By Allan Fox: Conor McGregor posted on social media earlier this month working out and calling Canelo Alvarez’s name. Immediately fans interested this as sign that the 31-year-old UFC star McGregor wants to step back into the boxing ring for another fight.
If Canelo wants a big payday, it could be there for him against McGregor. It would bring good business for DAZN, and it would be a huge upgrade for Canelo’s mismatches against Rocky Fielding and Sergey Kovalev. If Canelo is going to fight someone that has no chance of beating him, then McGregor would be ideal. The fight would bring in more subscribers than Fielding and Kovalev.
In 2017, McGregor took on superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. and was stopped in the 10th round. The brought in massive amounts of money with 4.3 million pay-per-view buys and $55,414,865.79 gate.
McGregor has only fought twice since returning to the UFC, which suggests that he might be lacking the same interest he once had with that sport. That’s where Canelo comes in. A fight between Canelo and McGregor could make massive amounts of money.
Yes, it would be seen as a circus act but it would be entertainment. The main problem with selling the fight is Canelo can’t speak English, and he’s not exactly outgoing. The press conferences might be painful to watch with McGregor likely ridiculing a tongue-tied Canelo, who obviously wouldn’t be able to match his trash-talking ability.
Will Canelo fight Conor McGregor?
“Canelo is slated to fight Gennadiy Golovkin for the fall, but he has a lot of fight remaining on this DAZN deal that’s going to take him into his early 30s,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “One of his perspective opponents could be none other than Conor McGregor.
“McGregor was on social media this week posting a video of him whacking a bag and saying, ‘Canelo.’ He wants Canelo. We know that McGregor didn’t fare well in his fight against Floyd Mayweather in 2017, but he says he wants to continue to be a boxer. Do you want to see Canelo fight Conor McGregor in the future?”
“No, I don’t want to see another popularity, sideshow,” said Sergio Mora. “That’s what it’s going to be is a popularity show between two mega-stars in their respective fields. Conor McGregor is an amazing MMA fighter, but he’s a subpar boxer at that.
“I think he’s just average at that, and Canelo is the opposite. It’s going to be April fools for everyone watching and buying because Canelo will destroy McGregor. I think the only reason Mayweather went some rounds with McGregor, not only because he was carrying him, but Floyd was 42 or 43-years-old, and he wasn’t even training for that fight,” said Mora.
It’s going to be a sideshow because Canelo and McGregor, that’s a given. But if you look at boxing as entertainment similar to WWE, then you won’t mind seeing Canelo fighting McGregor.
You can’t put it passed Canelo fighting McGregor. No one thought that Canelo would fight Fielding, Kovalev, or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Those were all weak fights, but Canelo still fought them. In the case of Kovalev and Chavez Jr., the matches did well. They weren’t entertaining or competitive, but they brought in money.
McGregor would bring in subscribers for DAZN
“You could see that he didn’t have the legs for that fight, and you have to respect Conor McGregor’s somewhat fighting ability after all that build-up,” said Mora. “But Canelo and McGregor, no, I do not want to see that fight. I know it makes business and makes sense, but Canelo would annihilate Conor McGregor.”
“Here is what I would like to see for Canelo. Fight in May and fight in September,” said Mannix. Fight the top guys during that stretch, then fight the Golovkins, the Charlos, the Andrades. And if you want to fight one more time in December, then you can fight whoever you want.
“Does Conor McGregor mean anything less than Rocky Fielding? I mean, Rocky Fielding was a pushover in that fight. McGregor, I agree with you; he would be a pushover. But in the case of McGregor, he’d be an attraction.
“He’d sell subscriptions, and draw attention to the fight and that’s what Canelo needs. Don’t give me a fight against McGregor in May or September, but that third of fight the year, if he wants to do it, let’s see it at the end of the year,” said Mannix.
If money is the entire focus, then Canelo must fight McGregor because it will make a lot of green stuff.
Canelo vs. McGregor would bring in a massive amount of subscribers for sure. It probably won’t match the 4.3 million buys that Mayweather vs. McGregor fight pulled in, but that’s only because a lot of fans felt like they got a bad deal. The fight wasn’t competitive, and there was a lot of disappointment.
McGregor won’t last long against Canelo
“An attraction, that’s a sideshow,” said Mora on a match between Canelo and McGregor fight. “If you want an attraction, go to the zoo, go to the circus. This is not a game. It’s a blood sport, it’s boxing, and it’s the sweet science. You’ve got to respect it. Mayweather and McGregor, yes, they made a boatload of money, and it did great business.
“But if you want to get an April fools joke, then make that fight and make it happen because people are going to going to get fooled into buying that fight because it’s going to end quickly. It’s going to make a lot of money and bring popularity.
“I guess so. If that’s what people want, then make that fight. Conor McGregor won’t last four rounds. I don’t think he’ll even last three rounds with Canelo Alvarez. Look, if Conor McGregor comes and fights one fight against an average opponent. I’m not even saying a good or top contender.
“I’m saying an average opponent, and if he takes care of business there, then why not? Then you can go to the attraction, the sideshow [Canelo fight], or whatever euphemism you want to say for boxing. Then he can do it. Other than that, he can stay in his lane, and we’ll stay in our lane.
“But if he comes into our lane, beat somebody first, somebody that can actually throw a one-two. I’ll fight him, and I’m a former champion too. So let’s go. I’ll do it, I’ll come out of retirement for my 30th win,” said Mora in making it clear he’s against seeing a fight between Canelo and McGregor.
If Canelo chooses to carry McGregor into the deeper rounds, then he could last a while. It’s doubtful that Canelo would risk angering the fans by blasting McGregor out immediately. Canelo will likely carry McGregor the way Mayweather did, and it could be interesting in watching a slow-motion fight.
