By Jaime Ortega: The two best current legendary stand up fighters this decade are Floyd Mayweather Jr. and two world K-1 champion Giorgio Petrosyan – two incredibly gifted fighter with a matrix style technique. Watching both fighters perform in their craft is like watching Picasso paint or Steve Jobs create new I-phones. In the standup game, no one has dominated the sport like those two fighters. They can adapt to anything and everybody and its beautiful.
Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianeko have being the most dominating grapplers and MMA fighters the past decade. Jon Bones Jones was in the process to achieve legend status, but unfortunately regretful personal decision got on his way stalling his UFC career.
Conor McGregor is on the brink of achieving legendary status, but still falls a little short from Silva and Fedor. However, he is champion in two multiple weight classes and he is a dominant force to reckon on his craft, no one as of today seems to have the blueprint to defeat him in MMA. It is much easier to lose in, and harder to become undefeated in MMA because fighters incorporate multiple weapons that can change the game in the blink of an eye.
So let’s set a logical difficulty bracket to prime combat sports: Fighters in MMA have a much higher chance of losing than kickboxers and boxers. Kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters have a higher chance of losing than boxers; boxing is a one dimensional real combat sport tougher than Karate, Kung Fu, Taekwondo, Judo and other pseudo-fighting styles.
In the early 90’s. I just to watch MMA fights between MMA fighters versus kickboxers versus boxers versus…you name it. It was entertaining to watch, but it was also unfair to the craft. The grapplers would take down any stand up fighter and crush them on the ground – unlike boxers certain Muay Thai fighters could hold their ground against BJJ masters, but it was a difficult task to achieve – Ronda Rousey had a taste of what that feels like.
When you pair up a MMA fighter with a boxer under boxing rules– no matter how crafty the MMA fighter might look – it always turns the same way; the boxer will destroy the MMA fighter – knock him out with relative ease and out punch him. Mayweather might have not knocked out anyone for a long time, but the amount of defensive mistakes McGregor commits, he will get that knockout.
Mayweather is an elite boxer, and on top of that he is not just any ordinary boxer, but the boxer to beat right now. McGregor doesn’t stand a chance against Mayweather in boxing, and it would no different than watching a circus freak-show. It would be a clown show, were many boxing fans would laugh at McGregor fighting to survive a beat-down; It would be such a bad outcome, than it would make UFC look inferior to boxing – an in striking it is truly inferior. K-1 and Boxing are superior in standup form than UFC.
But the problem with freakish matchups, is that it really damages the reputation of the sport. Fighting McGregor hurts boxing. Mayweather is a supreme boxer, he should not fight any MMA fighter; instead he should box against upcoming threats like Danny Garcia, Terrence Crawford, Keith Thurman, Errol Spence Jr – possibly a part two Many Pacquiao matchup. Mayweather cannot fight McGregor because it simply ridicules the craft of boxing by beating an Irish man who couldn’t even win a Golden Gloves amateur completion.
I understand money is the real issue here, but MMA, Boxing and K-1 champions should stick to their disciplines and not adventure outside of what they already master. If Petrosyan fought Mayweather in a boxing match, Mayweather would destroy him; if Mayweather fought Petrosyan under K-1 rules, Petrosyan would smoke him. If Anderson Silva fought Mayweather or Petrosyan under MMA rules, it would be utter devastation. If Silva fought Floyd under boxing rules,Mayweather would step on the spider; likewise if Silva fought Petrosyan under K-1 rules, Silva would be humiliated – that is just the truth and it is unfair to fight under other conditions fighters don’t master.
I don’t want to see Mayweather versus McGregor in the ring; I would be totally against McGregor versus Mayweather in the octagon. I love the sport of boxing, and I also appreciate MMA. There is nothing exciting about watching the best boxer take on the best UFC fighter — an absolutely mismatch. Anyone claiming McGregor has a chance against Mayweather inside a boxing ring is out of their mind – the opposite is also true.
What is worst is after Floyd destroys McGregor on a boxing match; boxing fans will start to presume that “boxers can defeat Muay Thai fighters and MMA artist,” and start to disrespect combat sports in general. It would be the same if Floyd step into the octagon with McGregor; McGregor would destroy Floyd, and UFC fans would arrogantly presume boxing is a girl sport — folks, It harms the reputation of combat sports.
Boxing is America’s and England’s combat sport, and one that has lasted well over a century. We should respect all combat sports and appreciate their craft without trying to pair impossible dream matchups. The reason why Floyd versus McGregor is a joke it is because they have to fight under specific rules they don’t master. If the fight happens, I am not watching it.