After months of hype, the date that fight fans have been waiting for is nearly upon us. Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. will finally turn barroom debates and Twitter arguments into an actual flesh-and-blood boxing match.
The two have become the pre-eminent stars in their respective sports. Mayweather has long been the pay-per-view king of boxing, while McGregor has become the cash cow of the UFC while capturing championships in two different divisions.
Can Mayweather still stick and move at age 40? Has McGregor refined his boxing skills enough to unseat a champion like Money in his professional debut? These are the questions driving the fight and sales for a card that is expected to be a more lucrative bout than the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight that had 4.4 million buys, per Darren Rovell of ESPN.
Whether fueled by disdain or love for either combatant or a general sense of curiosity, this is the card that combat sports fans won’t want to miss.
Date: August 25, 2017
Time: Pay-per-view card will begin at 9 p.m. ET
Fight Card
Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, -400) vs. Conor McGregor (debut, +300), light middleweight
- Gervonta Davis (18-0, -3000) vs. Francisco Fonseca (19-0-1, +1700), IBF super featherweight title
- Nathan Cleverly (30-3, +285) vs. Badou Jack (21-1-2, -350), WBA(regular), light heavyweight title
- Andrew Tabiti (14-0, -270) vs. Steve Cunningham (29-8-1, +230), USBA cruiserweight title
Undercard (7 p.m. ET on Fox)
- Yordenis Ugas (19-3, -180) vs. Thomas Dulorme (24-2, +155), welterweight
- Juan Heraldez (12-0) vs. Jose Miguel Borrego (13-0), junior welterweight
- Kevin Newman (7-1) vs. Antonio Hernandez (9-1), super middleweight
- Savannah Marshall (pro debut, -5000) vs. Sydndey LeBlanc (pro debut, +2000), super middleweight
Note: All odds from OddsShark in moneyline form (-400 means a $400 bet would win $100)
Boxing undercards aren’t always the strongest, but this one has some fights worth noting. The undercard took a bit of a hit with Shawn Porter withdrew due to the death of a family member, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.
The former champion will be replaced by Yordenis Ugas in a welterweight bout that closes out the portion of the card on Fox.
Moving into the pay-per-view, the fans will get a good look at American cruiserweight prospect Andrew Tabiti. The Chicago native is taking on a two-time champion in the division, Steve Cunningham. While Tabiti is expected to win, he knows he faces tough challenge in Cunningham.
“This fight means a lot to me. This is a chance for me to become the American face of cruiserweights just like Steve Cunningham was,” Tabiti said, per BoxingScene.com. “I’m taking this very seriously and I have great respect for Steve Cunningham, but this is my time to take it. I’m ready to be a fresh face in the cruiserweight division.”
The highlight of the evening outside of the main event is the light heavyweight title fight between titleholder Nathan Cleverly and Badou Jack.
Cleverly hasn’t put forth the most impressive performances of late. He only defeated Jurgen Brahmer after an injury to the German and lost two of his three fights previous to that. Jack comes into the bout with the question of a moving up a division after vacating his super middleweight titles.
While the light heavyweight title tilt is the bout to watch, co-headliner Gervonta Davis is the fighter to watch. The Mayweather protege is an exciting super featherweight with an 18-0 record and nine consecutive knockouts.
The 22-year-old southpaw will take on fellow undefeated prospect Francisco Fonseca for the IBF super featherweight title. While Davis has gradually taken on bigger and better opponents on progressively bigger stages, the Costa Rican has never fought stateside.
Davis should overwhelm his less experienced counterpart in a fight that helps put him on the map as a part of boxing’s future after his promoter hangs up the gloves for the last time.
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