Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor has 'good chance' to catch Floyd Mayweather in opening rounds

Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor has 'good chance' to catch Floyd Mayweather in opening rounds

Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor has 'good chance' to catch Floyd Mayweather in opening rounds
UFC

Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor has 'good chance' to catch Floyd Mayweather in opening rounds

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Nate Diaz believes Conor McGregor is capable of catching Floyd Mayweather with a hard shot in the first two rounds.

If there's one fighter who's familiar with the intricacies of Conor McGregor's boxing, it's MMA fan favorite Nate Diaz.

The Stockton slugger has traded blows in the Octagon with McGregor for almost 35 minutes, beating the Irishman via second-round submission at UFC 196 and losing a majority decision in the pulsating five-round rematch at UFC 202.

When asked how he thought 'The Notorious' would fare against boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr. — a fight that has been in the works since McGregor beat Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title at UFC 205 — Diaz was surprisingly complimentary of the 155-pound champion's skills.

Diaz told CSN Fights that McGregor has a 'good chance' to catch Mayweather early but believes the fight is nothing more than a publicity stunt from both men.

"I think it is a publicity stunt but McGregor, when it comes to boxing, is good," Diaz said on Wednesday (h/t Patrick McCarry of Sports Joe). "He's got a good chance to make something happen in two or three rounds. If anything, he has two or three good rounds. He's got an amateur style; he's got good movement and good punches for six or eight minutes... He's got a puncher's chance, if anything."

McGregor, 28, has excellent timing to compliment a devastating left hand, but 'money' is one of boxing's pound-for-pound greats and is hailed as arguably the most defensively sound boxer ever to compete. The 40-year-old has been boxing since 1996 and has amassed a perfect record of 41-0, taking little to no damage in almost all of his fights.

Mayweather announced his retirement in 2015 after cruising to a decision win over Andre Berto but is willing to step back into the ring for a mega-money fight against McGregor.