McGregor going to have to get rough to stop Mayweather

LAS VEGAS — Just 20 months ago, a former plumber from Dublin fought a fearsome superstar who hadn't lost in a decade. Conor McGregor talked his way into a big-money showdown, but he had to back up his boasts against Jose Aldo, one of the greatest fighters in his sport.

McGregor finished the UFC featherweight champion in 13 seconds with one devastating left hand.

Floyd Mayweather presents an entirely different challenge when McGregor steps in the Vegas ring Saturday night. In his professional boxing debut, McGregor must figure out how to beat Mayweather at his own game — something the best boxers in the world have never done.

McGregor is a massive underdog, and deservedly so. But stop pretending the improbable doesn't happen in combat sports, particularly when the self-proclaimed Mystic Mac is involved.

To declare McGregor can't possibly win this fight displays more arro- gance than, say, spending every night at a strip club the week beforehand, as Mayweather is currently doing.

Of course the hard-hitting Irishman has a chance — and there are several tactics he could employ to pull the biggest upset in boxing history.

“The people who don't believe it don't know anything about fighting,” said UFC President Dana White, who admittedly has a slight bias here. “This isn't going to be a boxing match. This is going to be a fight.”

It's also a fight between a 29-yearold southpaw in his prime and a 40 1/2-year-old veteran who hasn't fought in nearly two years and doesn't particularly want to be here, as he acknowledged repeatedly Wednesday.