Mayweather Vs. McGregor is a fight that comes only once in a lifetime. But how did two of the most famous sport personalities in the world come together in the first place?
A Verbal Jab. A Taunting Claim. Trash talk Exchanged. A Deal is Struck.
This is how the most unlikely Fight of the Century came into form, a timeline dating back to 2015 when Conor McGregor mischievously triggered an open invitation to a bout with Floyd Mayweather. Announced on June 14th, the ultimate crossover between Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts will go down on August 26th which according to Dana White, President of UFC,” is definitely the biggest fight ever in combat sports history, and probably going to be the biggest payday ever”.
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To put things into perspective;
In the left corner we have Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor, a warrior of UFC’s Octagons. With a record of 21-3, the Irishman quickly rose to the top of MMA in 2015 becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold titles in two weight divisions simultaneously. He is a disciple of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and a formidable South-paw (left-handed) boxer standing in feather, light and welterweights.
In the right corner we have Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, ranked by ESPN to be the greatest boxer in the last 25 years with a record of 49-0. Undefeated. With an accurate punching and a defensive stance, Mayweather is a formidable opponent. Pound for Pound. Undefeated.
With the fight at hand, talks have estimated a whopping $600 million revenue generation. Dana White initially wasn’t entirely in support of the bout earlier as it was heavily fan-orientated but he had this to say, “I do think it’s going to happen… There’s so much money involved, I just don’t see how it doesn’t happen”. Unsurprisingly, any fight between the undefeated Mayweather is bound to be heavily promoted and brings in a lot of revenue as we saw with Manny Pacquiao where the bout raised $400 million in the US alone on pay per view. However this time on, McGregor is also aiding in the promotion since he, like Mayweather, is an outspoken personality evident in their Twitter feud.
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Put away the sideline talk and the business aspect, what do we have?
We have a Fighter going up against a Legend. McGregor’s stats doesn’t compare when juxtaposed next to Mayweather’s. The betting is up 29-1 in favor of Mayweather and early reactions suggest a mismatch between the two in terms of fighting style. McGregor, honed in the art of brawling, would lose advantage of using his kicks and tackles. Instead he has to box head on head with a hall of famer boxer. McGregor, however, says “He (Mayweather) is getting old now, I have the size, I have the reach, I have the height, I have the youth. He needs me. I don’t need him.” The fight isn’t entirely one-sided as McGregor is a southpaw (Mayweather’s well-known weakness) and he does have the height advantage. On top of that the match will be contested at 154 lbs. which is McGregor’s averaging weight whereas Mayweather is usually sparring at 140 lbs. ; a size advantage for McGregor.
The match-up has Mayweather coming out of retirement for the second time and in his 40s he is still a powerhouse. Fingers at McGregor’s racial background and Mayweather being called ‘a mouth’ got the fuel burning and one can only say that this is just the beginning of the trash talk. Come August 26th, the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, will be viewed by many around the world dying to see whether The Notorious McGregor can deliver Mayweather his first defeat.
