The late Muhammad Ali, bless his soul, once said: “champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.”
Who better than to fulfil Muhammad Ali’s definition of a champion than his heir apparent, Conor McGregor? Or the defensive architect and undefeated boxing legend that is Floyd Mayweather? They both speak volumes – the world titles they have, the money they have earned.
» Mayweather vs McGregor – will it ever happen?
Pitting the two against each other would elevate their statuses and ultimately for the victor, entrench their own legacy as one of the greatest athletes of all time, similar to Ali.
From every angle McGregor taking on the perennial boxing king of his generation in Floyd Mayweather is a dream bout for both mixed martial arts and boxing fans.
This is a tantalising matchup, a promoter’s dream financially. Leonard Ellerbe, Chief Executive Officer of Mayweather Promotions, through ESPN has questioned McGregor’s interest in fighting Mayweather, “Conor McGregor can say anything he wants to but he has a boss and his name is Dana White.”
The question remains: who really is in control of the negotiations? Both fighters will give you different answers.
Mayweather has admitted on air to Showtime’s boxing analyst Steve Farhood, in May of this year, “we do not really know as of right now [if the fight will eventuate], but there has been a lot of talk and hopefully we can make the fight happen.”
Fitting in the fight and the immense media obligations this event would bring in 2017, should present no dilemma. Mayweather and McGregor are two of the hardest working athletes living today.
Before vacating his former featherweight belt, McGregor was the most active champion in the UFC, capable of fighting at multiple weight classes.
Mayweather is a retired fighter, but the temptation to surpass Rocky Marciano’s 49 wins without a loss is surely too great to pass up.
The real stumbling block is the money issue, which is to be expected with two supremely successful athletes. Mayweather is talking $100 million, McGregor has matched his call – neither are willing to fold.
For a crossover fight from mixed martial arts to the squared circle, with the names of Mayweather and McGregor headlining the event, $200 million is more than achievable.
Add in, however, the UFC carrying huge debt (approximately $4 billion), after WME-IMG purchased the UFC juggernaut from Zuffa and the deliberations become more entangled.
With any two promotions, not just the UFC, Showtime or Mayweather Promotions – middle ground can be hard to achieve.
Billed as ‘The Fight of the Century’ fielding Manny Pacquiao against Mayweather, Showtime and HBO finally reached an agreement, years after the fight’s expiree date.
Mayweather produced a boxing masterclass upon Pacquiao, who struggled to close the reach advantage favouring his opponent. Mayweather’s neat jab and straight right hand had him guessing, yet Pacquiao still had his moments, with his signature overhand left stunning Mayweather the few times it did land.
McGregor is similar to Pacquiao – he excels with his slip left hand, bears a southpaw stance and prefers to press the action. What McGregor has which Pacquiao does not, however, is height and youth on his side.
Age waits for no man: Mayweather will be competing as a 40-year-old boxer next year if he were to test himself against McGregor.
McGregor is far from an easy opponent. To succeed against him, Mayweather must be calculated and, to the dismay of the regular spectator, a chess player.
There is a certain point of invincibility which fighters can build up, which makes them feel unbeatable.
McGregor’s self-belief mirrors Ali’s, albeit with some differences. Mayweather flaunts his luxurious lifestyle and has supreme confidence in his boxing abilities.
Love them or hate them, McGregor and Mayweather are two of a kind.
The press conferences themselves, which will collide the egos of McGregor and Mayweather, could provide more value than the actual fight. Sooner or later, it is time to box or conversely, start the promos.
Ben
Roar Guru
He's got rocked by Mosley and Pacquiao too. Not only is he one of the greatest defensive fighters of all time. He has proven that even when he is hit, he's got a great chin. The punches that Mosley hit him with would've almost stopped most fighters. The fact McGregor wears 4oz gloves possibly makes his power overrated. Then even though he's wearing smaller gloves, Mayweather still has him for speed. The fact that this - as a fight under Queensbury rules - is even contemplated, is rediculous. From what I've seen, McGregor would struggle against good amateurs. In the words of Floyd Mayweather... "an elephant doesn't fight an ant"...
Bones506
Roar Guru
The key statistic that is not addressed is 4 ounce gloves (UFC) v 10 ounce for boxing. McGregor loses a huge amount of his hand speed. I dislike Mayweather but as far as pure boxing technical capabilities he is pure world class. Maidana is the only one who ever really landed a decent shot on him. McGregor would struggle to land any shots and the glove change would reduce that even further.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Always good man, Santa brought the girls one of those wii u things but that all good
Ben
Roar Guru
It's been great man! Probably a little too much piss, but that'll stop when the new year comes around. Then it'll be back to the same old routine. How about you? ?
BigJ
Roar Guru
Hey man how was your xmas???
Ben
Roar Guru
"Mayweather needs to man up and fight the good young welters like Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter etc" if he makes a comeback... "Man up!" He spent the best part of his pro career "manning up" to appease people like you! And pumped them all! Even when he was an "old man"... Even pumping the clear #2 welterweight on the planet at the time, Manny Pacquiao! Who - by reading your comment - I'm assuming you're a big fan of... Dislike the article all you like because it's a fairly poor article. But when you start bagging a boxer that is arguably the greatest boxer of all time. You just come across as one of the the boxing fans with "lacks nouse" and "boxing knowledge"... Like you described! ?
Ben
Roar Guru
Had to read the article twice... My lord, comparing McGregor to Pacquiao! ???
Ben
Roar Guru
Conor McGregor: - 8 year pro - 21-3 record - 3 division champion - $22 million net worth Floyd Mayweather Jnr: - 20 year pro - 49-0 record - 5 division champion - $400 million net worth - Olympics bronze medalist... In regards to the heading of this article... I'll just leave these statistics here! ?
BigJ
Roar Guru
Jon and just a thougt you both need a history lesson. Ali took on two pro wrestlers in 1976 and both times came off second best. He jumped in the after a Gorilla monsoon match and was throw across the ring like a rag doll and conveniced by butch Lewis to leavs before his gets hurt. After this he took on Japanese champ wrestler Antonio inkoko. The fight was a fifteen round farce and a bore with Ali almost losing a leg to a infection due to receiving constant kicks to his legs, history as show that boxers v mma or wrestlers have a will be nothing more than cash grab embarrassments and any involved should be banned from both sports. This fight will never happen
wbox
Guest
1. boxer vs martial arts fighting each other is funny 2. floyd should show all his drug test records first under USADA 3. boxing is dead. too much politics, can't control PEDs
me too
Guest
If it's a pure boxing match then Conor has no right to be within one hundred feet of a boxing ring with Mayweather. Gee Mayweather would love it - might actually get a ko victim. Just as likely he'd simply toy with him the whole fight and not get hit,
Lroy
Guest
Dude,there is footage on youtube of a South African (Van Heeden??) sparring with MacGreggor and the Bokke embarrasses the Irishman. McGreggor has never had a boxing fight in his whole life, not even an amateur bout. McGreggor wouldnt survive 3 rounds with an American Olympic trialist, let alone a full fight against any of the top pros. This is all about keeping McGreggors name in the papers while he has a break for his wife to have a baby. This fight will never happen.
JustAThought
Guest
Hi Jonathan, Merry Xmas - Happy Holidaze mate. I have to say that your article is very flawed and like a lot of young people your boxing knowledge seems extremely limited. Like a lot of people these days you seem to lack the nouse to differentiate between hype and reality. Pac v Floyd was a classic example of conning the ignorant public. Manny had been destroyed by Marquez a full two and a half years earlier. The fight should have been made from a sporting perspective after Pac defeated Cotto in 2009. Instead it was made in 2015 after Mayweather n Pacquaio had run out of other options aka opponents to milk the public with. Two old men taking advantage of a naive and uneducated ( from a boxing point of view ) public. Its a theme these days. Look at the Fenech v Nelson " fight a few years ago or the current Green vs Mumndine farce. To compare either of those two to the great Muhammad Ali is beyond stupid. Ali was the worlds most famous human being after he defeated Foreman in Zaire. McGregor n Mayweather are unknowns in comparison. I guarantee that at least 75% of Aussie females would not know who McGregor is. EVERYONE knew who Muhammad Ali was in his prime. The concept is ridiculous anyway , McGregor isnt even a boxer for crying out loud. Are you really that stupid that you believe a person with no boxing experience should be fighting Mayweather ? Mayweather needs to man up and fight the good young welters like Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter etc if he comes back not this rubbish. There is a reason boxing is a dying sport, the public are long sick of being conned and lost interest years ago.