There may be some Conor McGregor fans who want to see him return to the boxing ring, but few will want him to jump right back in at the deep end for his sophomore fight.
Conor McGregor represented himself well in his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather.
He went nine full rounds and landed some excellent punches against arguably the greatest defensive boxer ever before being finished in the 10th. He exceeded everyone’s expectations by winning rounds and although he was outclassed, he certainly wasn’t embarrassed.
In the build-up to the fight, middle-aged Mayweather maintained that he wasn’t the same fighter he was in his prime. When he showed up on fight night, it was apparent that he was telling the truth. Not that it lessened McGregor’s achievement in any way.
This was coming https://t.co/liOOylANaS
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 17, 2017
Mayweather was slower, his footwork wasn’t what it used to be and he looked like a shadow of his former self. His former self just so happens to be the greatest boxer of his generation and he may very well still have what it takes to beat some elite contenders. However, the general consensus is that he got out of the game before it was too late. He rode off into the sunset with his pristine record unblemished.
It appears as though McGregor’s next contest will take place in the Octagon. Completing the trilogy against Nate Diaz seems to be the front-runner, but Georges St-Pierre may skip the red panty night queue if he beats Michael Bisping at UFC 217.
However, there are some folks out there who would welcome McGregor trying his hand at professional boxing again. A grudge match against retired world champion Paulie Malignaggi is easily leading that race, but what no one wants to see is McGregor taking on an active knockout artist in his prime.
A fight that the world does not need to see is McGregor vs Canelo Alvarez.
How could he refuse? https://t.co/ha7dEFqkVR
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 21, 2017
There were some rumblings of the winner of the historic middleweight title fight between Canelo and Gennady Golovkin calling out McGregor if he somehow managed to best Mayweather. However, those rumours were quickly silenced once the Money fight was over.
As Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez told FightHype, the idea of McGregor fighting Canelo is ‘silly’ and those whispers need to be ‘shut down’.
“No, we want the tiebreaker. Do you want to see McGregor or you want the tiebreaker? You want the tiebreaker? Who wants the tiebreaker? Raise your hands. It’s unanimous.”
The first fight ended in a controversial draw, so it only makes sense to run it back next. McGregor is 0-1 in professional boxing, has a belt to defend and a few beefs to settle, so his immediate future should lie in the UFC.
