It’s time to quit the complaining and enjoy the spectacle of Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. At its core, this Saturday night’s main event will be a fist-fight between prize fighters at the top of their games. Two men squaring off with nothing but eight-ounce gloves over their hands. There is a nobleness and beauty to this Marquess of Queensberry affair that will take place in a Las Vegas arena where one combatant will come armed with a ton of heart and the other will use his head to keep his opponent at bay for the first few rounds.
To be candid, I have never watched a single McGregor fight in full. I have zero interest in mixed martial arts and wish my home state of New York would have remained the sole state to keep it out of our borders. I will always view MMA as base and un-entertaining compared to the sweet science.
Of course, a fighter doesn’t compile the record and attract the rabid fan base McGregor has without being the real deal in combat sports. Additionally, it must be acknowledged that McGregor is taking the bigger physical risk (for the ultimate in financial rewards) to make the event compelling. He is the one swimming upstream by participating in a boxing match. With that in mind, it will be entertaining to watch McGregor fight with an abandon that will allow him to go for broke when few experts predict he will even be competitive. Yet, playing with such house money sometimes gives gamblers, like McGregor, the edge they need to win a true jackpot.
And McGregor does have a shot – that proverbial puncher’s chance. This is mainly because Mayweather’s chief enemy is Father Time, who has the most powerful body blow of any rival. McGregor just turned 29 last month and is at his strongest. Mayweather, 40, is almost as old as the first Rocky movie.
Secondly, Mayweather lacks one thing that McGregor already earned, which is the reputation for taking on the best competition in his sport in their their prime. When Mayweather fought legendary fighters past their best days, such as Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, he was hardly dominant. And during his prime, Mayweather should have dropped at least one decision to Jose Louis Castillo.
Mayweather’s record also received protection from boxing’s governing bodies after he should have been disqualified from his fight with Zab Judah after Floyd’s uncle stormed the ring and attempted to punch Judah, creating a near riot after Floyd was hit with a low blow. Boxing rules previously indicated that only the referee held the power to hold Judah accountable for his foul. Floyd has been the greatest defensive talent in generations, but he has also been a very protected fighter.
Ultimately, we have finally learned the circumstance it takes for Mayweather to meet a fellow legend in his prime – the opponent just has to be from an all-together different sport. This is a dynamic that should give McGregor a bit of confidence as he approaches the ring.
Overall, it should be appreciated that Mayweather and McGregor will get together to give the public an event it demanded. Sure, this may prove to be a match where Mayweather holds McGregor at arm’s reach and then exposes him, a la Arturo Gatti, or a bout where Mayweather just outclasses McGregor for 12 lackluster rounds, as he has done to countless opponents you can’t recall the name of.
However, the anticipation leading up to the fight, the weigh-in, the ring walk, Jimmy Lennon Jr.’s classy ring announcement, and the initial clash of gloves, will have made this match worthy of putting on.
Mayweather and McGregor each have done their best to promote the event with the showmanship and crudeness you can expect from men who make their living hurting other men. And the work-a-day people I come across every day, including friends and family, are actually excited for the weekend. So, to all the snobs and sports media-types complaining about what a joke this is, just shut up and allow the curious public to enjoy this escape from the real world.
Fight fans everywhere should get together with some friends on Saturday night and keep in the back of our minds, a fight, is a fight, is a fight, where anything can happen.
Sean Roman Strockyj is a writer from New Hyde Park, N.Y.
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