I want to start off by saying I don’t think this fight will ever truly materialize, with both parties satisfied with the agreement. I also didn’t ever think the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight would ever come to fruition either. That brings up a very interesting question that has riddled the sports world for the last few months, what happens if these two meet in the ring? Sports, boxing and UFC analysts alike have all shared their opinions on how this match-up may play out, so I wanted to throw in my two cents.

First, I’m a huge fan of the UFC and of Conor McGregor. He took the UFC by storm with his brash trash talking and his ability to back it up and finish fights, all while predicting the round in which his foes would fall. He made a career out of being a complete asshole to all of his competition, and he’s really, really good at it. He employs the same mental warfare that Anderson Silva used in his prime, the ability to eat punches from opponents and act as if nothing happened. He gets in his opponents’ head and oozes with confidence with every strike he throws.

His first fight in the UFC against Marcus Brimage had his full arsenal of striking on display, spinning kicks, uppercuts from all angles, looping hooks. Somewhere along the line, he fell in love with his straight left, and it has quietly become the most dangerous weapon in UFC history. Yes, I said it, the single most dangerous weapon in UFC history. His second fight in the UFC showed his toughness and his underrated wrestling, which he used when he blew out his knee and was still able to take a decision from current featherweight interim title holder Max Holloway. He went on to knock out his next 5 opponents with the now-infamous straight left.

He went from being a well-rounded striker throwing spinning back kicks and head kicks to throwing only his hands. I hear a lot of criticism that he is not a boxer and I would beg to differ, he threw some leg kicks early on in the second Diaz fight to throw him off, but he uses those strikes only to do one thing: set up that laser left hand. Everything he throws is to do only that, set his opponent up to eat that straight left. They all know it’s coming by now. His use of footwork, space and timing may be the best we’ve ever seen in the Octagon. Although many people don’t think he possesses the skills to beat a boxer as talented as Floyd Mayweather, I think he has as good a shot as anyone else that has fought Floyd. He’s great at finding your chin, he fights very long but has deceptive speed and timing. Jose Aldo reigned supreme in the featherweight division of the UFC since its formation back in 2011. Aldo had not lost a fight, or really even been in danger of losing a fight, since 2005, his lone professional MMA loss. The same guy who hadn’t been defeated in over a decade was knocked out cold by a straight left that was thrown back pedaling in 13 seconds. Knocked out cold.

He used the same strategy to batter Dustin Poirier, a perennial top contender, in under 2 minutes at UFC 178. The fight with Aldo had been scheduled once before with Aldo getting injured and replaced by Chad Mendes. McGregor promised to finish him in the second round, willing to bet President Dana White money that he would do so. He was controlled on the ground in the first round, landed some big shots in the second and chased Mendes around at the end of the second round, dropping him with the same weapon all the others before him had fallen to. I’m not saying he has no kinks in his armor, we saw him slow down in both fights with Diaz over time. However, in those fights, I’d like to point out that the amount of volume he threw would have winded most.

For the critics of McGregor and the Mayweather lovers, I’d love to hear about the last time that Mayweather knocked out someone with the resume of Jose Aldo. As a matter of fact, the last time Floyd Mayweather won by anything other than a unanimous decision was when he knocked out Victor Ortiz in September of 2011. 7 straight fights since then have gone to the judges’ scorecards. The last time Floyd Mayweather won by knockout, Conor McGregor wasn’t even being scouted for the UFC! My opinion probably seems extremely biased by this point, and it probably is. The amount of confidence McGregor has propelled him to where he is today, and he could ride that momentum to a win over Floyd Mayweather.

Many have said that he has only the “puncher’s chance,” and I’d be somewhat inclined to agree with that. However, doesn’t he land that knockout punch much more often than not? There’s clearly a difference between the 4-oz gloves that the UFC uses and the 16-oz gloves that Floyd uses. I’d encourage you to watch some videos of McGregor training in the gym and I think you may notice that he seldom wears the 4-oz gloves. I’m not saying that he would go in and put Floyd Mayweather away in the very first round, but I’m very curious as to what makes people believe he can’t. Is it the fact that he’s the only fighter in UFC history to hold two belts simultaneously? Is it because in his professional MMA career he has an 86% finishing rate while Floyd boasts a 53% finishing rate? I’m genuinely curious why people don’t think Conor McGregor has it in him to defeat the baddest man on the planet at his own game. Sure, he’s a UFC fighter, but he’s no takedown or Jiu Jitsu practitioner, he’s a knockout artist, something Floyd is not.

I would like it to be known that while I am a boxing fan, I am not a fan of Floyd Mayweather and his style of boxing. He’s purely a defensive fighter who relies on counters, footwork and speed to avoid exchanging punches. Although his IQ has been brought into question, no one can take away from him the fact that he may be one of the smartest in-ring fighters in all of combat sports history. His ability to take away his opponents’ biggest weapons and frustrate them swinging at air is second to none. He is simply brilliant to watch in the ring, it’s not always aesthetically pleasing but it is boxing at its finest. He is a needle mover, evidenced by his large paydays and the amount of revenue and interest he generates fighting even some of the lesser-known boxers in the world. Theoretically, he could take away McGregor’s left hand and have him swinging and grasping for air for 36 whole minutes. That is also a very likely outcome, but avoiding the power shot from McGregor for 36 minutes would be a tall task.

Breaking down this fight is very difficult, we’ve never seen McGregor in a boxing ring, we’ve never seen him fight for 36 minutes. We’ve never really seen Floyd in desperate trouble from eating a big shot, we’ve also never seen Floyd give up a height and reach advantage like McGregor would possess. I sincerely hope this fight happens, I really have no idea how it would play out. I wrote this article to remind the world of boxing just how dangerous and confident Conor McGregor is. He went up two weight classes to fight a guy who has an iron chin, some of the best conventional boxing in the UFC and had a reach and height advantage—and he did it twice. Conor McGregor is willing to fight in a sport he has never competed in professionally, against arguably the greatest of all time. What does he have to lose? I didn’t write this article to tell you that Conor McGregor will drop Floyd Mayweather with the shot heard ‘round the world if they do fight, but I am telling you that if there is a human being alive that has the power and confidence to dethrone the king, it’s him.

Floyd Mayweather Jr, who is on tour in the United Kingdom told an ESPN reporter that Connor McGregor needs to sign the paper! Mayweather expressed on numerous occasions that he is interested in the fight, but he likes being retired as well.

Mayweather’s exact quote to ESPN was “The Conor McGregor fight, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. If it do, it do, if it don’t, it don’t. They ask me about this fight always. They’re always asking me about the fight,” then Mayweather continued with “If Connor McGregor really wants this fight to happen, stop blowing smoke up everybody’s ass.”Sign the paper. Sign the paper. You said you were boss, so just sign the paper and let’s make it happen.”

 

Connor McGregor, who is 28 years old has never fought professionally in boxing. What makes people excited about the fight between McGregor and Mayweather is that McGregor successfully applied and received his boxing license in California in December.

The undefeated Mayweather Jr. said in the past that he offered McGregor 15 million dollars to fight. Mayweather makes it sound like it’s just a matter of McGregor signing a contract to make the fight official, but it clearly goes much deeper than that.There are several issues that need to be worked out for this fight to become a reality.Like, the agreed upon wages for both Mayweather and McGregor, including guaranteed purses as well as a split of pay-per-view profits from the bout, which is expected to rake in some of the gaudiest numbers in the history of combat sports.

There’s also the hurdle of the UFC signing off on McGregor taking a fight with Mayweather considering he’s under exclusive contract with them. UFC president Dana White has stated that he’s willing to make the fight happen, but obviously, the promotion would have to be involved, which would undoubtedly also earn them a chunk of the pay-per-view prize.

Mayweather’s jab about McGregor being “a boss” is undoubtedly in reference to his contractual obligations to the UFC. Meanwhile, Mayweather is his own promoter so he would only need to agree to the fight terms himself without anyone else being involved.

Still, Mayweather sounds ready to make the fight with McGregor official at least based on the terms of the deal he’s offered at this point in the negotiations. But he is the undefeated champion, so he holds the upper hand on at least the initial negotiations. But, where the final contract, if one is ever hammered out, will be interesting as it will have to be divided between three separate entities, Mayweather, McGregor and the UFC.

boxingConnor McGregor.Dana WhiteFeatureFloyd Mayweather Jr

No Deal In Place For Mayweather & McGregor

 

 

On Tuesday, the Irish Sun, citing an anonymous source reported that the two camps had agreed terms for a multi-million-dollar deal. And that was all it took to get the rumors and rumblings started up again.

McGregor then cancelled an appearance in Dublin this week in order to fly to the United States to shoot an anti-bullying video as part of a deal to obtain a boxing licence from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which later confirmed that the 28-year-old had indeed arrived in Las Vegas. And that sent the boxing and MMA world into a frenzy. The only final hurdle to the fight deal being signed was an unidentified “third-party hold-up,” the paper added.

Then, ESPN host Stephen A Smith said Mayweather told him at Warriors-Thunder basketball game that a deal was close to being made. Just throw gasoline on the smoldering fire why don’t you. Now you have a credible source echoing the words from the Irish newspaper.

But before you rent the biggest screen television you can find and invite all your friends over, let’s see what the parties involved had to say, not what an “anonymous source” is saying.

What Mayweather Said

Within hours, however, Mayweather appeared to distance himself from the reported deal, insisting he remained “happily retired.” He did so in an Instagram post “Let the record show, there hasn’t been any deals made in regards to a fight between myself and any other fighters,” Mayweather said. “I am happily retired and enjoying life at this time. If any changes are to come, be sure that I will be the first to let the world to know.”

But, in a later statement, Mayweather then indicated that a deal was ready to be done — provided McGregor could reach an agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), who own the Irish fighter’s contract, reported to be worth around $16-20 million per fight before pay per view earnings. “Listen Conor McGregor, if you really want to get this fight done … take care of your business with the UFC and then have your people get in touch with my people,” Mayweather stated.

What UFC President Dana White is Saying

UFC President Dana White separately told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that no McGregor-Mayweather fight would happen without the organization’s involvement. “McGregor’s under contract with me,” White told the paper. “How would I let somebody take this guy that I built and do it without me? That would be the stupidest move in history.”

What is Conor McGregor Saying?

It is worth noting here that McGregor is saying nothing. Not sure what that means, but he is being very quiet for a change, and that is not like him at all.

Everyone in the public just wants consistency, as it appears we do not know which direction negotiations are going towards. It seems like it changes each week and to me this seems like just a publicity stunt. I said this before and I will say this again, Mayweather will not make 100 million dollars off this fight.

boxingConor McGregorDana WhiteFeatureFloyd MayweatherMMAUFC

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Give Jason Ellis a Fight

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Jason Ellis, host of The Jason Ellis Show on SiriusXM’s Faction Talk (Sirius channel 206 and 136), and replayed on Faction (Sirius Channel 41), has been begging for a chance at CM Punk since the UFC signed the former WWE competitor back in December of 2014. The funniest thing about all of this, is that the fight actually makes sense. Jason Ellis has one professional MMA bout on his record, the same as Punk, but the only difference is that Ellis actually won his debut. Now, it is safe to assume that Mickey Gall is a much tougher opponent than Tony Gianopoulos, but the fact still remains, Jason Ellis has a much more credible mixed martial arts resume than Phil Brooks. Ellis trains under the tutelage of Eddie Jackson (Ambienjackson on Twitter), and is currently training at Saekson Muay Thai. He has stated that he is willing to have a kickboxing bout, muay thai fight, or an MMA fight in any organization that will give him a chance.

Most recently, Jason had a fight for charity at his hosted event in Las Vegas, (Ellismania) where he squared off against a one armed, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin. Ellis gave up a massive amount of weight, and was consequently knocked out by the veteran Carwin, but proceeded to laugh about the fight in his post-fight speech to the crowd. Jason Ellis is a mad man who wants nothing more than to test himself in the greatest way possible. He got his start in this county when he moved from Australia to pursue a career in professional skateboarding. Before retiring from skateboarding, Ellis was ranked 3rd in the world. Some would hold on to such an accomplishment for the rest of their days, but Jason hasn’t stopped since hanging up his board.

In an earlier Ellismania event, Jason had a boxing match with former UFC fighter Gabe Ruediger (18-8 MMA). Ellis won by knockout to the surprise of everyone in attendance. UFC fighters hold a sort of respect in the MMA community, and they aren’t supposed to get knocked out by people who pursue martial arts as more of a hobby than a career. That is why Jason Ellis wants so badly to fight CM Punk. He has stated that after he defeats Punk, he will take the mic and tell everyone that neither he nor Punk deserve to be in the organization with such conditioned warriors, he will thank them for the opportunity, and hope that he has convinced Punk to take this as a wake up call and stop disrespecting the sport by continuing in the UFC. This is not only commendable, but it is also a very humble take by someone who has actually been in there and taken his bruises from some of the very best. He has sparred with the likes of Urijah Faber, Keith Jardine, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, and Dominick Cruz, and fared quite well.

This story was covered by BJPenn.com, but I do not believe they gave Ellis enough credit. Of course CM Punk is a draw for a long list of professional wrestling fans to cross over, and buy pay-per-views, but it is pretty apparent that he doesn’t belong in any cage, especially the octagon. Jason recently had Bellator CEO Scott Coker on his radio show, and both parties seemed interested in scheduling a fight in the promotion, against Punk, or another opponent. Jason was in contact with Punk’s trainer Duke Roufus who seemed interested in scheduling the fight, but that decision would rest with UFC President Dana White. Ellis sent a text to White for one more push at setting the fight up, but never received a response. If Dana really wants CM to have a chance in his next fight, and maybe salvage the initial wonder that Punk once possessed, this fight needs to happen. If White puts him in with any other competitor, I’m afraid that we will simply see more of the same from the former professional wrestler.

I am a big proponent of matching fighters up with someone of their caliber.  No one wants to see Andrei Arlovski get KO’ed by Francis Ngannou over and over again. It is much more entertaining when the veterans face off against each other, and MMA newbies get locked in there together. Let’s not forget, the UFC is now owned by a talent/entertainment company. Fights like this make more sense than ever before. If this fight doesn’t happen, Jason Ellis has stated that he would also like to fight Chael Sonnen in Bellator. This fight may seem a bit out of a radio hosts’ league, but Jason’s jiu-jitsu coach says that his talent has passed that of Sonnen’s. Chael recently returned to MMA after a two year layoff, only to lose to Tito Ortiz in his farewell fight.

If Conor McGregor has shown us anything, it’s that your mouth can land you in a very great spot in this sport. Jason Ellis has a great platform to plead his case. Even if he isn’t heard by the men who make the decision, Ellis will have a fight before he retires from combat sports. I’m not sure if we will ever see “The King of the West” in the UFC, or in Bellator, but wherever he lands, I can assure you that he will bring us a must watch fight. This is the closest any normal fight fan will be to seeing something that they themselves could achieve through hard work and discipline. I say Dana White needs to give this man a shot, and then drop CM Punk from the UFC roster, and restore order to the organization. Dana should then vow never to sign a man to the organization that doesn’t deserve to be there. Dana White, or Scott Coker need to put this whole thing to rest, and just give Jason Ellis a fight.

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Battle of the Undefeated Heavyweights: Washington vs Wilder

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Gerald Washington is now the number one contender for Deontay Wilder’s Heavyweight championship. There is a debate for if Washington actually deserves a title shot. He landed the WBC title shot because of Andrzej Wawrzyk tested positive for illegal drugs on two separate tests. Wawrzyk tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol, which was found in his system on two random drug tests conducted by the Voluntary Anti- Doping Association.

  Whether you believe Washington should be facing Wilder or not, the facts remain that he will challenge for the WBC Heavyweight title. The fight will be the Main Event on a Premier Boxing Championship card on( Fox 8 P.M ET) on February 25th. Wilder will have the home crowd advantage because the fight will take place at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama where he is from.

Both men are coming into the bout undefeated and Washington is excited about the opportunity, as he said to a group of reporters.

“I’m very happy to get this opportunity to fight for my first world championship,” Washington said. “I know that I’ll be fighting Deontay Wilder in his backyard, but that adds more excitement to the fight for me. I’m looking forward to going to Birmingham and coming away with a victory just like I did in my last fight there.”

Washington is (18-0-1) with 12 knockouts and his last fight he knocked out heavyweight contender Ray Austin in the fourth round on the Wider- Arreola undercard at Legacy Arena.

Wilder told an ESPN reporter that he was pleased Washington agreed to take him on.

“I was disappointed when Wawrzyk tested positive for a banned substance and wasn’t available to fight. I didn’t want to disappoint my loyal fans in Birmingham, who have always supported me,” said Wilder, who will be making his fifth title defense. “I’m glad Gerald Washington stepped up to the challenge and allowed us to go forward with the show. He’s a tall heavyweight (6-foot-6) with a good jab and the kind of test that I need coming back from surgery on my biceps muscle and my right hand. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for all my fans.”

Wilder (37-0,36 Kos) might be concerned a little bit about this fight because he is coming off a right hand injury from his last fight against Chris Arreola. This still should be an entertaining fight, as both boxers look to knockout their opponents. Plus everyone loves a match-up between two undefeated fighters.

 

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Canelo Alvarez & Julio Cesar Chavez Agree To Fight

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In an all Mexican showdown Canelo Alvarez(48-1-1, 34 KOs) will take on Julio Cesar Chavez (50-2-1, 32 KOs). The site for the fight has yet to be determined, but it will take place on Cinco De Mayo weekend, more specifically May 6th and can be seen on HBO. The main question or perhaps concern will be the weight for this bout.

The bout is contracted at 164.5, which is 9.5 pounds heavier than the most Alvarez has ever fought at. That could be a major factor on if he can adjust to the weight and still keep his speed. This will also be a challenge for Chavez because he usually fights at 168, especially considering the fact he has had problems making weight recently.

Julio Cesar Chavez(50-2-1, 32 KOs) has missed weight five different times since 2013 weighing in heavier than 167.5 pounds. So this will be extremely tough for him to make weight. Hopefully now he will take his career seriously especially with this big time pay-per-view event coming up.

 Canelo Alvarez, who won his 154 pound title against Liam Smith back in September agreed to make the big leap in weight for this fight. After negotiations went back and forth he finally agreed to the catch weight at 164.5

When asked why he moved up so much in weight, Alvarez said he could not pass up on the prospect of a big rivalry fight.

“I think what convinced me to make the move was the fight itself, which is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the history of Mexico,” Alvarez told boxing reporters through a translator on a teleconference to announce the bout. “That’s what intrigued me. The significance of the fight is what convinced me to make the move.”

If Chavez rejected Alvarez’s final offer then Alverez would likely have challenged undefeated middleweight title holder Billy Joe Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs).

“Obviously, Saunders was there,” Golden Boy president Eric Gomez said. “We had discussions. Canelo became mandatory for that title. [Former middleweight titlist David] Lemieux was interested in fighting Canelo as well. But this is the fight Canelo wanted and the one [Golden Boy CEO] Oscar [De La Hoya] wanted as well.”

Canelo Alvarez wants to shut Julio Cesar Chavez up as he had mouthed him over the years.

“Plenty of rivalry,” Alvarez said. “He talks too much about me. He’s talked bad about me and criticized me so many times. I will prove to him in the ring who’s the better man.”

As more information becomes available on this fight stay in the corner of Cleatgeeks for all the information.

boxingCanelo AlvarezEric GomezFeatureJulio Cesar Chavez