Until the chaos actually unfolds in the ring, there’s no way to tell if UFC star Conor McGregor and multi-division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. will actually put on an entertaining fight. It is clear—however—that both have proven adept at creating hype.
The two have built this contest into a must-see television event, even if one of the combatants is making his debut in the sport.
That’s the power of hype in the social media age, and no one is better at it than these two. Mayweather’s brash talk has paired with the impressiveness of having an undefeated record to become boxing’s biggest draw, while the Irishmen’s ability, unnatural confidence and willingness to bend the rules for what a UFC fighter is has made him wildly successful in his own right.
With the fight approaching on August 26, the two are still doing what they do best: Promoting.
If the pay-per-view buys aren’t an indication, the shrinking odds certainly are. McGregor‘s unwavering confidence has the line surprisingly low given the circumstances.
Here’s a look at the latest line from OddsShark:
Mayweather Line: -400 (Bet $400 to win $100)
McGregor Line: +300 (Bet $100 to win $300)
Twitter Hype
This is essentially a fight that social media made, so it makes sense that the topic has taken over the virtual ether.
Of course, the charge is led by each of the fighters. Both have made sure that the other knows they are in shape and ready for the fight. McGregor had a similar message for Mayweather that he did for Jose Aldo when he fought the longtime featherweight champion in UFC:
McGregor‘s schtick of making predictions that he sometimes even keeps hasn’t taken a break. While he’s repeatedly said he’s going to knockout the undefeated boxer, his most recent prediction has been knocked all the way down to a first round job.
UFC tweeted Mystic Mac’s latest prediction for how the fight is going to play out:
Mayweather is making some predictions of his own in this one. He didn’t specify the round, but he’s adamant this thing isn’t going the distance.
Showtime Tweeted out his prediction:
The two have spent months taking jabs at one another, but the buzz goes beyond the two fighters. Other fighters from both sports have chimed in with some predictions of their own. Surprisingly, there’s a lot of love for the Irishman.
There are those in the boxing world who believe that McGregor has what it takes to make it interesting. His power and self-confidence are two things that stand out to those who practice the sweet science.
Both Andre Ward and Chris Eubank Jr. were positive about the Notorious’ chances to make it an interesting fight:
Former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub is one on the MMA side who also believes that McGregor has a shot at pulling off the upset:
Of course, Dana White will be firmly in McGregor‘s corner on Saturday night. A win for McGregor could be a win for the sport of sorts as he’s hoping there will be some crossover appeal if Notorious proves that he can knockout an elite boxer like Mayweather:
It’s easy to understand looking at the Twitter activity surrounding this fight why McGregor was able to talk his way into this opportunity. There’s a base of fighters, promoters and people involved in both sports that believe he can actually be the one to defeat Mayweather.
The facts surrounding this fight remain. McGregor—who is undoubtedly an accomplished MMA fighter—has never fought in a boxing match as a professional. He’ll be taking on the best fighter of a generation in Mayweather on Saturday night.
Even with McGregor‘s unwavering self-belief, a size advantage and all the other intangible arguments that can be made that he’ll pull off the upset, it’s still hard to wrap one’s head around a McGregor win.
It would be entertaining to see and certainly open the door for more spectacle fights, but this isn’t the first time that someone was supposedly the one to beat Mayweather.
McGregor likely won’t be the one to do so, but watching the buzz build for the event throughout the week should make it a memorable affair.
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