White: Four reasons MayGregor outcome not as certain as fans think
Dana White: “In no way, shape, or form am I saying Conor McGregor wins this fight. I don’t know. But it’s more interesting than people think it is.”
After a year of posturing, it appears that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and the greatest boxer of his generation, Floyd Mayweather, and going to box.
Mayweather has been boxing professionally since 1996, without a loss. He has won fifteen world titles and the lineal championship in four different weight classes. In 2016, he was ranked by ESPN as the greatest boxer, pound for pound, of the last 25 years. That same year, he peaked as BoxRec’s number one pound for pound fighter of all time. Universally acknowledged as the greatest defensive boxer in the sport, Mayweather is also the most accurate puncher since the advent of CompuBox.
Mayweather is currently 49-0, one fight short of breaking Rocky Marciano’s fabled record. The record is cursed, in a superstitious sport. So Mayweather needs a fight that he can win, no matter how powerful the curse. And that is Conor McGregor.
Or is it?
UFC president Dana White appeared recently on Snoop Dogg’s GGN Double G News Network’s Merry Jane, and discussed the contest, including McGregor’s advantages.
“There’s a lot of money in this fight, and they both want it,” said White. “At the end of the day does that fight make any sense for my business? No. But I would never keep Conor McGregor or any fighter away from making that kind of money. But on the flip side, there’s a lot of egos, a lot of people in the middle of this thing, to make it happen.”
At the end of the day it’s a fight. And Floyd Mayweather’s 40 years old; Conor McGregor is 27. You’ve met Floyd, you know Floyd, Floyd’s this big; Conor’s a big dude. Floyd has trouble with southpaws; Conor McGregor is southpaw. And Conor McGregor hits like a truck; when he hits you, you know it.
So, in no way, shape, or form am I saying Conor McGregor wins this fight. I don’t know. But it’s more interesting than people think it is. … I promise you Conor McGregor will hit him. When they fight he will get hit, and it will be interesting to see what happens.
White is reportedly negotiating with Mayweather this week. The best guess at present is that the contest will take place in September. And despite all the talk, it’s no surprise that the official boxing betting line favors Mayweather…
