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Floyd Mayweather vs. CM Punk is indeed a realistic possibility in 2018…
Let that sink in.
Floyd’s uncle Jeff Mayweather recently insinuated that the former could make his professional MMA debut against ex-pro wrestler and 1-fight MMA rookie CM Punk.
While the idea was initially discussed as a joke—keyword being “joke”—by both fans and critics in the combat sports community, following Jeff Mayweather having teased the bout, the entire idea has turned into a hot topic of contention.
Make no mistake about it, this fight has its fair share of pros as well as cons. Sportskeeda brings you a special 2-part series whereby we reveal the peaks & troughs of this complicated fight. In this part, we look at the primary reasons why Floyd Mayweather vs. CM Punk must happen:
#5 Floyd Mayweather can make his debut in style
Long before Floyd Mayweather Jr. was known as ‘Money’, he went by the moniker ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd—a fun action-fighter who was a defensive and offensive savant. Hailing from a family of professional boxers—with his father and uncles well-averse with the business through and through—Mayweather Jr. had no shortage of guidance since he first laced up a pair of gloves.
While his father’s legal troubles did adversely affect him early on, his uncles were present to ensure he didn’t fall off track. Mayweather then broke through as a mainstream superstar after his fight with Oscar De La Hoya—following which the former went all-in and over-the-top in his portrayal of his ‘Money’ Mayweather persona.
Every phase of Mayweather’s life has seen him exhibit one of the most important virtues of them all—patience. Mayweather has been composed and calculated through all his struggles, and seldom does he rush anything.
Considering that, it wouldn’t be out of the norm to see Mayweather first take on a rookie such as CM Punk—who’s widely regarded as one of the easiest matchups in the UFC by several MMA experts—in what will be Mayweather’s MMA debut, likely to take place in the UFC this year. ‘Money’ will win, and do so in style!
#4 Freak show factor
Yes…
The possibility of Floyd Mayweather competing inside the UFC’s famed Octagon, under MMA rules, is being branded by fight game pundits as a freakshow event.
And that, in turn, harkens back to the days of old, when gladiators would do battle with giants or even animals, in most cases—a spectacle that drew royals and curious commoners from the world over.
The point being that freak show occurrences draw interest from one and all—regardless of religion, race, gender, and so and so forth. Mayweather has always been one to paint himself as a larger than life character, and rightfully so.
He is indeed a character! And let’s face it when Mayweather steps inside that Octagon against CM Punk—a former WWE Champion—there isn’t a fan in either professional wrestling or combat sports that won’t tune in to watch the freak show unfold.
#3 TBE
TBE isn’t merely a brand, well, actually it is, but when one is to objectively assess Floyd Mayweather’s career, he does make one hell of a case for being considered as TBE (The Best Ever).
Here’s the thing…Mayweather has time and again proven his skills in the realm of combat, albeit under boxing rules. However, what’s more interesting is that the combat skills and martial arts pedigree that the sweet science inculcates in its practitioners, enables boxers to smoothly cross over to the sport of MMA.
One of the greatest boxers ever competing in MMA is a highly interesting prospect, and against CM Punk who doesn’t pose as much of a threat in the grappling department, Floyd can show off his renowned striking skills without a fear in the world.
#2 Villain vs. Anti-hero
Gone are the days when characters and public personas were deemed as black and white.
The modern era of popular culture views most people as characters defined by equal parts of both positive & negative characteristics—comprising grey areas of attitudes, personalities, morals, et al.
Furthermore, Floyd is known to play the role of a heel—ironically enough, a term popularly used to describe a villainous pro-wrestling character—and given the prospect of him facing CM Punk who’s beloved by fans for portraying the anti-hero in the WWE, matching Mayweather up against Punk in the former’s MMA debut is a no-brainer.
What Floyd does best is play his villainous character to a T, and amplify his quirks in a way so as to entertain fans, by getting them to hate him and love his opponent, only for him to tear the opponent down in the end.
#1 Billion Dollar Man
That’s right, Floyd Mayweather will literally amass more than a billion dollars if he is to compete in a handful of fights in the UFC.
For those who don’t follow the sport of boxing, bear in mind, that Mayweather isn’t returning to the sport of boxing now, especially given the murderer’s row of young lions licking their chops at the prospect of facing a 40-year old legend in the sport where he’s already cemented his legacy. Contrarily, while Mayweather is likely to lose to any top MMA fighter in the UFC, he has the in-built excuse of having lost in a sport he just started training for—given that Floyd has no prior significant grappling credentials.
Regardless of the level of Mayweather’s opposition in the UFC, boxing fans, MMA watchers as well as hordes of casual fans will tune in to watch the sheer spectacle of Mayweather competing in the sport of MMA. While the allure shall last at the most for about 4 fights against low-level opponents, Mayweather could then face a real test, Conor McGregor, in his final MMA fight—one that Mayweather will likely get demolished in—following which ‘Money’ can ride off into the sunset as a billionaire.
The first step to earning his billion is without a question CM Punk. The retired WWE Superstar brings name value as well as a negligible threat to Mayweather inside the Octagon.
Money speaks, and the fans have largely insinuated that they’re indeed reaching for their wallets to pay the $100 for the UFC PPV debut featuring Floyd Mayweather.
It’s not a matter of if but rather when.
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