Sports Eye

Mayweather vs McGregor,  a weird fight

By Jesus A. Garcia, Jr.


AFTER more than two years of boxing inactivity, the former world welterweight and middleweight champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather is coming out of retirement to fight again on August 27 (PH time). What I find weird this time is Floyd will be fighting a mixed martial artist world champion and not a legitimate professional boxer named Conor “The Notorious” McGregor, the newly crowned lightweight king of the world famous UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Weird because the flamboyant American pugilist who never tasted a defeat or neither a draw (so far) in all his 49 professional battles is fighting a professional prized-fighter in another league and sans a single experience in pro boxing.

The purse for both fighters is still undisclosed but I believe it will not be so marketable, unlike the Mayweather-Pacquiao encounter in 2015 which promoters described the fight of the two pound-for-pound kings as “The Fight of the Century,” (Latest news: Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions said a potential rematch is not at all s possible because of their age).

“There’s always a first time in life,” as the saying goes, and this is the first time in pro boxing that a world boxing champion will do battle against a world mixed-martial art king in a 12-round bout under the traditional boxing rules in a catch-weight of 155 pounds. I guess these two glitzy and money-hungry fighters just want to make history and legacy, a venture that others never tried. Well, the undefeated Floyd, now 40, also known as “Money” if he’s not money-greedy.

The Ireland-born 5’9” southpaw McGregor, 28, was also a former featherweight champ (126 lbs) of UFC, carding 25 fights with 22 wins and 18 of them via knockouts and technical knockouts, three defeats sans draw. Because of weight problem, he moved up to lightweight (135 lbs) and scored a convincing win over defending titleholder Philadelphia-born Puerto Rican Eddie Alvarez last November 12. It was the fight that propelled him to some semblance of prominence. He started his boxing career on March 8, 2008 and lost initially to Artemji Sitenkov, Joseph Duffy and Nate Diaz. He never met Sitenkov and Duffy again inside the ring but managed to avenge his defeat against Diaz on September 9, 2016 via knockout before seizing the lightweight tiara from Alvarez.
On the other hand, we already know who Mayweather is. Because of his big win against Pacman, he was adjudged by some pundits as the “Best Defensive Boxer of All Time” which I believe very disputable. I will be the first one to disagree. Honestly I never admired him as a boxer because he seldom fought toe-to-toe. He was not a ring warrior, unlike Pacman. I, therefore, believe its’ what he will do with McGregor dance, run after stinging jabs. He never threw telling blows to get the nod of the three ring judges.

Given all above. my question is: Will there be a lot of interest in the fight? Perhaps. Will Floyd win? Yes, because he’s fighting McGregor in a boxing bout, not in mixed martial arts. Let’s wait and see.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 1 CORINTHIANS 11: 7-8

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