Conor McGregor would BEAT Jake Paul in boxing ring but Notorious should target Charles Oliveira UFC showdown, says Lopez
CONOR MCGREGOR would beat Jake Paul in a boxing match, renowned MMA coach Fernand Lopez believes.
YouTuber turned boxer Paul has been targeting a lucrative showdown with the UFC’s poster boy for the best part of 16 months.
McGregor has entertained the prospect of facing the social media star inside the ring, a fight Lopez believes The Notorious would edge if the pair were in the same weight class.
The Cameroonian told Genting Casino: “If we take out the weight factor, Jake Paul would lose to Conor McGregor.
“I think Conor loves boxing, he trains boxing, his sparring is more boxing than MMA.
“And he’s fought the best of the best in [Floyd] Mayweather and he did not look that bad. I think he’s proved already that he’s not that bad.”
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McGregor, 33, is currently in the final stages of recovering from the horrific broken leg he suffered in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier last July.
The Irishman is confident of walking straight into a title fight against the winner of May’s lightweight showdown between champion Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.
And Lopez has drastically different assessments of the former two-division champion’s chances against the pair.
He said: “I think a good fight for McGregor is Charles Oliveira because at least Oliveria is a technical boxer, not a brawler.
” So if Conor McGregor can go back to vintage Conor McGregor – which is hit and not get it and manage the distance – he will give Charles Oliveria a competitive fight on the feet because of timing and precision, Conor might win that fight.
“He has a slight chance to win, not a good chance, a small chance.
“I am a huge fan of Conor, I would pray for Conor to win that fight, but I’d definitely pick Oliveira.
“But with Justin Gaethje that would be a brawl, a tough fight.
“And I don’t think Conor will have the motivation for the tough fight. Justin Gaethje would be a tough fight and don’t think he still has the motivation for it.
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“The actual Conor, not the vintage Conor, the Conor right now, what I am seeing on paper, if he goes to battle with Gaetje, in the end, he will give up, because Justin does not give up, in the end you will have to kill him, so I don’t know how he’d win that fight.”
Fan favourite McGregor revealed last month that he’s targeting a summer return to the octagon, although UFC president Dana White expects him to be back in action in the autumn.