NAC head: McGregor worthy to box Mayweather
Nevada Athletic Commission boss: “It’s very exciting and we would be honored if the fight took place here and we had the opportunity to regulate it.”
Over a year ago, Floyd Mayweather’s camp floated the idea of a boxing match with Conor McGregor. Notorious was in, but his boss, UFC president Dana White was dubious in the extreme, at one point asking what commission would even sanction the fight.
Now White says he doesn’t want to stand in McGregor’s way, but the question about sanctioning remained. Now that can be put to rest, too.
Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Bob Bennett spoke with George Gigney for Boxing News Online, and said Nevada would be honored to host the fight.
It’s definitely an approvable fight, said Bennett. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, it is a bit of an anomaly, it’s unusual because both fighters are phenomenal fighters.
But back in August of 1957 Floyd Patterson fought Pede Rademacher [an Olympic gold medalist in boxing], Rademacher was making his pro debut, and they fought for the world heavyweight title. Patterson won by KO in the sixth round. So even though this would be Conor’s pro debut as a boxer, there is some precedence, but this would be the first time we see two fighters at this level, one from the MMA world and one from boxing, having a fight.
One of the critical things you have to take into account; Conor’s a phenomenal athlete. When you go back, he took up kickboxing at the age of 12. As a youth he became an All-Ireland boxing champion. He goes to the UFC, of course he had several fights before that, and while he’s with the UFC he’s 21-3 with 17 of those wins coming via knockout or TKO.
He’s a stand-up fighter, he’s a southpaw, he hits like a ton of bricks, he’s got a great jaw, he’s 5’ 9’’ and he’s got a reach of 74 inches. If you take a look at his wins in the UFC, they’re predominantly from striking and if you take a look at the fact he was able to move from 145 to 155 to 170, he’s displayed some awesome unarmed combat skills.
He’s proven that he can fight as a stand-up fighter. I’ve seen some tape of him boxing, I’m sure I’ll get an updated version of his skill-set as a fighter. I certainly think he’s worthy of being approved to fight Floyd Mayweather. His UFC background is critical in approving this fight.
Floyd is 5’ 8’’, his reach is 72 inches, so Conor’s a little taller and has a longer reach, he’s a southpaw. If you go ahead and take a look at Floyd Mayweather, he’s a phenomenal fighter too.”
He’s smart, a real smart fighter. Styles don’t matter to us but when you watch Floyd it’s obvious that he’s a smart fighter. His defense is arguably the best in the history of boxing – and I say arguably.
You look at who he’s fought, Manny Pacquiao, Maidana twice, Canelo Alvarez, [Cotto, you go down the list and they’re all basically five-star fighters. He’s a phenomenal athlete, he stays in great shape, he’s fought as a super-welterweight, he can fight around 147 or 150, so I think it makes for a very exciting fight.
I think there’s incredible buzz and electricity going on between the MMA world and the boxing world, they want to see these two fight each other.
He goes ahead and submits an application for a boxing license, puts forth the required paperwork, then if they agree on a fight he would have to pass a physical examination, just like he does in the UFC and just like Floyd does for a fight.
They’d have to agree to in and out of competition anti-doping testing and one of the most important areas will be the weight, or catchweight, of the fight. Like I said, Floyd’s usually at 147 or 150 whereas Conor has fluctuated in weight and been very successful.
The weight’s important, Conor’s a phenomenal fighter, as is Floyd Mayweather. Not too many people in the history of boxing are 49-0 and have gone against the best fighters in his class.
I’m sure this would be right up there, and that’s presumptuous on my part because the fight hasn’t happened yet, but because they’re both phenomenal athletes, they’re both in great shape, they’re both coming to win. You never know until the fight’s on. It’s very exciting and we would be honored if the fight took place here and we had the opportunity to regulate it.
Although McGregor is often cited as being an Irish national amateur champion, he has never made the claim himself, and there is no record of it. However, his father referred it at least once.
“It must’ve been his early teens when he started to go up to Crumlin Boxing Club and I remember him coming home one day and asking us why we hadn’t got him into it years before,” said the elder McGregor to SevereMMA in 2014. “I think it was a natural progression for him to move on to mixed martial arts in the end even though he had been an All Ireland boxing champion as a kid.”
The bottom line is the bottom line. MayGregor will likely be the most lucrative PPV in history. The fight is going to happen. McGregor has mused about holding it in Russia. Part of Bennet’s responsibility is bringing business to his state. He will license the fight gladly.