By Nedu Obi: Teddy Atlas, once an assistant trainer (under Cus D’Amato) to former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, has a feeling that if the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor boxing match comes to fruition, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion will bend the rules in his favor if he sees himself losing the fight.
“If you would ask me the question, Atlas said to espn.co.uk. “Why does – if McGregor really can’t win this fight standing up under those rules, and those would be the rules, then why would he take it? Because he would break the rules, he would come in there, he would break the rules, he would pin pin him, and then he would proclaim himself the king of the ring.”
With a guesstimated $100 million (it’s sure to reach twice that amount by the time negotiations have come to a close) on offer to both Mayweather and McGregor, the boxing analyst is adamant that even with that sort of money at stake, it won’t be enough to deter the Irishman from resorting to plan b if things were to go awry for him.
“Even though he might lose the purse money, his brand would go through the roof.”
The 60-year-old lauded “The Notorious” for his promotional nous, but was quick to warn Mayweather to look into that aspect of the fight before inking the contract.
“And you know what? He’s a promotional genius just like Floyd is, just like Muhammad Ali was. So, don’t – nobodies thinking about that part of it, Floyd before he puts his John Hancock on a contract, he better think about that part of it.”
Atlas is as opinionated as they come – sometimes he’s spot on, whilst other times he’s away with the fairies.
If he truly believes McGregor would jeopardise making more bank that he’ll ever make in the entirety of his career – Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and/or boxing, then this is one of those rare occasions I deem his analysis as fantastical.
Furthermore, McGregor’s amateur level boxing inculcation should stand him in good stead. Also, he’d be training for the fight in the art of the sweet science, and not in the myriad of disciplines associated with MMA.
Thus far, there’s nothing new apropos a potential bout between Mayweather, 39, and McGregor, 28; just the same ol’ same ol’ boxing haggling we’ve become accustomed to.
However, if the fight does go ahead, it could be the most lucrative fight in boxing history, even surpassing the $600 million revenue generated by the Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015.