By Sishaq: Floyd Money Mayweather and Conor Notorious McGregor (no, that’s not a typo) are scheduled to fight Saturday, August 26, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV for boxing supremacy. Boxing purists have been up in arms scowling the fact Conor has never been in a professional boxing match and doesn’t stand even a chance to land a single punch, let alone make it past the first round on Michigan native’s self-described, The Best Ever (TBE). They laugh out loud at the ridiculous notion Conor can take punches from a real boxer, especially one who has been a champion for 20 years. They point to the fact in 2013, Floyd shutout an up and coming boxing star, Canelo Alvarez, whereas in 2013 Conor McGregor was training to become a plumber! In other words, too many leaks in his faucet to be taken seriously.
But are things literally as black and white as the fighters make it out to be? The first half of 2017 has turned out to be a peculiar year for sports. Usain Bolt, the fastest human who hadn’t lost for 9 straight years lost in 2017, by pulling a hamstring that propelled him face down onto the track in his very last race. Mo Farah, arguably the greatest distance runner having won 10 consecutive global finals, was edged out in 2017 in his last major run by an unknown runner who even dared to display Mo’s signature Mobot gesture at the finish line. Is the great Floyd Mayweather next in his “last fight”? Is it the year of the underdog? See Jeff Horn head butting his way to a gift victory over Manny Pacquiao. What sports surprises will the second half of the year pose? We don’t have too long to find out.
They say history repeats itself, so what lessons can we take away from history as a predictor of future events? Let’s start with the new kid on the block, Conor McGregor, who apparently comes from a long line of scrappy warriors. The McGregor lineage traces back to Scotland in the 1500s and the clan’s motto, ‘S Rioghal Mo Dhream, means “Royal is our race”, reflects the family’s claimed connection to Celtic royalty. The skinny is that the McGregor’s fought for and helped win Scottish independence. However, their property was redistributed to another family by the ruling class, thus beginning centuries-long skirmishes. In Ireland, the McGregors demonstrated resiliency as they survived the Irish Potato Famine which saw 1.5 million people starve to death or die of disease. Conor’s great-great grandfather, Albert McGregor, rose from the harsh streets and joined the military. All this points to a family gene that’s faced wars and extinction, thus Conor simply represents the most resilient and heroic member of the clan, which he alluded to in a tweet, “I am simply doing what my ancestors were doing long before me.” Surviving!
You might be thinking it’s time for the writer to get a grip on reality, that Conor McGregory, as Floyd Sr. enjoys referring to him as, has zero chance against TBE. Perhaps, but let’s recall not long ago there was another brash, young, hungry lion that couldn’t be ignored. Cassius Clay, aka Muhammad Ali, came knocking at the door of a reigning world champion; the most feared man on the planet. Sonny Liston was so ferocious that many thought he simply could not be beaten yet Ali put him away in 6 rounds. Not unlike Ali, Conor has great hand speed, power, footwork, quick reflexes, and a brash personality. Ali literally “shook up the world” beating Liston and McGregor has an opportunity to claim a similar feat. Blasphemy, you cry? Well then what explains the beating he gave Brazilian Jose Aldo, considered to be one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time and who had not been beaten for 10 years, yet Conor KOd him 13 seconds into round 1! Or the savagery Conor laid upon Paulie Malignaggi, who got a special invitation to a turbo charged sparring session and then got the video of the spar released to leave no doubt no prisoners were had. Pauli is still recovering from getting hoodwinked and bamboozled. Given Floyd is not an offensive fighter, lacks KO power, is 40 years old, and distracted by the tax man conditions seem ripe for 49-1.
Although Floyd is one of the most gifted defensive fighters of all time, the competitive edge Conor presents is that he has quicker feet and accurate hands. Thus far, Floyd’s recipe for success has been to fight near-retirement, slower, plodding, GPS-lacking fighters (i.e., old Shane Mosley, old Oscar De la Hoya, slow Canelo Alvarez, misfiring Marcos Maidana, injured Manny Pacquiao). Floyd has avoided quicker and fresher fighters like the plague. Recall, Floyd held a poll not long ago to ask his own fan base who he should fight. When the majority selected Amir King Khan, arguably the fastest and quickest boxer, TBE came up with a bunch of excuses to fight Maidana instead, then looked silly struggling with him for 24 rounds to close the deal whereas Khan KOd Maidana in round one. Then for fight #49, TBE picked a money-losing fight against non-top 10 ranked Andre Berto just to avoid a money maker risk taker against Khan. It was no different earlier in his career. Prince Naseem Hamed reigned the featherweight division for over 5 years and is credited with bringing excitement and money in the lighter division. He had an indestructible chin, threw punches at extreme angles, fought with his hands down daring opponents to hit him, possessed an entertaining personality, trash talked with the best of them and had as good a defense as Mayweather. Yet, TBE avoided him too because he was too fresh and fast to take a risk on. McGregor is the first young, fast fighter in his prime that Floyd has taken on.
Floyd isn’t the most feared but he is also not to be underestimated because he can back pedal with the best of them. Even Conor wondered out loud, “If you’re asking would I like to fight Floyd Mayweather — I mean, who would not like to dance around the ring for $180 million?” The boxing purists, pinch their nose in the air to declare this is nothing but a spectacle, unworthy of debate. No. When Ali fought a professional sumo wrestler in traditional loincloth and Ali in boxing gloves- that was a spectacle. Ali even got ready for the mismatch by practicing against, of all things, actual WWE-style wrestlers. Those hilarious exhibitions had Ali attempting to land jabs and combinations while getting suplexed, put into headlocks, and tossed in the air then pummeled onto the mat. Since the upcoming fight will have both fighters wearing gloves and abiding by one set of rules it makes it a more serious affair.
However, the real question is what does the world look like August 27th? Let’s turn to Homer’s famous story the Iliad for some insight. After a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks decided to construct a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside. As the Greeks pretended to sail away, the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war. I can’t help but think the UFC as the Greeks, Boxing as Troy and Conor the Trojan Horse. What the fook you ask? While boxing aristocrats snickered, the UFC was busy laying a trap that could eventually help them either overtake or control boxing’s mega-dollars. Their main man Conor is now in prime position to defeat boxing’s highest money making legend and pole-vault to the top of two different sports, something no other athlete has ever accomplished. The big money is still in boxing where Dana White and the UFC don’t have reach, but with Conor under contract, one victory turns them into kingpin bosses, dictating fights and terms to the likes of Bob Arum (Pacquiao), Al Haymon (Keith Thurman, Amir Khan, Adrien Broner), and Golden Boy (Canelo). But, like the Greeks, perhaps Conor will turn the tables on the UFC instead and take sole negotiating power on all future mega-money fights courtesy of, McGregor Promotions. “We’re not just here to take part — we’re here to take over” and perhaps restore royalty lost generations ago along the way. Conor has already declared, “I am going to knock him out inside four rounds, mark my words.” Not long ago, no one gave the newcomer Ali a chance against Liston, but what happened? All the pollsters and experts ended up with egg on their collective faces. For boxing purists, sometimes bitter history must repeat itself to notoriously make way for an appreciation of enigmas.