Despite what many thought would happen, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather really are going to face each other. Unless something drastic happens, or one of them pulls out, we are going to see the boxing vs. MMA super-fight most fans felt would always be too difficult to arrange.
The money Conor, Floyd, and the UFC stand to make from this deal is significant. So significant in fact, nobody involved was willing to walk away from the deal even knowing the risks involved.
No matter what, after August 26th, both sports will change forever. Whether these changes will be for the better or worse however, remains to be seen.
On the one hand, the increased exposure each sport gets from such a massive event creates the possibility of turning casual fans into more regular ones. That said, the bout would need to be entertaining for that to occur, and there are plenty of reasons to doubt that will be the case.
Let’s take a look at 5 of the top reasons why Conor should not be facing Floyd Mayweather later this summer. Let’s start with the reason that has been most actively trumpeted by Oscar De La Hoya.
5. Concerns It Will Damage Boxing
According to De La Hoya, boxing is just now recovering from the epic letdown that was Pacquiao vs. Mayweather. It simply took too long to put the bout together, both fighters had gotten older, and the bout itself was boring. Of course, a bout between the two was always going to be boring, but casual fans weren’t necessarily aware of this.
De La Hoya has written numerous social media posts encouraging fans not to purchase the PPV:
But if you thought Mayweather/Pacquiao was a black eye for our sport – a matchup between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters that simply didn’t deliver — just wait until the best boxer of a generation dismantles someone who has never boxed competitively at any level – amateur or professional.
Our sport might not ever recover.
