Recently, Dana White announced that he would start negotiating with Floyd Mayweather to try and bring a fight together between the boxing superstar and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor.
Unlike other Mayweather vs. McGregor headlines, this is meaningful news. Because it seems like every random person with an opinion about this scrap will get a headline at a major publication. Really, is whatever Mcgregor’s mailman or Mayweather’s sparring partner 15 years ago thinks about it really newsworthy?
But now, the UFC president is going to sit in a room with some Mayweather folks and talk numbers and contracts. That’s a huge step to making this fight happen.
And that’s good news for everybody. We all want this fight to happen, but it’s not because we’re dying to see them test their skills against each other. For most fans, it’s more of a “let’s get this out of the way” type anxiety more than anything.
There’s a lot of reasons why. For one, McGregor is holding up one of the best weight classes in the UFC by not defending his belt. And honestly, it’s hard not be annoyed by the fact that he’ll make a bunch of deserving contenders and a bunch of fans just wait while he tries to score an enormous payday.
But if there’s anything that makes this fight (and it WILL happen) worth the $100 it’s gonna cost, it’s that somebody’s gotta take the L. At the end of the night, one of these egomaniacal personalities is going to eat crow in front of millions.
There are plenty of reasons to hate on both guys. Mayweather got charged with domestic violence. McGregor’s brash antics and disrespect for his opponents can be grating. Both of them approach social media The Rich Kids of Instagram, which is just the worst thing ever.
And they talk so. Damn. Much. A loss isn’t going to shut ‘em up entirely, but honestly what can Floyd say if he loses to a complete boxing rookie? There’s not a single defense that’ll seem legit, unless he comes up with the “I was injured going in” excuse.
As for Conor, the dude just screamed at ESPN Senior Boxing Writer Dan Rafael about how he was going to take over the boxing world. That shit was ALL over ESPN the night it happened. There’s no going back from bold proclamations like that – you gotta back it up.
Let’s face it: it’s human nature to root against guys that are privileged, brash or spoiled. It’s like watching Lonzo Ball get drafted by the Sixers and taking pleasure in watching his dad throw a shitfit. The world responded with glee when a bunch of rich millennials got stranded at Fyre Festival.
As for the fight odds, Mayweather is still more than a 10-1 favorite with the boxing odds at BookMaker.eu, with McGregor now at +735. “Money’s” line is trending downward, more than a 100 points more expensive since we checked in a few months ago, while “The Notorious” is up around the same amount.
If you were going to lay cash on Mayweather, do it now. This is a trend that will likely continue, considering that he’s much more expensive at other sportsbooks.
We’ll keep you updated on more news about this scrap as it comes. And you know there will be plenty in the future.
