By John Haile
To me, fighters are some of the worst people on the planet. With exception of Manny Pacquiao, fighters are usually hulking guys with big mouths and too much money. This has been true with since folks like Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Mike Tyson entered the ring for the first time. Now, we have two of the worst talkers looking towards perhaps the most expensive fight in the history of professional boxing.
Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. versus Ireland’s Conor McGregor has been on everyone’s lips for a just about a year now. The undefeated, undisputed champ in all of boxing against the loud and proud UFC champion has been the topic of discussion of boxing ever since Mayweather’s last fight. The thing is though, we have seen this already. Most of this already happened.
Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. had been a topic for perhaps a year and a half before the fight was even announced. Mayweather played the bad guy role as he paraded around his extravagant lifestyle and his undefeated 48-0 professional record. Pacquiao was the “people’s champion” as his humble outlook on fighting and life in general won him the support of the common viewer. However, when the fight was over, Mayweather was still undefeated in what many deemed a lackluster fight.
McGregor is hardly the good guy, however. We are talking about a man who only knows one setting on his mouth: unfiltered. McGregor will tell you exactly what he thinks of you and his favorite word in the world starts with the letter F. However, he is still the one that the majority of viewers will pull for if the fight is actually confirmed.
Let us get this out of the way first, the fight is going to happen. There is too much money on the table and too much talk being put out there. So, when the fight is confirmed, how will it go down? Floyd Mayweather Jr. may be one of the best sports promoters to walk this earth. He will market this fight like never before and this fight may be one of the most hyped up sporting events in modern history.
What about the actually fight? Well, though the attitudes of the two fighters and the publicity of the fight will be entertaining, the actual fight probably will not be. Conor McGregor will fight with a mighty fervor and will throw punch after punch on Floyd, but Mayweather will be the chess player that he is will counter and give a few taps with the glove. The fireworks will most likely not go off the way fans want. In this writer’s opinion, Mayweather should come out on top in another boring fight that is going to be way too expensive to watch on pay-per-view. I am pretty sure I can watch the fight on YouTube the next day.
Now, it is not like I want Mayweather to win. I personally would root for McGregor. I like the underdog story. However, as a professional, one must look at history and facts to figure out what is not hard to deduce. Then again, that is why they strap on the gloves in the first place.