Yes, I am betting on uppity Conor McGregor, 29, to beat regal Floyd Mayweather, 40, at his own game. They face off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tomorrow night.
The undefeated all-time pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather, he of 12 world titles in five weight classes, will exit a two-year retirement for one fight to face UFC star Conor McGregor, who is crossing over to boxing from MMA for a fight that was initially just a germ in his mind when he brought up the possibility in a 2015 television interview. …
The fight makes no logical sense. Mayweather is a legendary boxer and supreme defender who will be boxing against an opponent who is outstanding in the Octagon, but a novice in the ring and making his pro debut.
(ESPN, August 25, 2017)
And no, Mayweather is not the first boxer to make a farce of his sport by participating in a mongrel bout like this. For he can cite no less a boxer than Muhammad Ali as inspiration – given the scam Ali pulled off when he fought Japanese “wrestler” Antonio Inoki in 1976.
Nothing is more telling about Ali ‘inside the ring’ than the fact that he does not even rank among boxers with the ‘greatest unbeaten record of all time.’ That distinction belongs to the likes of Joe Calzaghe (46-0, 32 KOs), Rocky Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs), and Floyd Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs). Surely any of these boxers has a more legitimate claim to the title as the greatest fighter of all time than Ali (56-5, 37 KOs).
(“Muhammad Ali, Celebrated Boxer and Conscientious Objector, Is Dead,” The iPINIONS Journal, June 5, 2016)
To be fair, MMA fans probably think McGregor is making a farce of his sport too.
I am no boxing analyst. I’m not even much of a fan. In fact, ever since “The Bite Fight” between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in 1997, I have refused on principle to spend any money to watch any of these overhyped farcical events on PPV.
One can hardly blame so many in the arena for booing. After all, they paid a veritable fortune for what amounted to watching these fighters play a chess match.
Except that, by definition, the outcome of everything in [Las Vegas], the gambling mecca of the world, is a crapshoot. Not to mention that these same suckers will be front and center for the next ‘fight of the century.’
(“Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Evil Triumphs … Again,” The iPINIONS Journal, May 3, 2015)
Sure enough, here we are.
So here’s my take on this fight: Mayweather will clearly display superior boxing skills – complete with the defensive instincts of an alley cat. But McGregor has predatory instincts to match. What’s more, Mayweather’s geriatric punches will land like butterfly touches, which McGregor will brush off all night; whereas McGregor’s dynamic punches will land with such power that one haymaker and it’ll be lights out for Mayweather.
Of course, the odds are such that a McGregor win would easily rank as the biggest upset in Boxing history. But its social impact would rival Jack Johnson becoming the first black heavyweight Boxing champion, or even Barack Obama becoming the first black president of the United States.
Meanwhile, Floyd “The Money Team (TMT)” Mayweather is so obsessed with money, he’d probably sell his soul if, like this fight, it guaranteed hundreds of millions more for him to waste on fast cars and loose women – his undefeated record be damned. Besides, I gather it does more for his self-esteem to chronicle his decadent splurges on social media than defeating 49 challengers in the ring ever did, or could.
Alas, McGregor seems bound to beat Mayweather in this dubious arena of human folly too, which speaks volumes about the character of far too many athletes these day.
Frankly, the only reason I’m bothering to comment is that I see this fight as more of a human tragedy than a sports event. For, above all, it compels me to lament that no amount of wealth seems sufficient to stop men like Mayweather from sacrificing every ounce of their integrity to acquire more.
NOTE: God help those feeling the wrath of Hurricane Harvey this weekend. But the silver lining in its dark clouds is that obsessive media coverage of its destruction will spare us similar coverage of the fallout from this fight.
Related commentaries:
Muhammad Ali…
Mayweather vs Pacquiao scam…
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Friday, at 5:58 p.m.