Perhaps it still feels a bit unreal, but in the end, it has become a reality, and on Aug. 26, former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather will return to the squared circle to take on UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in a 12-round boxing match. The fight will be contested at 154 pounds and […]
Perhaps it still feels a bit unreal, but in the end, it has become a reality, and on Aug. 26, former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather will return to the squared circle to take on UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in a 12-round boxing match.
The fight will be contested at 154 pounds and be presented live on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Now just weeks away from the historic bout, the promotion for the fight has begun to pick up, and Showtime released the first episode of its ‘All Access’ series last night (July 2809, 2017) to continue the build-up for the fight.
The opening episode took viewers behind the scenes of the four city world tour that Mayweather and McGregor took part in just a few weeks ago. The stars made stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and London, and it was a spectacle to say the least.
Take a deeper look into how the tour unfolded, as well as how the two fighters begun preparing for the fight with the the first episode of ‘All Access’ below courtesy of SHOWTIME Sports:
The combat sports world is going to shake up in a big way next month (Sat. August 26, 2017), as UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will make his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest of all-time in the undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many boxing purists find the bout to be a big joke, […]
The combat sports world is going to shake up in a big way next month (Sat. August 26, 2017), as UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will make his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest of all-time in the undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Many boxing purists find the bout to be a big joke, as well as a huge disrespect to the sport of boxing. Nobody within the boxing world seems to be giving “The Notorious One” much of a chance, who owns 18 of his 21 career mixed martial arts (MMA) wins via knockout. Mayweather, on the other hand, has 49 career wins inside the squared circle with 26 coming via knockout and the other 23 by way of decision.
Mayweather’s last finish inside the ring came against Victor Ortiz in 2011; however, it came with a bit of controversy as Ortiz wasn’t protecting himself and was distracted by arguing with the referee.
Most fans consider Mayweather’s last legitimate knockout to have come against Ricky Hatton in the 10th round of their fight back in December of 2007. Alas, the record books still ready Ortiz as being the last man to fall victim to “Money’s” knockout ability.
Ortiz was recently interviewed by FightHubTV to get his thoughts on the upcoming fight between Mayweather and McGregor, comparing it to ping pong to tennis (quotes via Bloody Elbow):
“I’ll just put it this way: you put the tennis champion against the ping pong champion, and they square it off,” Ortiz said. “Doesn’t make sense. They both have courts, they both have rackets, they both use balls, but they’re two different sports.”
The attorney representing Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ex-girlfriend Josie Harris released a statement Friday criticizing Conor McGregor for making a reference to a domestic violence incident that landed Mayweather in jail.
According to TMZ Sports, Har…
The attorney representing Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ex-girlfriend Josie Harris released a statement Friday criticizing Conor McGregor for making a reference to a domestic violence incident that landed Mayweather in jail.
According to TMZ Sports, Harris was upset McGregor was spotted wearing a C.J. Watson jersey after Mayweather accused Harris of texting the former Golden State Warriors point guard before he assaulted her in 2010.
“[The stunt] demonstrates not only an insensitivity toward the emotional wellbeing and privacy of the victim of Mayweather’s dom. violence, but also a general disregard for the physical and emotional trauma and long-lasting psychological impacts suffered by victims of dom. abuse,” attorney Dan Friedlander told TMZ.
“On behalf of Josie Harris, her and Mayweather’s three children, and all victims of domestic violence, we ask that Conor McGregor refrain from capitalizing off of the trauma suffered by her and other victims of domestic abuse.”
Mayweatherservedtwo months of a 90-day sentence after he pleaded guilty to a reduced battery charge and avoided a trial that could have sent him to prison for a maximum of 34 years.
The megafight between two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and unbeaten welterweight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. is now less than a month away, and bettors continue to support the underdog Irishman despite this being his first profession…
The megafight between two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and unbeaten welterweight boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. is now less than a month away, and bettors continue to support the underdog Irishman despite this being his first professional boxing match.
Sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark show McGregor as a consensus +400 underdog (bet $100 to win $400) with Mayweather still sitting as a large -600 favorite (bet $600 to win $100). The big question is, how low will the betting line go?
It is safe to say the public has taken more interest in this matchup than any other in boxing history. The intrigue behind McGregor’s strategy and inexperience inside the boxing ring combined with Mayweather’s age and long layoff as the 40-year-old attempts to pick up win No. 50 have taken the world by storm over the past month.
Mayweather has not fought since earning a unanimous-decision victory against Andre Berto to improve to 49-0 nearly two years ago on September 12, 2015.
The hype behind this fight has been unlike anything anyone has ever seen, with many boxing purists believing it is nothing more than a publicity stunt. Regardless, there is a lot of money to be made by the two fighters who will go toe-to-toe at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 26.
Bettors think they will be able to capitalize as well, no matter who they are supporting. The sportsbooks have them covered with a number of props.
For example, McGregor backers will not find much value on the KO/TKO/DQ prop right now at +500 since that is likely his only path to victory. The same cannot be said for Mayweather though, as the same prop for him has a price of -140, with a decision in his favor paying out much better at +200. McGregor winning by decision is +1000.
If you are looking for round props, betting either fighter to win in the 12th is worth +1800 compared to the fight going the distance (+160) and a draw (+3300). McGregor guaranteed a knockout within the first four rounds, and you can get +700 if you believe he will back that up. By comparison, Mayweather to win in the first four rounds is +400.
Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s rivalry could rival that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. That’s what former UFC champ Pat Miletich believes as we are just less than a month away (Sat. August 26, 2017) from UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor and undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather’s boxing superfight at the T-Mobile Arena from Las […]
Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather’s rivalry could rival that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
That’s what former UFC champ Pat Miletich believes as we are just less than a month away (Sat. August 26, 2017) from UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor and undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather’s boxing superfight at the T-Mobile Arena from Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor has been in deep preparation for his professional boxing debut, bringing in the likes of former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi as a sparring partner.
Miletich recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about the upcoming superfight, stating that if MCGregor were indeed to beat Mayweather it would the ‘biggest upset i combat sports history, and it’s already a fight that could rival or beat the biggest heavyweight boxing matches in the sweet science’s storied history. In fact, Miletich went as far as saying that McGregor and Mayweather’s rivalry could be as big, if not bigger, than that of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier(quotes via MMA Fighting):
“It’s certainly the biggest combat event ever in the history of, I mean, this is, you think about Thrilla in Manila and [George] Foreman, [Joe] Frazier and guys like [Muhammad] Ali and Frazier and Foreman and all those guys, I mean, this is going to rival, if not beat that.”
SHOWTIME Sports
Miletich looked into how McGregor could pull off said biggest upset, claiming that if he were training McGregor for the bout, he’d teach him to ‘cheat within the rules’ throughout the entire fight:
“[If] I’m training a fighter who’s going into that fight? Cheat within the rules, the entire fight,” Miletich said.
“Its got to be that close to a street fight. Get two warnings for everything before they take a point, and look, if you get a point taken, you get a point taken. It’s not like he’s winning on the cards anyway. I’m just being honest.”
He then pondered the possibility that “Money” could avoid his usual game-plan of ‘coasting to victories’ and instead attempt to bring the fight to McGregor. Miletich has enough confidence in the Irishman’s chin to survive for 12 rounds, and with his ‘monstrous’ left hand, he definitely has a chance to pull off the upset:
“Mayweather’s good at scoring points, staying ahead on the cards and coasting to victories,” Miletich said. “Will McGregor pull him out of that and make him go out on a limb and try to knock him out? That’s the thing. But McGregor’s got a good enough chin, and I think he can hang around, and that means he’s in there for 12 rounds with that monstrous left hand. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you are that weight and you get hit with that left hand, its going to hurt you.”
“The constant pressure of the tap of the back of the head and the push to the hip at the same time to make the head pop back to throw stuff,” Miletich said. “The bringing the head through and throwing a lead hook which would be opposite side for him. Stuff like that. Blocking the leg when he gets them in the ropes, because they’re the same stance, lean forward, clashing, block the outside of the leg, and get him off balance and take the leg out from under him. Make him stumble, make him lose his balance, and unload on him.
“A lot of different stuff like that to get people off balance, you know?” Miletich continued. “That’s the thing. And he’s got to go at the same time Mayweather goes. He cannot counter by getting out of the way and throwing back. He’s gone. You have to throw at the exact same time as he throws.”
Conor McGregor may not hit as hard as everyone thinks. The UFC lightweight champion is set to make his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest to have ever done it in undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather Jr. The pair are set to go 12 rounds on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) next month (Sat. August 26, 2017). […]
Conor McGregor may not hit as hard as everyone thinks.
The UFC lightweight champion is set to make his professional boxing debut against, arguably, the greatest to have ever done it in undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather Jr. The pair are set to go 12 rounds on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV) next month (Sat. August 26, 2017). After a four stop World Tour to promote the bout in cities such as L.A., Toronto, Brooklyn, and London, the Irishman and “Money” can now focus on their physical preparations for the bout.
McGregor decided to bring on former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi as one of his sparring partners. Malignaggi served as an analyst for Showtime during the pre and post shows for a couple of the press conferences on the Mayweather vs. McGregor World Tour.
The Irishman even posted a picture on social media recently showing he and Malignaggi sparring, in which McGregor holds his hands behind his back (similar to the way he did against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205) to taunt the former junior welterweight champ. Malignaggi recently joined The Jim Rome Show yesterday (Wed. July 26, 2017) to talk about his time trinaing alongside the UFC mega-star.
One hot topic of discussion was McGregor’s storied knockout power, which has been the down fall of 18 out of the 21 opponents McGregor has defeated. While Malignaggi admits his power is above average, he wouldn’t go as far as saying McGregor has ”Oh my God’ power’: (quotes via MMA Mania):
“It’s definitely above average. I wouldn’t say it’s ‘Oh my God’ power,” Malignaggi said. “Now, ‘Oh my God’ power is very rare. There’s above average power, so if he lands a good shot on you, I mean granted, with small fight gloves he will hurt you, but it’s not ‘Oh my God’ power where every time he touches you you’re like my goodness, this is very uncomfortable. It’s not that kind of power, but it’s good enough.”
The megafight between two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor and unbeaten welterweight boxing champ 
