Conor McGregor has vowed to become a "God" of boxing while Floyd Mayweather Jr has regularly stressed his belief their lucrative mega-fight will not go the distance.

By Saturday, the time for verbal sparring – as entertaining as it has been – will have to come to an end as these two larger-than-life characters finally settle their scores in the ring at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

The overriding belief in boxing circles is that Mayweather, seeking to stretch his unbeaten record to 50-0, will simply have too much class for UFC star McGregor, who is venturing into the squared circle as a professional for the first time.

But what if McGregor can pull off one of the greatest upsets that sports, let alone boxing, has seen? 

Ahead of a fight for the ages, Peter Hanson and Dom Farrell discuss the big questions that have dominated the build-up.

Mayweather is the strong favourite with the bookmakers. Can McGregor pull off an upset and if so, how will he do it?

PH: If anyone can pull this off it's 100 per cent Conor McGregor. The odds are unquestionably stacked in Mayweather's favour, but McGregor has consistently backed up his big talk. To do so again, he has to stay patient. Floyd is a defensive master, if he gets frustrated and tries to go too big too soon then he will tire quickly and get picked off. And he has to utilise the power in that left hand. If he lands that, even Mayweather is bound to feel it.

DF: Despite his novice status as a boxer, McGregor theoretically brings a number of the attributes to the table that have previously troubled Mayweather. Perhaps the younger man could employ relentless, intelligent pressure in the manner of celebrated Mexican Jose Luis Castillo – the man who arguably came closer than anyone to handing Mayweather a loss back in 2002. As a southpaw, maybe he can trouble Mayweather as Zab Judah and DeMarcus Corley briefly did. However, the Castillo blueprint has never come close to bringing Mayweather down since and his win over Manny Pacquiao made him nine from nine against southpaws. It is scarcely credible to believe McGregor will use these so-called advantages to prevail where more seasoned operators have failed.

How much of a factor is Floyd's age likely to be?

PH: Possibly more pertinent than his age is the fact Floyd hasn't fought in nearly two years. He readily admits himself that he may have lost a step in that time and he is bound to have slowed down to an extent. Whether that's enough for McGregor to exploit we won't know until fight night, but the Irishman certainly has a lot more to prove.

DF: Countless great champions have banked on besting Father Time before and painfully fallen short, so Mayweather should be wary of joining their number to an extent. But the perils of ring-rust have seldom afflicted the 40-year-old before; he spent 21 months out of action before flooring and scoring a lopsided decision against Pacquiao's nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009, while a year on from battling past Miguel Cotto and the other side of a prison stint, Robert Guerrero found himself on the wrong side of a gulf in class. Even if Mayweather's birth certificate offers comfort to McGregor, the American's performances after prolonged ring absences do not.

How damaging would defeat be to McGregor's reputation and future career prospects?

PH: Truthfully, not that damaging at all. This fight, as well being an insanely lucrative pay day, is a win-win situation for Conor. No one expects to him to win. If he loses, the experts called it anyway. If he wins then a lot of people are going to lining up for a sizeable portion of humble pie. The likelihood is McGregor will go back to UFC, where he is still undoubtedly the biggest fish in an ever-growing pond. If he performs well and is still defeated, then who knows, perhaps that will be enough to convince him to stay in the squared circle. A showdown with Paulie Malignaggi for example would generate plenty of buzz.

DF: A motormouth being handed an unwelcome dose of reality beneath the bright lights will always be one of the most enjoyable spectacles in boxing, but even a comprehensive defeat would not amount to reputational damage for McGregor because expectations from the vast majority outside of his camp are so low. This is a shot to nothing, with the irresistible bonus that – should the unthinkable happen – UFC will be able to laud it over a grand old sport that has long viewed it as an unseemly sideshow and irritation.

Similarly, how much would Mayweather's reputation be damaged if he suffered a shock loss. Does he have anything to gain other than money?

PH: Absolutely nothing. Mayweather had nothing to prove to anybody. He has taken a huge risk in agreeing to this fight. Yes, the money on offer is an astounding sum and, yes, he is clearly the overwhelming favourite to win, but if, and it remains a very realistic if, McGregor can pull off a mammoth upset then Mayweather has put a hugely unnecessary blot on one the greatest boxing careers of all time.

DF: A defeat would be truly shattering to Mayweather and not just because McGregor would be the man having his hand raised. The Michigan native's carefully cultivated "TBE" (The Best Ever) persona is entirely predicated upon his undefeated record, one compiled against all-comers on the way to world titles in five weight divisions. Critics might argue Mayweather has cherry-picked opponents and turned observers off with a safety-first style but no one can dispute the "0". To lose this would demolish Mayweather's reputation on the very terms upon which he established it.

Would you like to see more bouts between boxers and UFC fighters?

PH: I don't think there is the clamour for it. This crossover only happened because we are talking about two of the biggest superstars the fight game has ever produced. The money involved meant they were on an inevitable collision course. But could any other boxing-UFC mash-up draw the attention that Conor and Floyd have? That is undoubtedly a resounding no.

DF: The old adage in boxing of "if it makes money, it makes sense" means it is unwise to rule anything out. Tony Bellew and Michael Bisping have discussed meeting over Twitter in altogether more cordial terms than Mayweather and McGregor and former boxing world champions Ray Mercer and James Toney have previously dabbled in the octagon. However, for anything on this scale to happen again it would require numerous factors such as box-office appeal, controversy and fighters being in similar weight classes to align, while McGregor will have to have been competitive. It's a lot to ask.