The first leg of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor is over and somehow it surpassed expectations.
The two fighters met face-to-face for the first time in Los Angeles and will do so three more times before they convene in Las Vegas before their fight on August 26.
For those who don't follow MMA closely, McGregor quickly showed his talents on the microphone.
"My mind is blown. I'm absolutely honored to be here in front of you fans for this great spectacle. Somebody's 0 has got to go," said McGregor.
He continuously peppered Mayweather with jokes during his portion of the presser.
"He's got little legs and little hands. I'm going to knock him out inside of four rounds. Mark my words.
"Floyd will be unconscious inside of four rounds. The power and ferociousness that I have, he's never experienced it before. I don't fear him.
"Even if he catches one of my punches with his glove, it will still hurt him. I'm like nothing he's ever seen before."
Mayweather made the most of his time at the podium as well, although it was much more scripted and staged than the free-flowing McGregor.
"Everyone knows I've never backed down from anybody. You line them up, and I knock them down like bowling pins. On August 26, I'm knocking Conor out.
"I am guaranteeing you this. You are going out on your face or on your back. So which way do you want to go?"
Thankfully for fans of the spectacle, these two will trade verbal jabs three more times this week. Mayweather's braggadocious style will have to go toe-to-toe with McGregor's sharp wit and punchlines.
Time for the bad news, the action this week will probably be better than the fight itself.
There's no need to disrespect one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time in McGregor by insinuating that he'll be dominated without landing a single punch, but he will find it difficult to match the ring experience and psychology of Mayweather.
"Conor really wants to win. Extremely badly. Other fighters it usually plays out two ways," said Mayweather "Some guys play it safe and then some like Marcos Maidana go for the kill. I think he's the Maidana-type. He's a heavy-hitter so I have to be cautious. It's going to basically be a toe-to-toe battle."
It'd be foolish to believe Mayweather and for people to expect him to change his style all of a sudden. He's been a defensive fighter for a decade, and the best at what he does, so if McGregor happened to threaten him he'd naturally revert to his defensive instinct.
The fight has a better possibility of looking like Mayweather-Pacquiao than it does the action packed McGregor-Diaz brawls.
There's a reason this fight is a sanctioned boxing match and fought under his skill set. Try not to fall into the trap of expecting either to change much about their styles leading into the fight. Instead, just enjoy it for what it is and embrace being a part of the build.
