Oscar De La Hoya is unhappy with the date chosen for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Conor McGregor, as he says the Aug. 26 matchup clashes with Gennady Golovkin’s bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.
In an appearance on ESPN’s S…
Oscar De La Hoya is unhappy with the date chosen for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Conor McGregor, as he says the Aug. 26 matchup clashes with Gennady Golovkin’s bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.
In an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter (via MMA Fighting), the promoter took a swipe at Dana White and the UFC for scheduling the clash just three weeks before the middleweight title fight.
“It was disrespectful,” said De La Hoya. “I would have thought that Dana White would have a little more respect with this boxing event taking place, because look, you just don’t do that. I mean, it’s like having the Super Bowl and then three weeks later the World Series takes place, the final game. It just doesn’t happen.”
Here is the video of the legend’s comments (via Pop and Sports HQ):
De La Hoya said the UFC could have arranged the superstar fight in November or December.
Alvarez, meanwhile, said he is not interested in watching the action as McGregor’s lack of boxing experience will result in an easy win for Mayweather.
During a workout Wednesday in preparation for his Aug. 26 clash with Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather employed some self-motivational tactics.
According to TMZ Sports, the 40-year-old veteran repeated to himself, “You name him. I beat him,” throug…
During a workout Wednesday in preparation for his Aug. 26 clash with Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather employed some self-motivational tactics.
According to TMZ Sports, the 40-year-old veteran repeated to himself, “You name him. I beat him,” throughout an hour-long workout at Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California.
With plenty of media present, Mayweather also made it clear that he intends to rise to the occasion on the big stage:
“I be trying to tell ya’ll … I can get a black eye, a bloody nose. I can have a bad day in the gym. At the end of the day, I don’t have a bad payday and I don’t have a bad night under the lights. … I get bumps, bruises … but I don’t have a bad night.”
The dream bout between Mayweather and McGregor was finalized last week after a great deal of public posturing over the past several months.
Per ESPN’s Dan Rafael, UFC president Dana White said on SportsCenter that the fight will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Aug. 26 and be contested at a weight limit of 154 lbs.
Mayweather is formerly the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and he will enter the event with a perfect professional record of 49-0.
Although Mayweather hasn’t fought since 2015, McGregor has never been involved in a professional boxing match.
The current UFC lightweight champion is a plus-400 (4-1) underdog, according to OddsShark, while Mayweather is a minus-600 (17-100) favorite.
The Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor boxing match is absurd enough on its own.
A 49-0 multi-division boxing champion is set to face someone making their debut in the ring. That 0-0 fighter also happens to be the UFC’s sole attraction and could we…
The Floyd Mayweather versus ConorMcGregor boxing match is absurd enough on its own.
A 49-0 multi-division boxing champion is set to face someone making their debut in the ring. That 0-0 fighter also happens to be the UFC’s sole attraction and could well cash out on the promotion with this fight…and the organization seems to know that.
It’s bananas, right? Still, fans have proved to be even bigger marks than the carnies profiting from the Mayweather-McGregor circus first thought.
How? By pushing the betting line from -2250 vs. +950, to Mayweather being a -550 favorite and McGregor being a +375 underdog.
Granted, a -550 versus +375 line is still pretty clear in regards to who is more likely to win the fight. For the uninitiated, a $100 bet on McGregor would yield $375 in profit should the upset occur, while a $100 bet on Mayweather would give a return just under $20 should he win. The math speaks for itself.
That said, what makes those numbers so absurd is that they state McGregor is more more likely to beat Mayweather than many of Money’s past opponents—opponents who were highly accomplished boxers.
Justin Hartling of OddsShark.com put together a handy table that shows the history of Mayweather’s betting odds and the numbers strongly suggest McGregor is more likely of taking Mayweather’s “0” than Marcos Maidana, Miguel Cotto and many others:
Pundits have been fairly clear about where a McGregor win would stack up in the all-time list of upsets from a pure sport perspective: decisively in first place.
ESPN’s Max Kellerman flatly stated, “Conor will not land a single punch against Floyd,” and few have strayed too far from his assessment when breaking down the fight.
The numbers here, however, suggest McGregor winning would be a surprise—but not really a shocker. Not only that, but it wouldn’t come close to other great upsets such as Buster Douglas (a 42-1 underdog) defeating Mike Tyson or Holly Holm (who was +450 at the time of the fight) knocking out Ronda Rousey.
Of course, a shift in the betting lines wasn’t unexpected. With the initial -2250 line on Mayweather, a bet of $100 would have yielded just a $4 return. It’s tough to lure people off the couch with that sort of return.
But for the lines to shift this far in such a short amount of time? It’s truly absurd. Even more absurd than the fight itself.
Lines courtesy of OddsShark.com unless otherwise noted, implied odds obtained using OddsShark.com’s Odds Calculator.
Conor McGregor would become a “folk hero” if he kicked Floyd Mayweather in their much-anticipated boxing clash August 26, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
The long-rumoured crossover clash was made official last week, but it will be fought under…
Conor McGregor would become a “folk hero” if he kicked Floyd Mayweather in their much-anticipated boxing clash August 26, according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
The long-rumoured crossover clash was made official last week, but it will be fought under boxing rules.
However, on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan envisioned a scenario in which the UFC lightweight champion McGregor brought his MMA skills to bear against the undefeated Mayweather (via MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew):
“[If McGregor kicked Mayweather], that would be f–ked up. There’s probably some stipulations in the contract that say, ‘You can’t get him in an armbar or choke him.’ [But] could you imagine? He would be a goddamn folk hero. If they got in close and Floyd was shucking and juking on the outside and he threw a jab to cover up a left high kick and that left high kick necks him? Just clang! And you see Floyd go limp—and he would go limp. He’s never been high kicked like that. Jesus, that would be crazy.“
UFC president Dana White confirmed to reporters after the announcement of the Las Vegas clash that McGregor, 28, is aware he will face consequences should he throw a kick at Mayweather:
“That [kicking] will not happen; it’s in the contract. This is a boxing match under the Nevada commission under the rules of boxing. We talk about a guy of Floyd Mayweather’s value in the sport—the lawsuit if that ever happened…Conor loves money, and he would lose a lot of money if that happened.“
Given that it will be a straight boxing fight, Mayweather, 40, is the heavy favourite to beat McGregor, who has never boxed professionally in his career.
Mayweather has been retired since September 2015, when he bowed out by beating Andre Berto to take his professional record to 49-0, but he is still being widely tipped to dominate his Irish opponent.
Many have been scornful that the fight is even going ahead, including boxing writer Ben Dirs:
It will be a huge spectacle with the fighters expected to pocket as much as $100 million (£78.8 million) each, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
Sugar Ray Leonard believes Conor McGregor’s best tactic for his match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 will be to “duck” the punches.
Although Leonard believes the reigning UFC lightweight champion is a tough fighter, he told TMZ S…
Sugar Ray Leonard believes Conor McGregor’s best tactic for his match against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 will be to “duck” the punches.
Although Leonard believes the reigning UFC lightweight champion is a tough fighter, he told TMZ Sports at LAX on Tuesday he doesn’t think the Irish mixed martial artist will be much of a challenge for Mayweather.
Leonard also said it would be “very impressive” if McGregor went the distance with Mayweather.
Significantly, Leonard noted he doesn’t believe this so-called crossover superfight will make a “mockery” of boxing. Even so, the 61-year-old is expecting a lopsided fight when Mayweather and McGregor meet in Las Vegas.
From a purist perspective, it is likely a natural boxer such as Mayweather would dominate McGregor. The Irishman is a game fighter, but he is versed in multiple disciplines and has never fought as a professional boxer, while his opponent is a master of one. Mayweather will have the know-how to avoid McGregor’s striking style and set the pace he wants to wear him down.
While the bout may not be as lopsided as Leonard suggests, it would be a surprise if it ended with anything other than Mayweather seeing his hand raised to go 50-0 for his career.
With the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight set to be the biggest boxing event in years, everyone seems to want a spot on the undercard.
According to TMZ, Adrien Broner is the latest fighter looking for a bout, calling out UFC star Nate Diaz i…
With the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight set to be the biggest boxing event in years, everyone seems to want a spot on the undercard.
According to TMZ, Adrien Broner is the latest fighter looking for a bout, calling out UFC star Nate Diaz in what would be another cross-sport battle between a boxer and a mixed martial artist.
Broner is currently scheduled to face Mikey Garcia on July 29, less than one month before the Aug. 26 battle between Mayweather and McGregor.
“If I come out unmarked…like I usually do, I’ll be willing to fight on Floyd’s undercard,” Broner said of his meeting with Garcia. “If we can make it happen, let’s do it.”
Diaz, who beat McGregor by submission before losing the rematch by decision last August, would be following the Irish star’s path from UFC to boxing if this match took place. While Broner hasn’t put together the career of Mayweather, he is no slouch at 33-2 in his career.
Of course, he will first have to get past Garcia and his 36-0 record.
Meanwhile, boxing star Roy Jones Jr. has also said he wants to be a part of this fight card and is looking for a match against UFC legend Anderson Silva.
Mayweather Promotions reportedly has full control of the undercard and nothing has been announced, but these potential battles between boxers and UFC fighters would certainly keep fans from both sides entertained before the main event.
Oscar De La Hoya is unhappy with the date chosen for Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s fight with Conor McGregor, as he says the Aug. 26 matchup clashes with Gennady Golovkin’s bout with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.