QUESTION MAC
Bernstein: Inexperienced Conor a huge mystery
Interviews, conference calls, podcasts — and Al Bernstein is only calling the fight.
“Crazy, crazy start to the week,” the Showtime analyst said on Monday, five days before Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor meet in their pay-perview fight on Saturday night.
Bernstein is part of the announce team that includes playby-play man Mauro Ranallo, analyst Paulie Malignaggi and reporter Jim Gray. But how does one prepare to cover a fight where so little is known about one of the competitors?
Malignaggi got a first-hand view by becoming the UFC star’s sparring partner. The relationship ended in a contentious divorce with Malignaggi bashing McGregor and his camp at every opportunity, including a face-toface showdown in Vegas. That was not an option for the 66year-old Bernstein, who is in the fourth decade of a Hall-ofFame career covering the sport.
“We don’t know exactly how he’ll react in the ring and how he’ll do. It’s very difficult to prepare,” Bernstein said. “I’ve looked at the MMA stuff and talked to a number of different MMA champions. And I watched some video.
“Both fighters are economical with their punches. McGregor averages 40 punches a round, but he also averages 12 kicks a round, so you assume some of those kicks would be punches that would elevate the 40, but it still wouldn’t be monstrous. And we know the boxers who are successful against Mayweather are Marcos Maidana or Jorge Luis Castillo, who can punch in volume and work on the inside. Neither of those things are what Conor McGregor usually does.”
Bernstein was ringside for Hagler-Hearns, Leonard-Duran, Mayweather-Pacquiao and dozens of other fights from which images of action immediately pop to one’s head after hearing the two names. Bernstein said he believes that this fight — despite the very real possibility of a complete dud (not his words) — has already matched the hype that those legendary matchups did.
“I understand some people have reservations about the fight, but it’s really one that came from the fans because this fight is a creation of social media, the fans on social media of both fighters collectively pooling their resources to make this fight one that needed to happen,” Bernstein said. “I did many of those fights in the 1980s with [Marvin] Hagler, [Thomas] Hearns, [Roberto] Duran. I lived through that era and was a big part of the era. I can tell you in terms of sheer interest and the hoopla surrounding this it is right up there with any of them. And in some ways, it could exceed many of them.”
And McGregor is not the only mystery. Mayweather has 49 fights and 49 wins on his résumé, but he has not stepped inside the ring since a victory over Andre Berto nearly two years ago. Mayweather is also predictably promising that he’ll be a more aggressive fighter seeking a knockout against the Irishman.
“We’ve heard that before and it’s never materialized,” Bernstein said. “One possible reason why it might is when he was on the Showtime deal he was fighting every six months, which for him is often. And he’s had hand problems throughout his career, and that’s part of the reason he’s had so few knockouts.
“He’s economical with his punches. But if he does believe this is his last fight then he might fight with a little more abandon because he’s not worried about how sore his hands will be after. … There has also been a Floyd Mayweather in the past who when motivated for knockouts could do it. The great fight (2001) with Chico Corrales. There was a brutal personal feud between them and he wanted to knock him out and he got it.”