Floyd Mayweather is a much harder puncher than Conor McGregor, says British boxer Tony Bellew

Many pundits have claimed that McGregor's greatest advantage over Mayweather is his punching power, but Bellew disagrees with that line of thought

Floyd Mayweather is widely expected to beat Conor McGregor with ease when the two meet in the ring on Saturday night, with many claiming that the Irishman’s only chance of winning will be catching his opponent unaware with a power shot.

McGregor’s counter straight-left is known as one of the most devastating shots in the sport of mixed martial arts, and so much of the intrigue in the fight has surrounded whether he will be able to land the shot against Mayweather — and how effective it will prove.

However, former WBC cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew has poured cold water on that theory by claiming in a recent interview that, in fact, Mayweather is the harder hitter.

“Rampage Jackson trained in Liverpool for a while and sparred a lot with Tony Quigley (a former British super-middleweight champion) and said Tony was the hardest puncher he had ever faced in his life,” Bellew told Fighters Only Magazine.

“Let that sink in. Rampage was a huge star in the UFC at the time and had fought some greats of MMA in America and Japan. He was also seen as one of the biggest pound-for-pound punchers in UFC history. Tony Quigley was a talented boxer but wasn’t even a big puncher in boxing terms. That puts it in perspective.

“Don’t get me wrong, if Mayweather vs. McGregor was in a cage it would be over within a minute. McGregor would grab hold of Mayweather and eat him alive. He’d hurt Floyd with those four-ounce gloves. He’d do damage. But it’s not in a cage, it’s in a boxing ring.

Bellew, who last fought in March when he stopped David Haye at The O2 Arena, also laughed off claims that Shane Mosley’s defeat to Mayweather in 2010 should give McGregor confidence he can pull off an upset.

In the second round of their fight, Mosley landed a straight right on Mayweather’s chin which rocked the American, although he survived until the bell and eventually came through to win via a unanimous decision.

“But with Mosley you’re talking about one of the greatest lightweights of all-time landing a shot on him,” added Bellew.

“He hit him clean on the button and look how Mayweather reacted. He took the shot and regained his composure very quickly. He didn’t go down. He still dominated the fight. Conor McGregor does not hit anywhere near as hard as Shane Mosley. I’m sorry, he just doesn’t.”