"It's going to be off the charts!"
There's no hiding Gareth A Davies' excitement as The Telegraph boxing and MMA writer joined us on Off The Ball as fight week in Las Vegas ticks down to the encounter between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
Davies has spent time with McGregor's camp and he senses optimism.
"There's a real mood of confidence in the camp," he said.
"McGregor will come out and perform all the way to the opening bell and hope to pull off the impossible. Mayweather will just do his thing. It's really exciting to be here. These are the highlights of one's career frankly, even though it's being seen and probably will be, if you look on paper, a very big mismatch in terms of a boxing match."
Mismatch it may be but Davies adds that "it's trending to become the break all pay-per-views, trending to become the richest fight in history".
Floyd Mayweather (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
"But I think it will be a one off," he continued, "I think there's a freakishness to it. We saw that on the four day press tour in the three countries of Canada, America and the UK, with Mayweather very cleverly skipping Dublin I thought because I think half the country might have turned out for Conor for that."
The task for McGregor is daunting, even if the fighter himself believes he can topple Mayweather, as Davies pointed out that within the American's unbeaten 49-0 record includes bouts against genuine Hall of Famers.
And Davies pointed out the main problem McGregor will need to overcome.
He said: "What he hasn't got is a very tight defence and that's going to be his problem. He's going to be hit by Mayweather because Mayweather does that shoulder roll, tucks his left shoulder round his chin and he's got massive shoulders, a tiny waist and he keeps the right hand up in the holding the phone position and flings his left arm across his body so he can throw from different angles. And he's always moving, he's always focused. He's one of those brilliant sportspeople who fight with the head up."
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States of America - MMA Fighter Conor McGregor hosts Las Vegas Media workout ahead of his upcoming fight with ex boxer Floyd Mayweather jr at UFC Performance Institute on August 11, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada (Credit Image: � Marcel Thomas via ZUMA Wire)
And while he acknowledges that McGregor may be physically bigger, younger and potentially a more powerful striker, Davies echoed Steve Collins Jr about the Dubliner being "wide open defensively", saying: "He's not going to have been able to learn that in six months of boxing or even a year."
He continued: "I wouldn't rule out a Floyd Mayweather knockout. It wouldn't surprise me - maybe not a complete knockout but a TKO where the referee steps in where Conor is hurt and is being knocked around. It wouldn't surprise me if that came in the sixth or seventh round."
He added that there is "a huge, huge gulf in ability and experience".
Davies also discussed the comments of Paulie Malinaggi on Off The Ball last night when he questioned McGregor's character and feels that it's "a bit of bitterness coming out" from the Dubliner's former sparring partner "about the way those very short videos were leaked".
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