Is there really that much riding on this proposed superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather?
We know, we know.
We’re as fed up writing about this fantasy fight as you are reading about it, but there are certain things about it that still spark intrigue. Not so much the trash talk or the Instagram posts, but the updates (or lack thereof after updates were promised) and opinions of certain folks in the fight community.
We found retired pugilist Ricky Hatton’s recent interview with TMZ of note. ‘The Hitman’ suffered a TKO to Mayweather almost a decade ago and unsurprisingly, he feels that McGregor won’t be able to lay a hand on the undefeated prizefighter.
“I’m a big Conor McGregor fan, and if he ever watches this interview I hope he doesn’t take this to heart, because he’s like me. He’s a real guy, he’s a comedian, he’s a character, he’s a colorful person, and when you watch his style of fighting I absolutely love the bloke. But it’s two different sports and I couldn’t hit him, Oscar [De La Hoya] couldn’t hit him, Canelo [Alvarez] couldn’t hit him, Conor’s not going to hit him.”
At least someone's saying it https://t.co/izfmTsY70o
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 18, 2017
Here’s where we get to the interesting part. Hatton believes that it’s the UFC who are taking the huge risk in this fight and therefore, have it all to lose. Despite the fact that McGregor will be making his pro debut should the bout go ahead, Hatton hinted that if he gets outclassed by a master of the game, it would somehow tarnish the reputation of MMA.
“If he’s the UFC’s biggest name and he doesn’t lay a glove on Floyd, which no disrespect, I think I could actually see that happen, I think there’s only one organization that would come off worse, or one sport.
“I’m a boxer but I’m a fan of UFC and everything like that, but if he’s UFC’s biggest name and what I think happens in the fight happens, it could be a bit embarrassing. I would not like to see that happen to Conor because I love him to bits. I think he’s good for sport, good for entertainment, you know what I mean? He’s a real guy. Truth be known, I’d like Conor to splatter him, but my heart says it, but my mind says no, he probably wouldn’t [hit him].”
We all know they’re two different sports. If McGregor starched Mayweather in the Octagon, there would be no real surprise. If Mayweather outclasses McGregor it would be as expected. However, this idea that it’s somehow a battle to find out the superior sport is probably something a lot of casual fans are going to consider this is all about.
Should it go ahead, it will be interesting to see how the loser’s discipline is portrayed after the fact.
