The big fight is upon us. Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor will fight Saturday night in Las Vegas on Showtime PPV. I know I have largely avoided talking about it, but now it is time to write the show’s preview. What are my thoughts on the impending mega PPV both as a fight and as a show?
First and foremost, let’s evaluate this as a spectacle because that is what it really is. Since we have an MMA fighter here, this reminds me most of the freak show fights from PrideFC back when that Japanese promotion ruled the mixed martial arts world. In a weird way, however, it is even a regression from those early, wild west style days of MMA which often posed the question of which style would prevail if there were no rules. Here, we are putting the rules back and asking if a hyper talented mixed martial artist can compete in the boxing ring against a truly great boxer.
And you know what? That is kind of fun. I would prefer not to spend $100 on the question, but as someone with a boxing website, I suppose I don’t have a choice. Yet, I am not dreading it either. First, I like the undercard, which I will get to later, but we are talking about spectacle here. The atmosphere in the T-Mobile Arena is going to be insane. The fight itself is unlikely to thrill, but I have always stood by the claim that absolutely nothing in sports beats the high right before a huge fight. This has will have that mega fight feel right up to the opening bell, the kind that puts the butterflies in the stomachs of fight fans across the world. We chase that high and here it is.
Furthermore, they’ve done an interesting job promoting the fight. A lot of the narrative has centered around the notion that Floyd is aging, not training that hard, and going to dramatically change his style while McGregor, for all his flamboyance, has been putting in the grind. I suppose if that is true then his odds improve slightly, but it is hard to believe. Mayweather has been a gym rat and a safety first fighter his whole life. I can’t buy that he has just been chilling at his gentleman’s club and is suddenly planning to seek and destroy here. It is inconsistent with established history. If you do believe it, however, there is something I guess.
I am reaching here because the fight itself is probably going to be somewhat tedious. I do fully expect McGregor to try early, but like so many Mayweather opponents before him, he will quickly discouraged after only a couple rounds. From there, we will fall into the slow rhythm of a typical Floyd Mayweather fight. Again, however, I am not dreading watching this. For me as a MMA fan and a boxing nutjob, I have this academic sort of interest in watching this play out. To me this is almost sort of a science experiment. Let’s mix a truly elite boxer, boxing rules, and a truly elite UFC fighter and see what happens. We all know our hypothesis is likely on point, but we also knew an eclipse was coming yesterday. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t fascinating to watch play out.
Unfortunately, that level of interest probably only applies to a small subset of those buying the PPV. This show is going to do huge numbers. In my day to day life, those who know I am a boxing fan are approaching me about being excited for it. These are not people who ever watch the sweet science, but they are convinced McGregor can win this no matter what I tell them. I don’t think a slow, methodical Mayweather outpointing will have a negative long term effect on the sport as these people are never going to be big fans regardless, but brace yourselves for “boxing sucks” type water cooler talk come Monday morning.
All that and we still have to discuss this as a fight. What can Conor McGregor do tactically to have his best chance here? The general consensus is the following two things: 1) He can only win by knockout, so 2) attack, attack, attack. People want him to be wild and aggressive, thinking only an early lucky shot can do it for him. I don’t agree. McGregor is a counter puncher and a good one. In my evaluation, if he wants any shot, he has to lose the opening couple rounds badly. I know that sounds crazy, but if he lulls Mayweather into thinking that this is the joke everyone in the boxing world says it is, maybe Floyd will get comfortable attacking and give him that one big counter shot opportunity. I don’t think so, but hey, it is all I really see him having. He is just not a boxer, at least not yet, and he is fighting the greatest boxer of our generation in a boxing ring under boxing rules.
I do like the undercard though. The highlight of the PPV broadcast for me as a fight will be the light heavyweight contest between Nathan Cleverly and Badou Jack. It will be incorrectly sold as a world title fight, Cleverly’s title is not legitimate, but it is still a good mstch. Cleverly is a back end top ten fighter greeting Jack, a top three super middleweight, in his divisional debut. This could headline a PBC show and I’d be happy with it.
The show also does feature a world title fight as Gervonta Davis defends his junior lightweight strap, but it is a mismatch against an unknown, undeserving fighter. Davis, is a super exciting young champion, however, so at least the execution should be fun. Finally, opening the PPV, cruiserweight prospect Andrew Tabiti will meet grizzled veteran and multiple time former champion Steve Cunningham in a really interesting test for the young fighter. Those three fights as a Showtime card would be perfectly acceptable, so it is nice to be buying a good show behind the spectacle of the main event.
The Showtime PPV begins at 9 PM Eastern and will run you $99.99 for the HD broadcast. It is available both on traditional PPV cable channels and for cord cutters online. Probably the most widespread app that can buy the show will be the UFC’s app which is available on every streaming device and smart TV that I have ever seen.
There is also a two fight pre-show on FOX beginning at 7. The show lacks star power, but it features two really evenly matched fights in Yordenis Ugas versus Thomas Dulorme and Juan Heraldez versus Jose Miguel Borrego. It is that last name you should note. Borrego is 19 and looks like he might be a future star. Heraldez is a good prospect too, however, making this a rare matchup between young prospects. If Borrego really rolls here, and he might, it is time to get excited.
No one will be buying a ticket for Jose Miguel Borrego though. Ready or not, here it comes. Mayweather/McGregor is upon us.
