What’s the story?
Bob Arum, the promoter who produced fights such as Evander Holyfield v George Foreman, has had his say on the possibility of UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor fighting 49-0 boxer Floyd Mayweather. Arum, who knows boxing well, stated to TMZ that McGregor wouldn’t hold his own against a novice boxer in a boxing match, let alone a fighter with nearly 50 fights unbeaten.
“Conor McGregor is not a boxer, so if they box, under boxing rules with the regular gloves and so forth, a novice will beat him. Because he has no experience as a boxer”.
In case you didn’t know...
Dana White, UFC president, went on to “The Herd” to offer both McGregor and Mayweather $25 million to fight, with pay-per-view bonuses being negotiated later. Mayweather laughed at that offer and called him a “f***ing comedian” , so it remains to be seen whether the fight can be negotiated, but it appears both men want it to as they have been going back and forth for some time.
The heart of the matter
Arum continued, saying that under MMA rules McGregor would win, but he reaffirmed his belief that the fight is not going to happen any time soon
“On the other hand, if they did the cage thing, Floyd wouldn’t have a chance”.
“It’s just talk and it’s absolute nonsense for these guys to fight eachother”.
Both McGregor and Mayweather have said they want the fight however, but the main point of contenton seems to be money. Floyd Mayweather is well know for making hundreds of millions from his fights, and having an extravagant lifestyle, meaning any offer is going to have to be a big one to lure him from retirement. Mayweather has come out to say no fight will bring him from retirement except one against McGregor. He also has said he believes the fight will happen.
“Do I think the fight will happen? Absolutely.”
McGregor has also made it personal by tweeting an image of Mayweather unconcious, with the caption “Call me C.J. Watson!”. For those who don’t know, C.J Watson was an NBA player rumoured to be in a relationship with Josie Harris, Mayweather’s former partner.
What’s next?
At this stage, both parties have expressed interest, and Dana White has made an offer. It seems likely that once the negotiation stage is over, the fight will happen. When both fighters are eager and there is money to be made, there is no reason the bout won’t happen, but anything can happen.
Sportskeeda’s take
This fight is an exciting one for both boxing and MMA fans. We haven’t seen crossover between the sports since James Toney lost to Randy Couture in 2010 and this time it would be between the biggest draw in boxing and the biggest draw in MMA. Its a fight that is most certainly going to excite fight fans if it happens, and everyone is hoping it will.
