC, it's boxing."
Jabrill Peppers, S, Cleveland Browns
"I got to go with Floyd. His record speaks for itself, the guys he has beaten. Conor is an MMA guy. I'm not saying he won't fare well, but you're talking about one of the best ever to do it [in Mayweather]. That's like saying a soccer player can come over here and start at receiver or something. Just because he's a good soccer player doesn't mean he'll be a good football player. He has good footwork, but that doesn't mean he'll have the natural instincts like people who have been doing what they've been doing for so long. If it was MMA, then I'd give it to Conor because that's not what Floyd does. But boxing's not what Conor does."
Tyrone Crawford, DT, Cowboys
"I'm going with Mayweather just because he's a boxer. He loves his sport. I want to see him be the best of all time."
Darren McFadden, RB, Cowboys
"I've got to go with Mayweather. It's going to be a heck of a fight. I think McGregor is going to give him a test for sure, but you're talking about UFC and boxing. It's definitely going to be a different atmosphere."
Frostee Rucker, DT, Cardinals
"Mayweather. It's his sport. He's the champ. He is boxing. No contest."
CB Tramon Williams, CB, Cardinals
"Money Mayweather. Why? Because he's never been beaten. He's the best. He's 40 years old, yeah. He hasn't fought in two years. Conor is new to the sport. Even though his main background isn't boxing, we're still talking Floyd Mayweather, so I never put my money against anybody else. I think Floyd may stop him middle rounds. Everybody's got a puncher's chance, but a chance against Mayweahter is rare so I think it's as simple as that."
Markus Golden, DE, Cardinals
"I'm going with Mayweather. I think it's going to be the full fight [go the distance] -- no KO or TKO. I feel like Floyd is too good and he's a legend, so his career has to end undefeated. I expect a good competitive fight because both guys are really talented."
Brian Orakpo, LB, Tennessee Titans
"Floyd wins by KO in ninth round due to McGregor getting too tired to last 12 rounds. It will be a tactical, defensive fight. Floyd never will allow a street brawl type of fight by McGregor. He'll try early on but will not succeed."
T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
"I don't have a prediction on a winner, but I know somebody is going to get stopped. It's not going 12 [rounds]. No prediction, though. They both said they're not taking a step back, so I look forward to that. I like McGregor's swag, his confidence just from watching him in the UFC. He's doing some great things, especially with his striking. Money Mayweather is a defensive fighter. He talks a lot, but he backs it up and that's what you like to see from both of them fighters. I say the fight goes six rounds, max."
Brandon LaFell, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
"Mayweather. You can't go against 49-0. You just can't go against Money Mayweather. It's going to go a whole fight. If you watch previous Mayweather fights, there haven't been any knockouts. It's been good technique boxing. He's a perfectionist, a technician, he's going to go out there and really box. I hope he doesn't hang on the ropes and get punched out all day. But he's going to win the fight no matter what."
Marcedes Lewis, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
"If it's a stoppage, I'll take Conor. If it goes 12 rounds, I'll take Mayweather. I'm a MMA fan and enthusiast, so I'm thinking Conor. I've seen him do things people doubted he could do. I remember when [Mike] Tyson walked in there and Tyson ended up losing to Buster [Douglas], so you just never know. I feel like the size, the reach, he's naturally a bigger man, the power, the precision, Conor is crazy. Obviously, Floyd is an amazing boxer, especially defensively, so it's going to be interesting."
Dante Fowler Jr., DE, Jaguars
"I'm a big Mayweather fan. I think it's going to be a TKO by hopefully the 10th. I think Floyd likes to dance around and stuff like that, so I think Conor's going to come in there and try to hit him and Floyd doesn't like to get touched. His thing is defense first. I think he's just going to counter off what McGregor does and hopefully he can knock him out [after] all the stuff he [McGregor] has been talking and showing that he's not supposed to be in a boxing league."
Khyri Thornton, DT, Detroit Lions
"Mayweather. McGregor is a great fighter, don't get me wrong. Boxing is different from UFC fighting. You can't kick, you can't grapple and you have on gloves. For an experienced person like Mayweather, an inexperienced person like McGregor on the boxing tilt, I'm taking Mayweather."
Kenny Golladay, WR, Lions
"Floyd. It's his world, you know. McGregor's a MMA fighter, a really good MMA fighter at that. It's going to be a lot of adjustment for him, it feels like. Floyd is a boxer, that's exactly what he is. McGregor is mixed martial arts. That's going to be kind of tough."
Matt Prater, K, Lions
"Mayweather. He's better. He's a stand-up boxer. I think he could possibly embarrass McGregor. I think Mayweather is, if not the best boxer ever, then one of the best. I think he's the best ever, personally."
Cole Wick, TE, Lions
"I don't know. I think it's going to be a great fight and I'm going to love watching it, honestly. I think it's going to be a fight of the century, almost. You've got UFC melding with boxing, Floyd's got the upper hand because he is a boxer although he's got age with him. Conor McGregor is younger and as far as I know, he lost to Nate Diaz that first fight because he went to the ground with him. They were talking about how he's a stronger boxer so McGregor has some boxing background. And personally, I think if he can hit Mayweather. If he can hit him, I think he'll pull it out. But if it goes to a decision, Mayweather is going to win that fight."
Brandon Mebane, DT, Los Angeles Chargers
"Mayweather all the way, but if it was in a cage I'd go with Conor."?
Xavier Grimble, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
"I like Floyd to win. It might go 12. Floyd likes to draw things out."
Your take
