Is Boxing Becoming a Side Show Act? Floyd Mayweather, JR Vs Conor McGregor Can Lead to that Verdict if it Happens!

By Dave “Madcap” Mroczek

Conor McGregor runs boxing. Or so he says on social media. How you can run something without having any involvement in it as of yet is questionable, if not a total farce. The rumors of a fight between him and retired welterweight champion of the world Floyd “Money” Mayweather, JR. have been rampant for weeks. First it was some quiet whispers about what would happen. Then it became news when Mayweather, JR. was asked about it and would not rule out the possibility. Now it appears both men are in full-fledged promotional mode and are beginning to talk as if this is a done deal. Though it seems like a great idea, that it will go a long way to settling the age old question of Boxing vs MMA, it does nothing of the sort. In reality here on earth this fight should never be made, the money be damned, it will be a black eye for boxing and cheapen the sport in a way that might put it down for the final ten count.

There have been plenty of instances of novelty fights being made for entertainment purposes. Jack Dempsey in his forties nearly battered wrestler “Cowboy” Lattrell to death in a boxing match. Primo Carnera faced a brown bear at one point in his career. Muhammad Ali fought Antonio Inoki to a draw in a bizarre contest. Chuck Wepner was thrown out of the ring by Andre the Giant. Butterbean knocked out WWF wrestler Bart Gunn in a real fight held on a wrestling card. Floyd Mayweather, JR., Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and many other boxers have appeared in mixed matches over the years, some real fights, some professional wrestling shows. The common denominator of these fights has always been that, real or staged, they were for novelty purposes only.

Fast forward to 2016. The UFC has emerged as a form of professional wrestling that puts on real fights. That is what makes the Mayweather, JR. Vs McGregor matchup so dangerous, is that it is being considered a real fight. Though dream matchups are great, boxing and MMA are two different skillsets. A skilled boxer would likely be defeated easily by someone at the top level of MMA, and a top UFC champion would have a hard time doing anything against a top level boxer in a fists only match.

Conor McGregor is a larger than life character, a big mouth, a confidence man. He has a winning smile and the gift of gab. When he kissed the Blarney stone he must have gave it a little tongue. But his character and bravado is all he has, and is the source of all the dollar value of this fight. He has shown nothing to make anyone think he could beat, or even give a tough fight to a man who dominated the welterweight division, and the pound for pound list for so long. McGregor lost his last fight in the UFC by submission to Nate Diaz. He had fought well, and done some damage, but lost nonetheless. For all his bravado and outright arrogance, he failed to deliver when it counted. Then, like many boxers do as well, he blamed his training, media schedule, and everything else he could for the loss. At the end of the day fans in the know realize what actually happened – he bought into his own hype.

Is this what boxing is becoming, a way for UFC fighters who have fallen from grace to make a big payday? Is a big personality and the ability to sell tickets enough to warrant the top level of boxing opening the gates up? Why not Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the heavyweight championship? Tom Cruise Vs Brad Pitt would sell tickets too, fight fans.

Surely this must be a publicity stunt of the highest order. There are great fights within the boxing world that are not being made, this fight would be a farce. What is the motivation here besides money? This is a video game come to life, a carnival sideshow, an interesting oddity that once the barker is done barking and the curtain pulled back cannot possibly be as great as advertised. Floyd Mayweather, JR. had numerous reasons to postpone the massive Manny Pacquiao fight, perhaps past its best before date, famously citing his losses to Marquez and Bradley. Everyone understands boxing is a business, and money must be made. But there has to be some semblance of organization, and earning your position. Otherwise this will cease to be a sport, and become sports entertainment – a big, light hearted joke not to be taken seriously.

Another factor to consider is that while these men stand to make good money from this fight, there is no other upside to this fight and may damage boxing’s reputation beyond repair. If Mayweather, JR. wins, it will be expected. There is little credit to be gained. Floyd Mayweather, JR., while retired, has not been gone for long and will still be considered the lineal welterweight champion of the world, and probably will regain his pound for pound distinction immediately upon re-entering the ring. He is a legend. He has always positioned himself as boxing’s standard bearer, a voice of class and credibility. What has McGregor done to earn himself a shot at such a lofty crown? He trained with Freddie Roach when he was sixteen, and this will be his professional boxing debut. Should he not have to work his way up the rankings? What if, God forbid, he wins? He will have defeated the lineal champion, pound for pound king, and the best fighter of the last decade in his professional debut. All this with absolutely no qualifying achievements and no world ranking.

It would be a disaster of Trumpian proportions. Unless this fight was clearly made as some sort of exhibition match, a McGregor win would immediately turn this sport in to a joke. We would have a legend and all-time great losing to a fighter making his boxing debut. That would undoubtedly cheapen the value of the championship, and the sport itself.

Floyd Mayweather, JR. has been giving everything by this sport: fame, money, glory, legendary status. Why he would want to devalue those accomplishments for a few more dollars are inexplicable. Just like the mismatches, and the opponent ducking that goes on around boxing, this would be another example of short term money being made in exchange for long term damage to the credibility of the sport. Boxing is a great sport, and could be stronger than ever, but it is clearly on the decline. Mayweather Vs Pacquiao had been referred to as ‘the end of big time boxing’, and it very well may have been. Certainly it was another nail into the coffin. If Conor McGregor ends up running boxing like he claimed, then God help us all.

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