I’ll do my absolute best to write this article without any bias against Floyd Mayweather. I do write articles for MMA and not boxing, though. I nearly started writing this article with “now that the dust has settled,” only to realize that it hasn’t and it likely won’t until August 26. While I am a huge Conor McGregor and UFC fan I have all the respect in the world for Floyd Mayweather and his ability to both fight and sell fights, even if they aren’t exciting.

If you believe that Conor McGregor is a better boxer than Floyd Mayweather and would win the exchanges, you are foolish. If you believe that Floyd Mayweather can’t be knocked out cold from one of Conor’s infamous straight lefts, you are also foolish.

On the surface, this fight doesn’t make much sense in any universe. The truth of the matter is that although Floyd Mayweather carries the nickname “money,” it’s Conor McGregor who has captured the attention of the entire world here. Let’s face it, he has lured one of the greatest of all time, if not the absolute best, out of retirement to fight him in his physical prime in a sport in which he has never professionally competed. This is not a stick measuring competition between the best 2 boxers in the world to prove who the best is. This is a fight between one of the best ever and a guy who very well probably doesn’t deserve to be here. Yet here we are, and although the critics, Oscary De La Hoya included, have made their feelings on the fight known, they too will be tuning in on fight night to watch. Michael Jordan was absolutely horrible in the MLB, but people tuned in because it was Michael Jordan. I’m not saying that Conor McGregor is a horrible boxer by any means, but he’s here because of his ability to attract the masses, not because he deserves to share the ring with the best boxer of our generation. It’s already being billed the biggest fight in combat sports history, bar none. The fact remains that the guy standing across from Floyd in this fight is a guy who’s never fought professionally in the sport. If you believe that Conor McGregor is a better boxer than Floyd Mayweather and would win the exchanges, you are foolish. If you believe that Floyd Mayweather can’t be knocked out cold from one of Conor’s infamous straight lefts, you are also foolish.

This fight is about one thing and one thing only—money.

Although everyone on social media has reminded us of the combat sports experts they are, I don’t think anyone truly knows what to expect if, and I expect them to, they step inside the ring. The sports world has been turned upside down on multiple occasions in the last few years. If I’d said to you a year ago that the Chicago Cubs would overcome a 3-1 deficit to beat the Cleveland Indians and end a 108-year drought to win the World Series, winning the final two on the road, you’d have said I was crazy. If I’d said to you in February that the New England Patriots would overcome a 25-point deficit with 20 minutes left to win Super Bowl 51, you’d have again said I was crazy. What about Holly Holm knocking out Ronda Rousey? What about the Cavaliers overcoming a 3-1 deficit to come back and beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals? Doesn’t seem so crazy now, does it?

McGregor has absolutely nothing to lose here.

This fight is about one thing and one thing only—money. Everyone involved, from the fighters all the way down to the attendants at the MGM Grand is going to get filthy rich from this. This is a PPV that could charge $100 easy and get away with it, and they may very well up the ante from there. The time and detail required to put this massive event together will never be truly appreciated. None of it would be possible without McGregor’s blessing from UFC President Dana White and his superiors. They were able to take their top star and pit him against boxing’s top star in a fight that is a high-risk, low-reward fight for Mayweather. McGregor has absolutely nothing to lose here. If the rumors of the payouts are true, he stands to make more money than he would have made for 8-10 fights in the UFC. If he goes out and gets annihilated in the ring, which is a distinct possibility, he’ll collect his check, lick his wounds and head home rich. If you’re unfamiliar with who he is or how he’s wired, I suggest you look at the details following UFC 196 when Conor McGregor suffered his first defeat against Nate Diaz. He sat across from Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta and insisted on an immediate rematch in a weight class with which he was unfamiliar. If this fight is even mildly competitive, I fully expect there to be a rematch.

Floyd Mayweather is undefeated in his professional career and for the most part of it he hasn’t even been tested inside the ring. Do you really think he wouldn’t want to exact revenge if lightning does strike and he falls to a guy who’s never fought before? Conor’s proven that he doesn’t take losses well and that isn’t something that is likely to change anytime soon, especially if there were another big pay day involved. These two guys could fight 3 times before it’s all said and done. There are a variety of different ways their first fight could play out, and they all could very well lead to a rematch. The first two scenarios certainly leave the door open for a rematch. The general consensus is that McGregor lands the lucky punch that puts him down or Mayweather takes over after three or four rounds and cruises to a decision. Those are, in my opinion, the most likely scenarios in no particular order. However, let’s just say that somehow the sports Gods give us the fight of the century and they go out and beat the hell out of each other for 12 rounds and it’s a close fight? Wouldn’t that warrant a rematch no matter the outcome of the decision?

Conor McGregor has a knack for getting into his opponents’ heads and getting them to make mistakes.

The odds on this fight will likely take many turns, they already took their first when the big lines opened up and the wild fans from Ireland started betting large sums on a big spread. I anticipate those moving in both directions before fight night. They currently stand at +950 for McGregor and I would look for that to go down more as more people start to realize that those are great odds for a guy with ungodly power in his left hand facing a 40-year-old fighter coming out of retirement. Conor McGregor has a knack for getting into his opponents’ heads and getting them to make mistakes. He made Jose Aldo do something we never see him do, plant his feet and swing for the fences, and he made him pay dearly for it with a 13-second knockout victory. His timing and footwork is deceptively good, his shots may not look powerful but when they land champions fall. I would also encourage anyone who has dismissed his chances due to the size of the gloves to watch the episode of Sports Science that details the difference between the amount of force each sport’s glove creates.

Floyd Mayweather has made a career out of being a defensive fighter and not being hit. While I don’t enjoy his fights, his antics, or his character, I have the utmost respect for his abilities and in-ring intelligence. He’s the best I’ve seen at not getting punched, which is the ultimate goal in a boxing match. He’s undefeated for a reason, and the list of names he’s compiled over his career isn’t a list full of nobodies as he’s beat some of the best in the world, some of them multiple times. It’s been a long time since he’s knocked an opponent out but he’s promised us that and the best version yet of Floyd Mayweather. The amount of trash talking leading up to this fight should make this all the more entertaining. These two have been going after each other for the last year and a half, most of that time during which they weren’t even seriously considering fighting one another. Floyd’s stayed out of the spotlight for the most part since his retirement, fielding only questions about this fight and potential other rematches. It will be interesting to see how involved he gets with the media during this fight camp and how often these two size each other up.

There are a TON of questions about this fight and we really won’t have answers to them until fight night.

I really don’t have any predictions for how this fight will play out, but based on what I’ve seen from these two fighters I do believe that McGregor has a much better shot than most. Conor is a fighter who relies very heavily on pressure while his opponent does not. On the flip side, the fighters who have given Conor the most trouble in the Octagon were the ones who were able to dictate the pace and apply pressure of their own. I don’t expect we will see much pressure from Floyd as he will look to counter and Conor to wear himself out. Unfortunately for him, avoiding the power shot from McGregor has proved to be too much for many of his past UFC opponents. He will also sport a reach and height advantage that Floyd has never dealt with before. There are a TON of questions about this fight and we really won’t have answers to them until fight night. If Floyd’s game plan is to stick and move and avoid the straight left from McGregor all night, he could fall right into his trap. McGregor could steal rounds based on pressure and volume alone as he’s never been one to shy away from a fight. He will chase Floyd and look to do damage, whether or not he can accomplish that remains to be seen.

One thing is for sure, this fight will sell PPV numbers that probably weren’t even imaginable a few years ago. They’re going to be getting two fan bases, who typically don’t pay for each other’s PPV’s, tuning in on the same night paying the same amount of money to see their respective fighter battle the best in the world.  For anyone involved in the money making aspect of this fight, what more could you ask for?

Oscar De La Hoya Slams Potential Mayweather/McGregor Super Fight

Mayweather and Connor McGregor are close to agreeing on terms to meet in a super fight and Oscar De La Hoya is not a huge fan of the fight.

Oscar De La Hoya issued a letter to boxing and UFC fans on why this fight is bad for both sports and it is all just hype. Below is the transcript word for word on the boxing legends letter to the fans.

“To my fellow boxing fans, I write in the hopes that together we can protect the sport of boxing,” De La Hoya wrote. “With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the circus known as Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor will be coming to town in the near future. As undercard fights start to take form, athletic commissions give their blessings in exchange for millions of dollars, and the fighters start counting even more cash, one group will eventually be left to make sure this farce doesn’t occur — we, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our sport.”

“But if you thought Mayweather/Pacquiao was a black eye for our sport — a match-up between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters that simply didn’t deliver — just wait until the best boxer of a generation dismantles someone who has never boxed competitively at any level — amateur or professional,” De La Hoya wrote. “Our sport might not ever recover.”

I fully understand the initial attraction from any fan of combat sports. McGregor is almost certainly the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter. Floyd is Floyd — the most dominant boxer of his time. But success in one sport does not guarantee success in another. Far from it. And let’s be clear, these are two different sports — from the size of the gloves fighters wear, to the size and shape of the ring, to the fact the one sport allows combatants to use their legs to strike.

“Think about it, beyond Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, what other athlete has successfully competed in two sports in the modern age? And Jackson and Sanders both played both baseball and football throughout their high school and college careers before going professional. Furthermore, it’s not like McGregor would be fighting a good fighter, let alone a mediocre one. He would be fighting the best. To use a bit of an extreme analogy, I happen to be a pretty good golfer. Could I potentially hold my own on one of the second-tier tours?

Maybe. But would I be able to compete with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth or Sergio Garcia? Of course not. Nor would I think to try.”

Many will look at Oscar De La Hoya’s letter and think it could be pure jealousy that he is not promoting the fight. Would the 10 time champion have a problem with this fight if he was making money off of it and getting a cut?

Could he still have hard feelings towards Floyd Mayweather knowing that he lost a split decision bout to him in 2007? If you remember, Mayweather refused to give Oscar De La Hoya a rematch and the Mexican legend was not happy about that.

The only question remains now is will Mayweather sign the end of his contract.

According to Dana White the president of the UFC, Connor McGregor signed his end of the deal. He told ESPN during a broadcast that he will try to get in touch with Al Haymon(Floyd Mayweather’s advisor) and Mayweather to work on the other side of the deal.

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Joshua Knocks Out Klitschko

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There’s a new king in the heavyweight division and his name is Anthony Joshua. The 27 year old boxer knocked out Wladimir Klitschko in the 11th round in front of a record setting 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium.

 

Coming into this fight many thought that Joshua was too inexperienced to beat one of the greatest heavyweights in history in Klitschko. Joshua proved that his chin could hold up throughout a lengthy fight and he also proved that he can rebound from adversity, as he recovered from getting knocked down.

 

Joshua spoke with reporters after the fight.

 

“I’m not perfect, but I’m trying,” said Joshua, 27, of England. “I got a bit emotional because I know I have doubters. I’m only going to improve. Sometimes you can be a phenomenal boxer, but boxing is about character. When you go into the trenches, that’s when you find out who you really are. I came out, and I won — that’s how far I had to dig. I came back, and I fought my heart out.”

The 41 year old Klitschko, was by far Joshua’s toughest opponent. Klitschko was coming off a 17 month layoff, when he lost to Tyson Fury. This is the first time in Klitschko’s career that he has lost back to back fights. After the fight Klitschko shared some words with reporters.

Anthony Joshua improved to (19-0, 19Kos). Joshua has the highest knockout rate at 100% in boxing. The young superstar called out fellow Brit Tyson Fury after the fight.

“Tyson Fury, where you at, baby?” Joshua said. “Come on — that’s what they want to see. I just want to fight everyone. I’m really enjoying this right now.”

He also showed huge respect and appreciation for Klitschko, as he told reporters that a rematch is possible.

 “As boxing states, you leave your ego at the door and you respect your opponent,” Joshua said. “A massive shout-out to Wladimir Klitschko for taking the fight. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t know if he wants to come back and fight me [again]. He’s a role model in the ring.”

A rematch would definitely be in demand, as this was one of the best heavyweight title fights of all time.

 

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Keith Thurman calls out Manny Pacquiao

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Undefeated boxer Keith “one time” Thurman told TMZ Sports that he would love to face Paquiao in the ring. “It’s kinda ironic that I’m the only welterweight in the world that holds two world titles and he’s still ranked above me,” he said. “At the end of the day we want that Pacman fight. I can’t wait to negotiate that fight. Shoot, he can pick the date, he can pick anything he wants because I’m ready to put hands on him.”

Although Thurman is open to facing the only Manny Pacquiao, Pacquiao has already agreed to fight Austalian boxer Jeff Horn in July.

Thurman has also made claims that he would be willing to give Danny Garcia a rematch, after he defeated him by split decision back on March 4th.

One thing we all can say about Keith Thurman is the (28-0) does not lack confidence. He claims he is an all around boxer.

“There hasn’t been one opponent who’s gotten in the ring with me and said that my power isn’t for real,” he told Lyle Fitzsimmons of CBS Sports in early March. “I think my power and my boxing IQ will be the same. I can change it up. I can do what I need to do, so you are unable to do what you want to do.”

According to ESPN’s rankings, Thurman is not considered the best welterweight. That spot belongs to Manny Pacquiao. That is probably one of the reasons Keith Thurman wants to fight Manny Paquiao. He wants to be considered the best and become the most recognizable name in boxing.

 

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Is The World Ready For Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather?

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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.

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Mayweather Calls Out McGregor Again

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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.

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