According to assistant trainer Nate Jones, Floyd Mayweather plans to fight toe-to-toe against Conor McGregor, instead of employing his usual defensive approach.
Throughout his entire career, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been known as a counter-puncher and defensive wizard. His patented shoulder roll has won him fights against some of boxing’s elite, such as Oscar De La Hoya, Canelo Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao, among many others.
But according to his trainer Nate Jones, Floyd will be letting go of this strategy when he faces Conor McGregor on August 26th.
“We’re going to fight him,” Jones told the Los Angeles Times (via MMAjunkie). “We know this is something new for him. So, Floyd’s going to turn the gas on early. We’re going to fight him. We don’t think he can go past four rounds. So we’ll burn the gas out of him (early), make it a tough fight for him, let him see some things he’s never … hit him with some good body shots.”
“I don’t want to give the whole game plan, but we got some things different.”
While he is not a stranger to the boxing game, McGregor will be fighting his first professional boxing match against the former pound-for-pound king of the sport. For Jones, this fact, along with Mayweather’s prowess will help them secure an early win.
“His head movement is going to confuse McGregor. His relaxation is going to confuse him. Making him fight at a high rate early is going to surprise him,” Jones explained. We’re not going to box him; we’re going to fight him.”
“We know we’re going to get his tank blown early. We’re going to let him see things, show him all that stuff early. Let him see what he’s been dealing with, make him more confused. Because he’s new to this, and he ain’t ready for this.”
In 16 days’ time, Mayweather and McGregor will finally meet in the center of the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The fight will be broadcast live on Showtime PPV in the US, and Sky Sports Box Office for viewers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
