Boxing fans just don’t get it. Win, lose, or draw. McGregor’s already won. This isn’t about the “sweet science” versus “mixed martial arts” in the ring, it’s about the sweet science versus mixed martial arts in the public eye. And you’re about to lose regardless the outcome of this fight.
Boxing: A Dying Sport
Let’s just be honest here, boxing has been slowly dying for years. Does it still have it’s place? Yes. But it’s nowhere near what it used to be. With the rise of MMA, boxing gyms across North America have either shut down, or transformed into MMA gyms at a rapid pace. Once the biggest sport in the world, has now become almost a niche sport like wrestling.
If you’re a true boxing fan then I’m sure you must be infuriated with what I’m saying. But take an honest look at the state of your sport, and tell me otherwise. Once upon a time, boxings Heavyweight title was considered the biggest accomplishment in sport. Now most people couldn’t even tell you who the Heavyweight champion is. Canelo vs. GGG is the best fight boxing has put on in years, but if you asked the average person who either boxer were, most wouldn’t know.
Passing The Torch
The last relevant name in boxing is Floyd “Money” Mayweather. And with this fight, or “spectacle” as some are calling it, boxing is about to watch Floyd Mayweather pass the torch in combat sports to MMA. With the evolution of MMA, it has proven that the baddest men, or women, on the planet aren’t single sport combat athletes. You have to be well rounded in all aspects of fighting in order to be an MMA champion.
It’s one of the reasons boxing has lost it’s appeal. In the 90’s people used to fear “Iron” Mike Tyson, because he was thought, and coined to be the “Baddest Man on the Planet”. Now we know that simply isn’t true. Despite his intimidating demeanour and herculean ability to knock someone out, we now know that someone like Cain Velasquez would take him down with ease. And either submit him, or beat his face in until a referee pulled him off.
Perception is Reality
That’s one of the reasons why McGregor wins either way. Whether Floyd wins by decision or knocks him out in the seventh, we all know that Mayweather wouldn’t last a round with McGregor in an MMA bout. How do we know this? We’ve seen it at UFC 118, when Randy Couture fought one of boxing’s greats, James Toney. Couture took him down, and submitted him in the first round with an arm-triangle choke.
What does that mean for the publics perception? It means that people will start to doubt how difficult boxing really is and whether it’s legitimate or not. Is it fair? No, but that will be the publics perception of boxing after this fight. They’ll wonder why McGregor can go into boxing with no previous experience and go toe-to-toe, and be competitive with their “greatest-of-all-time”, knowing that Mayweather wouldn’t last a round in the octagon.
A Win/Win
So what does McGregor have to lose? We know Mayweather isn’t going to change his defensive style in order to try and finish the fight in the early rounds. Even if he does, and the worst case scenario happens and he knocks McGregor out, people will say “but of course”. Then Conor will go back to MMA over $100M richer, and with the respect of the combat sports world for even trying.
But what if he wins? What if his unorthodox, lefty, non-boxing style catches Floyd completely off guard, and he is able to win? Conor McGregor will become something the likes of which we have never seen before. He will officially be the biggest star, not only in combat sports, but in sports over all.
The betting odds are much closer now, but they had originally opened at something like 200-1 in favour of Mayweather. People like Max Kellerman, who is a boxing commentator and co-host of ESPN’s First Take, says that he doesn’t even think Conor will land a punch. So if he won, the world may literally explode.
Don’t Believe the Hate
Some boxing purists believe that Floyd will KO Conor.
If you watched McGregor’s open workout, and came to that conclusion then you may really not know what you’re talking about after all. You’re absolutely crazy if you think that Conor is going to show off any part of his game plan in a recorded workout session.
That would be the dumbest move in the history of sports. It would be like the New England Patriots sending the Denver Broncos videos of their practices the week before they play.
Open workouts don’t mean anything. They are literally what the name entails, workouts. If they are to be taken with any type of seriousness then Floyd is going to be in real trouble come Aug 26th, because he was slow and lackadaisical in his open workout.
Enjoy It While It Lasts
Stop whining, complaining, and hating on this fight. Whether you’re rooting for Mayweather or not. Just enjoy this for what it is, fun. We’ll literally never see this again. It’s been done in MMA and now it’s being done in boxing. And this being Mayweather’s last fight, will likely be the last major PPV boxing we’ll see for quite some time.
