The biggest spectacle in combat sports goes down on Saturday with the long-awaited clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was a long and drawn out process to arrive at this moment. McGregor first tried to talk Mayweather into a fight in an April 2015 interview with Chris Jones of Esquire, saying it would take him “less than 30 seconds” to win an MMA fight between the two.
More than two years later, Mayweather is making his return to the boxing ring for the chance to silence the biggest star in MMA.
Mayweather vs. McGregor Viewing Info
Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Start Time: 9 p.m. ET (Main Card)
Watch: Pay-Per-View ($99.95)
Mayweather vs. McGregor PPV Card
Light Middleweight (154 lbs.): Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor
Super Featherweight (130 lbs.): Gervonta Davis vs. Francisco Fonseca
Light Heavyweight (175 lbs.): Badou Jack vs. Nathan Cleverly
Cruiserweight (200 lbs.): Andrew Tabiti vs. Steve Cunningham
What to Expect
The odds for Mayweather vs. McGregor have shifted dramatically in the weeks since the fight was first announced.
Mayweather is still the favorite and is getting -400 (bet $400 to win $100) odds from OddsShark, compared to +300 for McGregor. The gambling site also noted things started out skewed heavily for Mayweather before fans started putting money on the UFC superstar:
“Odds for the fight were set long before it became official, with Mayweather opening as a gigantic favorite at -2250 and McGregor at +950. Since the opening betting odds were released, an avalanche of public money has come in on McGregor, causing a dramatic shift in the odds. The day after the fight became official, Mayweather’s odds shrunk all the way down to -600, while McGregor’s value has been chopped down to +400.”
McGregor has proved himself to be the biggest drawing card in MMA, with Forbes noting he was in the main event for two of UFC’s three best-selling pay-per-view events ever at UFC 196 and UFC 202.
Despite McGregor’s popularity, there’s been little in the build up to the fight that suggests he can win a boxing match against Mayweather.
Former boxer Paulie Malignaggi, who was sparring with McGregor, went on a Twitter rant demanding UFC and McGregor release all the footage from their sessions:
That came after Malignaggi criticized McGregor’s camp for posting images appearing to show the Irishman knocking down Malignaggi while sparring, which he said was actually the result of being pushed down.
He isn’t the only sparring partner McGregor has had who criticized the UFC superstar for his boxing skills.
Chris van Heerden told TMZ Sports he was landing punches “at will” against McGregor when the two worked together in May 2016.
However, the UFC star has had 15 months to work on his boxing skills since that time, but he’s stepping into the ring against one of the best boxers in history who has never lost as a professional.
Mayweather is sitting back and letting McGregor’s side do most of the heavy lifting to build the fight. The most noteworthy thing from Money thus far was him telling ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith he’s “lost a step” at the age of 40.
“And I’ve been off a couple of years,” Mayweather said to Smith. “And I’m in my 40s. So, if you look at everything on paper, it leans toward Conor McGregor.”
That will change in these final 48 hours before they walk to the ring because Mayweather knows how this business works and wants every possible eye ball watching this to help line his pockets.
McGregor is the attraction in this fight. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain because this is his first professional boxing match, and it comes against the biggest star in the sport over the last decade.
It will be a massive upset—despite what the odds suggest—if McGregor wins. He’s entering uncharted territory and won’t be able to use the skills that make him such an effective MMA athlete if he gets in trouble against Mayweather.
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