Gamesmanship, from Floyd Mayweather? Really?
Don’t shoot the messenger, but Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor is still without a date or venue, but it does have a broadcast partner, at least. If the fight goes ahead, it will be shown on Showtime.
A few days ago news of Mayweather promotions had booked the MGM in Las Vegas for an event on August 26 starting doing the rounds on social media. Like many of you unfortunate souls who have been following this saga since it began all those decades ago (certainly feels like it’s been that long), we were sceptical.
It seems this scepticism has been justified as the LA Times are reporting that Mayweather has verbally retracted the request not long after making it.
If you haven’t already rage-exited in frustration, you’re probably trying to work out why Mayweather even bothered doing this. There are a few theories floating about.
Coincidence? https://t.co/KZ41pidLpl
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 12, 2017
The first one is for the half glass full brigade… you fuckers are probably the happiest of us all.
That date is still in play as Mayweather has the ability to re-add the request to the commission’s agenda before their meeting on Wednesday. So perhaps this is just an effort to build up some hype by suckering the masses into thinking that date is off just to hit them with the wonderful news that it’s back on. Imagine a world where this diamond-encrusted panty night is officially booked. What a Utopia that would be.
However, some folk think that all this was a tactical ploy by Mayweather to make former foe and rival promoter Oscar De La Hoya sweat. The man who lost to Mayweather in 2007 is staging the most important boxing bout of the year as Canelo Alvarez takes on unbeaten three-belt middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in September. Obviously, De La Hoya would be pretty pissed off if another massive PPV was booked three weeks before that one.
If August 26 doesn’t go ahead, the rumblings are that it will take place in November. So more waiting could be on the cards.
