Even the most hardcore of Conor McGregor supporters will acknowledge the fact that a boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather is as daunting as they come.
As powerful as ‘The Notorious’ is, Mayweather has shared the boxing ring with heavy-handed, established pugilists like Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez. And Mayweather has coasted past each and every challenger to cement his squeaky clean 49-0 boxing record.
McGregor is diving right in at the deep end but it is a leap so lucrative that one can’t blame him for doing so.
But he’s expected to lose.
Mayweather is, in conservative bookmakers, considered 1/10 to claim victory over the Irishman and the boxing community, for the most part, views the match-up as something of an insult to the integrity of the sport.
It does seem a little unusual that someone with no professional boxing experience can walk into a fight with one of the greatest of all time just because it’s guaranteed to make money.
Promoter Bob Arum, of Top Rank, has an interesting plan for how McGregor should approach his move to boxing.
Arum and McGregor most recently crossed paths last weekend, when ‘The Notorious’ accompanied Irish Olympian Michael Conlan to the ring for his pro-debut, which ended in the third round as Conlan stopped opponent Tim Ibarra.
And Arum thinks that Ibarra is the perfect level for McGregor if he is to test the waters of the boxing ring.
“I’m grateful that Conor came over here, it certainly helped with the promotion,” said Arum, with quotes appearing on BoxingScene.com. “But Conor McGregor should not think about fighting a world-class fighter until he fights [against another boxer on a lower level].
“Let him fight the guy that Conlan just fought and see how he does.”
Arum also insisted that he would love the chance to promote a card featuring McGregor, and we can’t say we blame him given the numbers that the Dubliner draws on a regular basis.
“Sh*t yeah [I would promote a boxing match with McGregor]… the money involved. It’s easy money,” Arum said. “I would do Conor MGregor against any of my fighters and I would do winner takes all.”
McGregor stole plenty of the headlines in New York City last Friday, as he approached esteemed boxing reporter Dan Rafael to issue a resounding message.
“You’re the boxing guy? I’m the boxing guy. Watch me take over boxing,” McGregor shouted.
“Trust me on that. No one in this boxing game knows what’s coming. Trust me on that. When I step in there, I’m going to shock the whole goddamn world. Trust me on that.
“Look me in the eyes. Twenty-eight years of age, confident as a motherfucker, long, rangy, dangerous with every hand. Trust me, I’m going to stop Floyd and you’re all going to fucking eat your words. The whole world is going to eat their words.”
