Mayweather Promotions book MGM Grand for August 26th

Boxingbnews24.com

By Adam Godfrey: Sparking rumors that an official announcement regarding a fight between Conor McGregor, the biggest name in MMA, and Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is finally imminent, Mayweather’s promotional company has booked the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on both the 25th and 26th of August. This booking has been confirmed on the Hotel and Casino’s website. Mayweather made the MGM his home away from home in fighting no less than the final twelve fights of his career at the venue (beginning with Oscar De La Hoya and ending with Andre Berto), and should a deal between the two be agreed it is difficult to envisage the duel being held anywhere else.

Recent developments from both sides of the combat sports divide have suggested that the momentum behind the bout is growing. McGregor yesterday took to Twitter, cryptically tweeting ‘something BIG is coming #BP’, the ‘BP’ presumably denoting ‘Big Payday’, while Mayweather was happily pictured sparring with eighteen-year-old prospect Devin Haney. What’s more, it was reported in May that Dana White, the UFC chief who could potentially scupper the fight by not allowing McGregor a temporary release from his UFC contract, was in contact with Mayweather promotions and was prepared to negotiate on the Irishman’s behalf. White would essentially act as McGregor’s promotor, and with him on board the final barrier to making the fight would be removed, and one suspects that its being arranged would be a given.

A significant chunk of the Boxing community is suspicious of Mayweather’s motives in seeking to arrange a fight with McGregor. With no experience of professional Boxing, McGregor has virtually no chance of besting the unbeaten Mayweather, just as Mayweather would almost certainly be pummeled to a halt should he ever meet McGregor in an Octagon. There is simply too much for McGregor to learn in such a short space of time for him to have even the slightest chance of matching the skill and experience of his illustrious opponent. Frankly, McGregor would lose handily to even the most lightly regarded Boxing journeyman such is the gulf in required skill-set between the two combat sports, and many feel that the fight is merely a cheap trick to allow Mayweather to coast to a coveted ’50 and 0’ professional record, which would put him one unbeaten fight ahead of the revered Rocky Marciano. The enormous purse that Mayweather would command surely also an attraction to the man nicknamed ‘Money’.

Regardless of the protests of many Boxing aficionados, the clash will generate a monumental amount of money, and no amount of logical argument as to why the bout is an unnecessary, or a potentially harmful one, will change that fact. Both men are the biggest names in their respective sports, and the casual fan will likely be enthralled by the run up to the fight, if not the fight itself. Rarely will Mayweather have met an opponent with the confidence and self-belief of Conor McGregor, and if anybody can match the frantic opponent baiting of Floyd Mayweather it is his motor mouthed soon-to-be opponent.

The choice of date is also an intriguing one, and may provoke the ire of those long-suffering Boxing fans who have yearned for this year’s flagship fight, the September 16th battle between Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin. Rumors circulated recently that Mayweather sought to gatecrash the party and claim that particular date for himself, despite it having already been earmarked by Canelo and Golovkin for their fight. The move was resisted by the considerable clout of Oscar De Lay Hoya’s Golden boy promotions (and would not have helped Mayweather anyway; two Mega-Fights on the same date would have been of no benefit to either party due to market saturation, and there was never any question that Golden boy would budge) but if the date of the 26th of August is confirmed there will be worries that it could steal the thunder of the latter event. If, as expected, the fight is a dud or an overwhelming victory for Mayweather, it could put people off from paying to see Alvarez and Golovkin sort out their differences less than a month later. Assuming that the Mayweather v McGregor fight will cost the consumer in the region of $75-$100, it could be a stretch for many people to expect them to then pay something in a similar region for Canelo v Golovkin such a short time later.

The fight is still not confirmed, and comes more than a year since the last time it seemed a certainty that it was on the verge of being announced. Back then I predicted the fight was on the cusp of being revealed (http://www.boxingnews24.com/2016/06/mayweather-mcgregor-historys-lucrative-freak-show/), and was proved wrong (I have since been wrong about Brexit, Trump and Jeremy Corbyn, the latter a chap that my American friends need not concern themselves with, but which perfectly illustrates why I am not a betting man). It may still transpire that we are in the midst of an elaborate smoke and mirrors conjuration, and frankly, it’ll come as a relief if we are once again being misdirected. As things stand, however, even David Blaine would struggle to conceive of such an extravagant and elaborate illusion, and fears that this farce is very much around the corner are probably founded in reality. If the Mayweather v McGregor absolutely has to happen, the Boxing community should keep its collective fingers crossed that it does not negatively impact on what should be a great fight between Canelo and GGG, and that the Mayweather v McGregor fight is banished to the realms of ‘a worthwhile experiment’ forever more, never to be re-explored.