Ahead of Conor McGregor's fight with Floyd Mayweather, former World champion Andy Lee was a vocal opponent of the Las Vegas bout.
In May, the Limerick native gave one of the best assessments ahead of the fight, comparing it to a world-class multi-sport athlete against a world-class star at an individual discipline.
It's like asking a triathlete to swim against Michael Phelps.
In terms of a contest, I don't see it being a real fight. Mayweather is the best boxer of our generation. Conor McGregor is a great boxer in UFC but hasn't had a professional (boxing) fight. If it's a boxing contest, Mayweather wins hands down.
Speaking today on Off The Ball, the 33-year-old revealed he was pleasantly surprised by what McGregor produced in ten rounds.
The UFC lightweight champion started the bout with all guns blazing, but his fitness failed him in the final rounds, especially in the ninth and tenth rounds. That's what Lee felt let him down.
It was due to a lack of conditioning in boxing. It's a different energy.
He was very fit. You can see the shape he was in. He is conditioned, but not to boxing. It's a different fitness.
It's in the legs. You can build up the conditioning through a lifetime of training, and a career of training in a boxing ring. It's a boxing stance, which is different. You're using a lot of the groin.
In MMA, you're walking around a lot. There's more breaks. In boxing, you have to stay on stance, and stay side on.
The boxing canvas is very soft compared to an Octagon canvas. It can just drain the legs.
That was the difference. It was just the conditioning.
Although it did not prove crucial in the end, Lee felt that one aspect of his pre-fight preparation showed the naivety in the Dubliner's camp. McGregor failed to hire any boxing-specific coaches, with his MMA Striking Coach Owen Roddy acting as his main coach.
The basic lacing of McGregor's gloves was something that annoyed Lee.
They tied up the laces and brought them back to the wrist, to support the wrist. What it actually does is make the glove tighter, so when [a punch] lands, it has more bite.
You loop [the laces] at the wrist and tie it around the wrist. That's just Boxing 101. You learn that the first day in the gym.
They had the gloves tied down at the forearm, which leaves the gloves loose, and doesn't give you the support.
Despite his reservations before the fight, Andy Lee was impressed by McGregor's performance.
I think he's quite happy with how it went. Fair play to him!
You can listen to the full interview here.
