Stephen A. Smith heavily dismisses Conor McGregor in a potential boxing match againt Logan Paul.
McGregor on Tuesday made a surprise announcement that he is in preliminary talks to box Paul in an exhibition match in India before making his UFC return – a fight which will be organized by the extremely wealthy Ambani Family.
Smith isn’t against the idea of McGregor boxing before returning to the octagon. With McGregor having not competed since July 2021, Smith believes “The Notorious” would get seriously hurt if he competed in MMA first thing back. If McGregor does end up lacing up the gloves against Paul, the ESPN analyst doesn’t like his chances.
“I think Logan Paul is going to beat him,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “I don’t think that Conor McGregor is a boxer; he’s a striker. So, he’s sitting up there, and he ain’t even throwing his jab. He’s pitter-pattering. You ain’t clipping Logan Paul like that. You’ve got to do more than that.
“We don’t know yet (which size gloves they’re using), but it doesn’t matter. Unless it’s pillows like 16 or 18 ounces, it ain’t going to work. I just think that Logan Paul is bigger, he’s a much bigger man, he’s a more experienced boxer.”
With McGregor walking around at a much larger weight than his UFC championship days, Smith doesn’t see his precision and speed in the octagon translating to the ring. He pointed to McGregor’s 10th-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in their August 2017 boxing match, in which McGregor significantly slowed down as the rounds went down.
“Those big muscles are going to make you a bit slower, and you’ve got to remember that Conor had quickness, he could catch you quick and clip you,” Smith said. “That’s not going to be the case in the boxing ring.”
