Boxing will crumble if Conor McGregor beats Floyd Mayweather, says Bellator star Linton Vassell

Exclusive interview: Bellator title contender Linton Vassell thinks Mayweather will win on 26 August, but admits a McGregor victory would be hilarious for those in the MMA community

The predictions are flying in for Mayweather vs McGregor and it appears that yet another British MMA star isn’t picking the Irishman to pull a surprise out the bag.

Bellator MMA light-heavyweight Linton Vassell will challenge Ryan Bader for the Bellator 205-pounds belt on November 3 and he’s already working hard over in Florida to prepare for his first ever Bellator title fight.

Vassell is preparing for the fight of his life in three months, but this weekend he, like everyone else in the combat sports community, is going to take time out to watch possibly the highest grossing event in sports history. Speaking exclusively to The Independent, Vassell gave his thoughts on the fight and explained why he expects Mayweather to overcome McGregor.

“Obviously, I’d like to back the guy with the MMA background, but I got to be realistic,” Vassell said.

“It’s different disciplines and it’s just a different sport. Mayweather is just the best there is and he’s 49-0 for a reason. People say that he’s picked his fights, but I think everyone at some point in their career has picked fights that suit them.

“Conor’s got power, but that doesn’t mean anything when you fight a guy that doesn’t get hit. For that reason, I’m picking Mayweather.”

Vassell then gave further insight as to why he’s picking Mayweather over McGregor. Just as his fellow Bellator MMA fighter Michael “Venom” Page had suggested earlier this week, Vassell believes that endurance will play a big part in that fight and that the Irishman just won’t be able to keep the pace with Mayweather in the later rounds.

“I just see Conor getting tired because it’s 12-rounds,” Vassell said. “It’s not like they’ve halved it and it’s six, it’s going to be 12 hard rounds and because Mayweather doesn’t get hit, I can see Conor getting frustrated that he’s not hitting him and getting tired.

“I can’t see Conor getting knocked out, but I can definitely see a TKO or the referee just stepping in and stopping the fight. I don’t things there’s much of a chance of him getting sparked out clean, but I do think there’s a high likelihood of the referee seeing him getting hit too many times without a response and him stopping the fight.

“If that doesn’t happen and it does go the distance, you can bet Mayweather is going to win it on points.”

Vassell thinks Mayweather will win the fight (Getty)

McGregor’s odds of winning are falling every day, but people inside the sport still believe the Irishman has very little chance come fight night. Vassell said that he hadn’t event contemplated what would happen if the Irishman did win, but said it would be a big thing for the sport triumphing over boxing.

“If Conor get’s this, I swear it’s going to be crazy,” Vassell said. “Boxing will crumble, it will be like anyone can do it. I’m not saying Conor is just anyone, but he will have literally have just gone from fighting MMA to defeating the best boxer in the world. It will crazy if he wins. Crazy.

“It would be hilarious to see the backlash because Conor will run his gums like never before. I’m looking forward to watching it.”