So we’re talking about a fight that may never happen, although if Dana White is to be believed it was pencilled in for 16th September but that date was taken by the Canelo Vs GGG fight. There’s certainly plenty of reasons why this fight could happen, most of them being money related. It would undoubtedly break all pay per view records and viewing figures. Even the people who think it’s a joke will probably have to distainfully glance at the screen. But, in pure fighting terms what can we expect and what does it mean?
I doubt you’ll find many people who think McGregor can beat Mayweather in a boxing match. Lots of great boxers have tried and failed, so why would a non specialist boxer, an MMA fighter, stand a chance. Whilst McGregor is undoubtedly a world class Mixed Martial Artist he, like every other MMA fighter, has a much more multifaceted set of skills than Mayweather. If this fight happened in the Octogon then Mayweather would be humiliated quickly and he knows it. Thus we’ll never see a fight between these two other than in a ring, with the clear advantage to Mayweather. So if we take the millions out of the equation why is McGregor so happy to step into the ring? Into the other man’s domain.
As a martial artist McGregor will undoubtedly enjoy the challenge of picking apart and defeating other fighters style. In MMA more than Boxing this is very much the situation each fight. Each boxer has a style, be it southpaws, inside fighters, counter punchers etc etc. But in MMA each fighter, whilst needing to have many tools will have a go to base style that is their grounding such as Ju Jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo and so on. These many various styles present a plethora of problems to solve for fighters. Some of it to be figured out on the feet, some on the ground. Aside from the money, is it this challenge which McGregor seeks?
Hubris. Another reason to take the fight is arrogance. Maybe you can argue it’s confidence. The difference between the two seems to be being an arseholes about it. Confidence + Arseholery = Arrogance? Does McGregor believe so much in his own ability, in the success he’s enjoyed so far, that he can step in with an undefeated legend of boxing and win. Probably, yes. So much faith in his ability does he have that McGregor will believe he can do something no one else has. Aside from the money, is it McGregor’s own hubris that wants the fight?
There’s no doubt that physically McGregor is the bigger man, the bigger puncher and the younger of the two. Mayweather is 40, McGregor 27. If McGregor can catch Mayweather he can hurt him, although another dynamic to the fight would be seeing how McGregor adapts to wearing boxing gloves over twice the weight of his MMA competition gloves. Question is can McGregor catch Floyd? Certainly. Mayweather is not known for his knockout power. Infact, aside from the Ricky Hatton fight there has been few spectacular stoppages throughout his career. Mayweathers well publicised issues with broken hands may be a reason for this. Regardless, McGregor certainly wouldn’t be overly concerned with being stopped by Mayweather with one shot, but rather an accumulation of damage or more likely a points win. So, over the course of a 12 round fight can McGregor land that important knock out punch? It’s the only tactic to employ. Even McGregor and his camp would not expect to go out there and out box Mayweather, it would be insanely arrogant and naive. The only sure route to success here is a stoppage and I think we would see a high tempo from McGregor in order to pressure Mayweather. There’s certainly not much chance of waiting for the counter punching opportunities as that would entail Mayweather being the aggressor. It won’t happen.
Despite many being rather dismissive of this fight I actually would be very interested to watch it. Yes it’s primarily a money maker but these aren’t two has been fighters. Both will want to win. What it won’t do is settle any arguments regarding whether a boxer would beat a martial artist. It’s a world class boxer fighting another boxer with significantly less boxing experience. The focus is really on whether McGregor can draw upon his own skill set to overcome the difference. This isn’t about who is the better fighter. If you put both on a mat, in a cage, in a ring or in my living room and said fight then 10 times out of 10 I would suggest McGregor wins. His all round skill set is far in advance of Mayweather. What this fight should prove is who is the better boxer, but even if McGregor had the audacity to win it won’t put him ahead of Mayweather in that respect. What should be acknowledged however is McGregor’s willingness to step into the boxing ring. I venture that no current top level professional boxers would accept a challenge to do the reverse.
Maybe it’s just a romantic notion but I’d like to think that Martial Artists see these opportunities and relish the chance to challenge themselves against other styles. However, this greatly depends on how you view McGregor. I’ll leave you with this quote from George St. Pierre.
” There is a difference between a fighter and a martial artist. A fighter is training for a purpose: He has a fight. I’m a martial artist. I don’t train for a fight. I train for myself. I’m training all the time. My goal is perfection. But I will never reach perfection.”