Lewis: Conor taught a lesson by a professor
CONOR McGREGOR was “brought to school” by Floyd Mayweather and needs to know his place, according to former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
UFC star McGregor lasted 10 rounds with Mayweather in his first professional boxing match in Las Vegas, as his opponent stopped him to retire with a perfect 50-0 record.
Many predicted McGregor would barely last a round with one of the greatest fighters of alltime, so he has earned some credit to have stayed the course for as long as he did.
However, the statistics and scorecards back up what was consistently predicted - that he would not have the durability to go toe- to-toe with a master for 12 rounds.
And, despite his immediate online reaction being to say “I like him even more now”, Lewis later said McGregor shouldn’t return to boxing.
“In the beginning, I didn’t look at Conor McGregor as a boxer, this guy has never been 12 rounds and he’s in there with a professor of boxing,” the Briton said.
“Floyd took him to school, he made him punch himself out and when he was tired he took him out. It’s textbook boxing.
“It shows that boxing is a superior sport. In the ring, you can’t beat a boxer, it’s not as easy as everybody thought it would be, just because McGregor is a fighter. This is fighting where you can only use your hands.”
Despite Lewis’ criticisms, the money the fight attracted means another boxing outing for McGregor seems inevitable, possibly against Paulie Malignaggi who has denied claims he was put down by the Irishman in sparring.
Lewis, though, hopes McGregor’s ring appearance will never be repeated.
“I didn’t see the point of the whole thing,” he added. “A lot of people found it exciting, could Conor McGregor beat Floyd? It wasn’t the case. It was a case of a textbook style brought to school, McGregor got brought to school.”
Asked if he had a message for McGregor, Lewis said: “Stay in your lane. Boxing is superior.”
Carl Froch admitted he was on the edge of his seat but also believes Mayweather “outclassed” McGregor.
Four-time world super-middleweight champion Froch praised the UFC star’s resilience but was not surprised by the result.
Froch said: “McGregor did well from the fact that he’s a mixed martial artist. If that was a boxer, you’d say it was an ‘outclassed’ job, a mismatch.
“Conor came, he was proud, he tried, he didn’t go over.
“It was a great event, promotion, a good show, we’ve all been on the edge of our seats. But what happened is what we thought would happen.”
Boxing promoter Frank Warren criticised the quality of the fight and believes the Irishman was “totally out of his league” in the ring with one of the greatest boxers of all-time.
He said: “I’ve never seen him fight as a boxer but having watched that, he can’t box. He’s brave and he’s got a big heart but he’s not a boxer. He was out of his depth in there.”