As the world well knows by this point, 49-0 Floyd Mayweather will be facing 0-0 UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in a boxing contest on August 26 in Las Vegas, NV.
After the bout was made official, many insiders and fighters I’ve talked with have said “If McGregor can touch Mayweather, he can put him out.
Hold up. Let’s take a look at history here. You can stop me whenever you’d like.
“If Diego Corrales touches Mayweather…”
“If Jose Luis Castillo touches Mayweather…”
“If Zab Judha touches Mayweather…”
“If Ricky Hatton touches Mayweather…”
“If Miguel Cotto touches Mayweather…”
“If Canelo Alvarez touches Mayweather…”
“If Marcos Maidana touches Mayweather…”
“If Marcos Maidana touches Mayweather…”
“If Manny Pacquiao touches Mayweather…”
Yeah, it’s been said many times before this farce of a fight was announced and nobody but Castillo and Oscar de la Hoya (and possibly Maidana in their first bout) can claim to have been even somewhat competitive against Mayweather. Yet there are still many people who don’t see this as the massive money grab it is.
There is no doubt McGregor is one of the best current pound-for-pound mixed martial artists in the game today and has been greatly marketed by the UFC. It has been said McGregor will make over $70M for his tilt against the greatest boxer in my generation.
Meanwhile, the undeniable king of MMA, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, is probably sitting around somewhere thinking “Ya know, I heard Bellator pays their champions what they’re worth.” Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Anderson Silva is thinking “You wouldn’t let me fight Roy Jones Jr. Get fucked, Dana.”
Boy, WME is making quick changes to the MMA landscape. Let the discussion around if it’s for the best begin.
