With an abundance of activity on social media and across various sporting events, the “super-fight” between a boxing great and one of the leading stars of mixed martial arts has been announced. On 26th August, Floyd Mayweather Jr will put his unblemished 49-0 professional boxing record on the line in Las Vegas, USA, against two-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor.
It’s a heavily anticipated crossover between two combat sports, to attempt to settle one of the classic “who would win” pub debates. With this boxing-MMA crossover so popular, we’re going to look into how the fight might pan out, and then consider a potential further crossover into wrestling.
MMA vs boxing, which will prevail?
‘Floyd Mayweather Jr.’ – So Max O via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)
The only way that Floyd Mayweather Jr was ever going to take part in this event was if it was boxing or the San Diego BJJ contest and if he got a lot of money for it, which it is, and he will. Conor McGregor knew that going in. What’s happening is a life-long boxer is taking on a mixed martial artist who will be without much of his fighting repertoire. So, there’s no wonder why the Irishman is the underdog at 9/2 in the odds for Mayweather v McGregor by freebets.uk, as Mayweather Jr has the experience in the sport that the MMA fighter simply doesn’t.
It’s not just for the eventual outcome of the fight either. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the 40-year-old, two-years removed, no knockouts in his last seven fights, former champion is expected to end the fight within the distance, with odds around 2/5.
These odds presume that the 28-year-old Irishman, who has taken a huge amount of punishment in the octagon and has never been knocked out in an MMA fight, will succumb to Mayweather Jr’s defensive play and get caught out. At 6/1 to win by stoppage, McGregor may, in fact, be the superior option in this manner given his potentially aggressive nature and clinical striking.
What next after the super fight?
If Floyd Mayweather Jr wins as he’s expected to, they’ll both walk away with a huge payday, both clearing $75 million regardless of the result, and it won’t tarnish either stars’ persona in the sporting world. However, if McGregor pulls off a mega-underdog victory – which is on the cards – he’ll become a global mega-star overnight, with invites from sports all across the world inviting him to perform.
One such sport that he looks destined for is wrestling with the WWE. His persona and antics around fight nights would mould well with the storyline-centric wrestling scene, and he’d be following in the footsteps of his upcoming opponent. At WrestleMania XXIV in 2008 – following a fracas at No Way Out in which he assisted Rey Mysterio in defeating Big Show – Mayweather Jr overcame Big Show.
When McGregor claimed that he was retiring last year, WWE star Becky Lynch tweeted her compatriot telling him to join up, but, of course, he continued his MMA career. More recently, Triple H invited the ‘super-fight’ combatants to Monday Night Raw hoping to add to the hype of their bout, and possibly persuade a future deal in the wrestling ring – perhaps a rematch?
There’s no doubt that Conor McGregor has all the star qualities that would help him to draw in huge audiences to WWE events and further his inter-sport fame, which he’d undoubtedly be keen to do.
