Floyd Mayweather Sr. recently spoke with EsNews about the rumors regarding his son, legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibly competing in a boxing match against UFC mega-star and reigning 145-pound champion “The Not…
https://youtu.be/yBcEWgltcEM
Floyd Mayweather Sr. recently spoke with EsNews about the rumors regarding his son, legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. possibly competing in a boxing match against UFC mega-star and reigning 145-pound champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor.
While UFC President Dana White quickly shot down the rumor, which first emanated from The Sun out of the U.K., Mayweather Sr. said he remembers his son telling him about possibly coming out of retirement to box “some kind of MMA fighter.”
“He had told me the other day that he’s going to take another fight,” said Mayweather Sr. in the interview, which you can watch above. “He told me it’s [going to be against] some kind of MMA fighter.”
Regarding the rumored boxing match, which appears to be nothing more than a wild, unfounded rumor, Mayweather Sr. obviously seemed confident in his sons chances against the Irish UFC star.
“We’d beat the hell out of that man,” said Mayweather Sr. “My son can whoop him. He’s dead.”
While the MMA and boxing worlds were both buzzing about the same story on Friday afternoon, it turned out to have no merit.
On Friday, reports started surfacing online that claimed a boxing match was being negotiated between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and…
While the MMA and boxing worlds were both buzzing about the same story on Friday afternoon, it turned out to have no merit.
On Friday, reports started surfacing online that claimed a boxing match was being negotiated between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and reigning UFC Featherweight Champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor.
The false rumors were spreading fast enough that it even prompted MMA oddsmakers to create a betting line on the fight, which has since been taken down.
UFC President Dana White also caught wind of the rumor, and spoke about the subject on the record. White told Yahoo! Sports the following about the Mayweather-McGregor boxing match rumors:
“It’s not true; it’s just a tabloid story. And as far as I knew, Floyd is retired and he’s been on a world-wide vacation and hasn’t even been thinking of fighting.”
UFC megastar Conor McGregor is all about money, so he’s reportedly fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match, according to the Sun’s James Beal and Matt Heath-Smith. McGregor and Mayweather have agreed to fight each other although contracts have not been signed as of this writing. Mayweather is calling the shots in the negotiations and
UFC megastar Conor McGregor is all about money, so he’s reportedly fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match, according to the Sun’s James Beal and Matt Heath-Smith.
McGregor and Mayweather have agreed to fight each other although contracts have not been signed as of this writing. Mayweather is calling the shots in the negotiations and McGregor will have to lose roughly 25lbs in order to make the fight happen. The two sides verbally agreed to the fight on May 2nd and Mayweather told his friends on Thursday night that he would be fighting McGregor.
Mayweather is set to earn at least $144.8 million while McGregor will earn $10.1 million. It’s said that Mayweather is upset that McGregor said he would crush him and knock him out in 30 seconds.
McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh posted this on Twitter:
McGregor was asked back in January by the Daily Mirror about a possible fight with Mayweather and here is what he had to say:
“I’m open to discussions, come at me,” he said. “But I hold the key, and it’s me who holds the key to the fight game.
“I am open minded, I am open to discussion, I love competition, I love fighting. It would be nice to make that fight if the fans were interested and wanted to see it.”
Until contracts are signed, this fight is still up in the air. One has to think that the UFC would sue McGregor for breaching his contract if he did this fight.
“It’s always darkest before it’s totally black.”-Mao Zedong (supposedly).
This quote aptly described MMA’s immediate future, or at least it seemed to until very recently. Card quality, fan interest, and–most importantly–numbers were all declining; 2014’s PPV buy ceiling of 350,000 was 2009’s floor. MMA was headed for a perplexing time when it was simultaneously bigger than ever but smaller than ever, when the fighters were more talented than ever but less popular than ever.
A series of fortunate events and new found circumstances can change all that. To make a Back to the Future reference, the horrific, Biff Tannen-owned Hill Valley that represented MMA’s future may well become the nice, stable Hill Valley in which George McFly is a successful fiction author and Marty McFly bangs his girlfriend in the back of a pickup truck. That is to say, MMA might be approaching a level of popularity, constancy and quality that many (including myself) didn’t think it was capable of reaching in the current climate.
“It’s always darkest before it’s totally black.”-Mao Zedong (supposedly).
This quote aptly described MMA’s immediate future, or at least it seemed to until very recently. Card quality, fan interest, and–most importantly–numbers were all declining; 2014′s PPV buy ceiling of 350,000 was 2009′s floor. MMA was headed for a perplexing time when it was simultaneously bigger than ever but smaller than ever, when the fighters were more talented than ever but less popular than ever.
A series of fortunate events and new found circumstances can change all that. To make a Back to the Future reference, the horrific, Biff Tannen-owned Hill Valley that represented MMA’s future may well become the nice, stable Hill Valley in which George McFly is a successful fiction author and Marty McFly bangs his girlfriend in the back of a pickup truck. That is to say, MMA might be approaching a level of popularity, constancy and quality that many (including myself) didn’t think it was capable of reaching in the current climate.
What’s the reason for this cautious optimism?
The initial catalyst, for me at least, is MMA’s reaction to Conor McGregor. Interest for UFC Fight Night 46 was so high you’d have thought it was headlined by Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson II rather than Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao. And this was on a Fight Pass card, mind you. That level of excitement for a Fight Pass card is extremely rare–as was the web traffic he brought in for a Fight Pass card. Fight Pass cards are so lackluster we refused to cover one. UFC Fight Night 46, however, garnered more traffic than even some Fox Sports 1 cards.
Conor McGregor stepping into the Octagon is an event. People need to see it. It’s no wonder then UFC Fight Night 46 was reportedly the most-watched Fight Pass event of all time. Conor McGregor has the makings of a superstar. He’s charismatic, a magnet for attention, he’s talented, and has a fan-friendly fighting style. Though McGregor is further proof stars have to be found and built up rather than manufactured by stamping “UFC” on them, McGregor is a light in the dark.
Rousey, too, is another reason the future seems bright. As I’ve noted in the past, the UFC women’s bantamweight division is little more than a promotional vehicle for Ronda Rousey. If you doubt this, look at Ronda Rousey’s fights in the UFC. Was the UFC sponsoring her or her opponent? The UFC does not dissemble its abject love of Rousey; Dana White admitted Rousey is the only reason the division exists.
As inflammatory and ridiculous as it sounded when White said it, Rousey might actually be the UFC’s biggest star. This (somewhat) justifies the UFC’s treatment of her. But watching even the greatest of fighters crush glorified jobbers in under a minute can get boring–boring enough that people won’t pay $60 to see it. Currently, the UFC women’s bantamweight division is such that Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the only person getting as much attention as Rousey. That’s changing now.
Rousey-Holm, Rousey-Carano, and Rousey-Justino are far more sell-able and will garner more interest than Rousey vs. any of the other overmatched contenders in the division.
The women’s MMA landscape as a whole is changing thanks to the UFC’s inclusion of the strawweight division via TUF 20. The UFC’s current strawweight roster possesses enough personalities (Rose Namajunas, Felice Herrig, etc.) to make the weight class interesting.
Then we come to UFC Fight Pass. We’ve panned the network on CagePotato multiple times, but Zuffa is finally starting to listen to our suggestions. To that end, they will now start showing Invicta fight cards. Deals with other MMA promotions might also be in the works. They also plan to to air events in judo, wrestling, and other martial arts. Fight Pass is changing for the better. What was once a cheap cash-grab is turning into a legitimate window into the mixed martial arts ecosystem.
And finally, Bellator. Bjorn Rebney is out. Scott Coker, a man with the proven capability to put on cards fans care about (and who’s not scummy and horrible), is in. With Scott Coker’s vision and Viacom’s financial backing, Bellator 2.0 (or Spikeforce, as we like to call it) can become serious competition to the UFC, which’ll force the UFC to step up its game and offer a better product. Look at UFC Fight Night 50. Is it a coincidence that it’s one of the more loaded Fight Night cards in recent memory? Did Zuffa just feel like throwing us a bone? Of course not. UFC Fight Night 50 is going head to head with Bellator 123 that night.
There are reasons for MMA fans to be hopeful. There is an emerging star on the horizon, the UFC’s biggest existing star has more credible, higher profile foes to dispatch, a new crop of feisty and fearsome women are entering the fold, Fight Pass is becoming something you wouldn’t be ashamed of subscribing to, and we’re fast approaching the spiritual resurrection of Strikeforce and the competitive nature in MMA it entails.
Are we approaching a Golden Age? Maybe not because the sport still has a few unsolved problems. But we’re certainly approaching an age in which things get better before they get worse. Be cautiously optimistic, MMA fans.
MMA is the ultimate “nice guys finish last” sport. It’s called prize fighting for a reason, and “I respect him; he’s a great opponent” doesn’t sell.
This is no secret. Just look at how Chael Sonnen—a perennial mid-carder who nobody knew or cared about—resurrected his career with carefully executed, bombastic trash talk.
Why am I telling you this if it’s common sense? Because it’s only common sense to people who appreciate MMA for what it is—real-life pro wrestling. Unfortunately, most hardcore MMA fans (and some media members) refuse to see it this way. They either believe in a non-existent code of honor, or an even less corporeal competitive architecture. “It’s a sport,” they maintain. “It should be only about competition. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see the best fighters go at it, even if they have less charisma than a light bulb?” The answer to that question: Most of the country.
There’s a sport with no flash, no glitz, and none of the other maligned “entertainment” trappings of the UFC and the WWE. It’s called amateur wrestling, and nobody watches it. MMA turning into amateur wrestling hurts the fighters. If there’s no viewers, there’s no money. It’s crazy that people still need to be reminded of this, but selling the fight is equally as important as fighting the fight. To quote The Simpsons, “Every good scientist is half B.F. Skinner and half P.T. Barnum.”
MMA is the ultimate “nice guys finish last” sport. It’s called prize fighting for a reason, and “I respect him; he’s a great opponent” doesn’t sell.
This is no secret. Just look at how Chael Sonnen—a perennial mid-carder who nobody knew or cared about—resurrected his career with carefully executed, bombastic trash talk.
Why am I telling you this if it’s common sense? Because it’s only common sense to people who appreciate MMA for what it is—real-life pro wrestling. Unfortunately, most hardcore MMA fans (and some media members) refuse to see it this way. They either believe in a non-existent code of honor, or an even less corporeal competitive architecture. “It’s a sport,” they maintain. “It should be only about competition. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see the best fighters go at it, even if they have less charisma than a light bulb?” The answer to that question: Most of the country.
There’s a sport with no flash, no glitz, and none of the other maligned “entertainment” trappings of the UFC and the WWE. It’s called amateur wrestling, and nobody watches it. MMA turning into amateur wrestling hurts the fighters. If there’s no viewers, there’s no money. It’s crazy that people still need to be reminded of this, but selling the fight is equally as important as fighting the fight. To quote The Simpsons, “Every good scientist is half B.F. Skinner and half P.T. Barnum.”
Chael Sonnen understood this. And so does boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. Remember when Mayweather said he was interested in buying the L.A. Clippers after the Donald Sterling fiasco? That’s brilliant promotion; he injected himself into a highly volatile, nation-wide story and in doing so drew more eyeballs onto his upcoming fight. Then there’s the chicanery about cancelling the fight over gloves, which was another great way to build buzz.
Bethe Correia is another example. After defeating Jessamyn Duke at UFC 172, she mocked Ronda Rousey‘s “four horsewomen” (ugh) stable with a gesture, putting up four fingers and then knocking one down. Now it’s a legitimate plot in a division that typically serves as a promotional vehicle for Ronda Rousey. Bethe Correia stood out in a weight class of sacrificial lambs because she said something interesting when she opened her mouth.
Of course, trash talk doesn’t always work (see: Phil Davis), but the rewards far outweigh the risks. More fighters need to embrace their brazen sides, lest they fade into the abyss of generic, video game create-a-fighter lookalikes that is the UFC’s current roster.
