The Scoop on McGregor-Mayweather

An upcoming bout between now-retired boxer Floyd Mayweather and MMA fighter Conor McGregor is seemingly imminent. The two parties are eyeing August 26th for their superstar-caliber boxing match, likely the most anticipated in recent history, if not fighting history.

Floyd Mayweather is 49-0 as a welterweight boxer, currently in a 23-month-long retirement. 26 of his 49 wins have come as true knockout victories. Many say that Mayweather has not faced leading boxers and his 49-0 record is comfortably padded with wins from boxers not as skilled as him. This sentiment is partially true, as Floyd could have chosen more competitive fights along the way; many critics want to see him fight Canelo Alvarez. However, he does have victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, and “Sugar” Shane Mosley, highly skilled boxers.

Conor McGregor has been an MMA fighter, starring in the UFC for the past four years, for some years now. McGregor does have a stand-up style, pretty much boxing opponents out of the ring. McGregor has never been a boxer, but is a few short months away from fighting the most decorated boxer of recent history. How did plans to fight Floyd Mayweather come about, anyways?

Two years ago, almost exactly, McGregor was slated to fight Chad Mendes. While on the “Conan O’Brien Show,” McGregor was asked if he would ever consider fighting Mayweather in boxing, a sport McGregor has no direct, professional experience in. McGregor responded quickly with “Duh,” as if McGregor himself was a boxing champion, not Mayweather.

Conor McGregor has lost two fights in his career, totaling a record of 21-3. The Irish MMA fighter earned a shot as the UFC in 2013, fighting Marcus Brimage, whom he knocked out with a barrage of punches. 7 of his 10 fights in the UFC have resulted in wins from TKOs or true knockouts in the form of punches. McGregor clearly has a knack for standup fighting, and is not crazy for thinking he can go toe-to-toe with one of boxing’s greats in Floyd Mayweather.

ESPN estimates that total dollar amount spent on the upcoming bout will total just over $606 million, slightly falling short of Mayweather-Pacquaio’s dollar value of $623 million. The Worldwide Leader also projects ticket sales will fall only $2 million short of Mayweather’s fight with Pacquiao in 2015 at $77.1 million.