The Nevada State Athletic Commission has made a one-time exception and will allow Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor to wear eight-ounce gloves in their Aug. 26 fight, Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com reported Wednesday.
The standard for any fight over the 147-pound classification is 10-ounce gloves, but both Mayweather and McGregor requested the change.
The decision comes a day after the Association of Ringside Physicians cautioned against changing the glove requirements.
“Unless there is scientific evidence to support the view that such a change might improve the safety of the bout, we should strongly caution against allowing current regulations to be over-ruled,” ARP board chairman Dr. Raymond Monsell wrote in a letter to Nevada’s athletic commission, per Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com. “To do so would also set a precedent for future bouts.”
Eight-ounce gloves are traditionally only allowed for fights under the 147-pound designation.
“Both guys have agreed that they want to fight in eight-ounce gloves,” Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe said, per Raimondi. “Both guys are looking to knock each other out. The smaller the gloves, the better. Conor is used to fighting in four-ounce gloves, Floyd is used to fighting in eight-ounce gloves.”
Indeed, Mayweather took to Instagram to personally lobby for lighter gloves:
McGregor took no issue with the request.
“If we’re eight ounces, I’m struggling to give him two rounds, and that’s the God’s honest truth,” he said at a media workout, per Simon Samano of MMAjunkie.com. “The only reason I maybe give him two rounds is because in this game the referee stops me from pounding his head into the canvas, and he has 10 seconds to recover. That’s the only reason why he might get to the second round.”
Ellerbe believes a stoppage now may be in the cards.
“I think with the mindset that both guys have, they’re looking to knock each other out…” he said. “I think the probability increases if both guys are wearing eight-ounce gloves that somebody is getting knocked out.”
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