Sports talk is all good, but it’s off-season right now for the biggest and best sports around the globe – even soccer isn’t truly back just yet and we’re about a month off of football. Many tangible and fruitful conversations can’t truly be realized until kick-off, but we’re mere weeks away from one of the biggest sporting events of all time. The Irishman ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor heads to the lights of Nevada to fight Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr. in what is becoming known as ‘The Money Fight’.
The reason for the hype? Well – Mayweather is one of the most notorious and infamous boxers of all time and has a strong claim to be among the world’s greatest in the sport. He’s got a big mouth and a big heart and he’s never lost. McGregor on the hand is a true gunslinger, a cocky, outspoken street fighter who much like Mayweather, earned respect the hard way. As much as it is a war of fists, it’s also a war of words. In the interest of heating up the sporting conversation, let’s talk Mayweather/McGregor and see if we can call it. If it can be called at all!
The problem with calling this fight is it’s strangeness. McGregor is not a professional boxer – he’s a cage fighter, fighting a professional, undefeated boxer in a boxing ring in a boxing match. It’s more so for the purse and the bragging rights that this match matters. It’s almost like calling a fight between Gandalf and Dumbledore! Two people who shouldn’t be fighting! Mayweather wants to keep his throne on top of all competitive combat sports, while McGregor wants to build his growing legend. These are two men who are getting pretty dirty with the slurs that they are throwing at each other – with McGregor using his background as an Irishman to try and win the ‘poverty Olympics’ as he called it while using racially tinged slurs towards Floyd, while Mayweather has used homophobic language towards McGregor. It’s not right, it’s not kosher, and things are getting out of hand. It might be pure theater, but it’s showing signs of getting seriously nasty, and before the match, we do have to think about how idiotic the pair are getting!
The tale of the tape? Let’s start with ‘Notorious’ – there is boxing history for him, but his career has been spent in MMA. That shouldn’t make much of a difference as boxing is his finest skill, and he’s made an art of it. He’s got a slick punch that has laid people out within one punch(see: Jose Aldo), but that’s in the confines of the Octagon, which isn’t a boxing ring. He’s also got the confines of Boxing law to obey by; he can’t simply hammer someone when they are on the ground to ensure the win. In fact, Mike Tyson, on this podcast, said that McGregor would be killed in the match. Oh dear.
Mayweather on the other hand is the old man around these parts, but you shouldn’t mess with him. He’s a five time champion, he’s undefeated in the ring and he’ll knock you flat on your backside. He’s destroyed the best boxers in the world time and time again. Is McGregor even a good boxer? In the UFC he is, but that’s a different world.
You can catch the bout on PPV across the world, but it’ll cost you – 99 dollars for a HD stream. Mayweather is set to bank in $100m while McGregor will take $75m. Winner takes the bragging rights now and cements their legend. It’s hard to make up your mind on the fight. Mayweather should, and probably will win and if you were to put money on it, you’d likely put it on Mayweather. He’s got the history, he’s proven, he’s done it and he’s done it in style.
