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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... r-mcgregor

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Why is Floyd Mayweather fighting Conor McGregor?
Las Vegas will stage a very strange superfight on Saturday, as an all-time great boxing champion takes on the star of mixed martial arts. Here’s why – and how

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Saturday 26 August 2017 17.12 BST Last modified on Saturday 26 August 2017 18.13 BST

Who is fighting?
Floyd Mayweather Jr is the finest boxer of his generation, unbeaten in 49 paying fights and 26 world championship contests with titles in five weight classes, who has never even been down or seriously hurt as a professional.

Time to doff your cap because the last laugh will be Floyd Mayweather’s
Read more
For years he was billed as Pretty Boy Floyd, an extraordinary boxer with little profile beyond hardcore fight fans. Then, in 2007, he bought out his contract with promoter Bob Arum for $750,000 and recast himself as the made-for-TV pantomime villain Money Mayweather, embracing the fact that more customers pay to watch him lose than to watch him win.

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It has paid off handsomely – Mayweather has gone from a $2m-a-fight boxer to one of the highest-earning sportsmen ever. This is no less than a miracle given his risk-averse, defensive style that appeals to a subset of aficionados but not the broader public that has always preferred slugging to boxing.

The week before his first UFC fight, in 2013, Conor McGregor was a plumber’s apprentice in Dublin collecting a $235 welfare check. Since then, he has become the biggest name in mixed martial arts, and the first fighter to hold UFC championships in two divisions when he knocked out Eddie Alvarez last year. Like Mayweather, he is known for his brash style and penchant for trash talk.

Play Video 1:36
Floyd Mayweather weighs in lighter than Conor McGregor – video
What rules are they using?
The scheduled 12-round bout will take place under the unified rules of boxing at the junior welterweight limit of 154lbs. This poses a problem for McGregor, who has never boxed professionally or even at the senior amateur level, against any experienced boxer – let alone an opponent of Mayweather’s caliber. The circus match, dismissed by purists as a money-spinning farce, has been likened to a 5,000m race between Usain Bolt and Mo Farah or a trumpet competition between Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix.

Has this kind of thing happened before?

Ali vs Inoki, 1976.
The closest historical analogue is Muhammad Ali’s risible fight with the Japanese pro wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976, which is widely regarded as the most embarrassing moment of the Greatest’s career.

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Ali, then in his second reign as world heavyweight champion, traveled to Tokyo to fight Inoki under a negotiated set of rules that drew from boxing and wrestling, a sort of precursor to what is known as mixed martial arts today. Inoki spent nearly all of the 15-round on his back, kicking at Ali’s legs, causing a pair of blood clots that would affect his mobility for the rest of his fighting days. When it was over, the judges scored it a draw and the angry spectators threw garbage into the ring.

How much will they get paid?
There are two parts to both fighters’ salaries for Saturday’s fight:

1) The guaranteed purse disclosed by the Nevada Athletic Commission.

2) An additional cut based on how the promotion performs, the exact details and breakdown of which will not be disclosed and are protected under a confidentiality agreement.

Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will earn at least $100m for the fight.
Boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will earn at least $100m for the fight. Photograph: ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock

Floyd Mayweather to earn at least $100m from Conor McGregor fight
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Mayweather will earn a minimum purse of $100m, matching the career-high guarantee he made for his 2015 megafight with Manny Pacquiao. That takeaway is expected to balloon past $200m once the pay-per-view receipts, closed-circuit revenues and foreign sales are tallied.

McGregor’s contracted purse is $30m, which is 10 times his previous career-high guarantee of $3m for his rematch with Nate Diaz last year. His total earnings are expected to exceed $75m once his share of the promotion is accounted for.

So they’re both winners, really.

Predictions?


https://t.co/Syq3q5UGcF

I've certainly heard it both ways, but the bookies are heavily favoring Mayweather. I wouldn't put the possibility of an upset beyond McGregor but the lack of experience and novelty of this fight against a veteran like Mayweather may be insurmountable





The New Yorker

Sporting Scene
Does Conor McGregor Have Any Chance of Winning?
By Kelefa Sanneh
August 25, 2017

Ahead of their fight on Saturday, Conor McGregor’s odds against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., have improved, but not because of some sudden change of heart among boxing experts.Photo by John Locher / AP
Earlier this year, when people started talking about a possible boxing match between Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and Conor McGregor, experts agreed that McGregor had virtually no chance. After all, Mayweather is a boxing virtuoso; McGregor is a mixed-martial-arts champion but a boxing novice. One oddsmaker installed Mayweather as a -2500 favorite and McGregor as a +1100 underdog. In other words, a bettor hoping to win a measly hundred dollars on Mayweather would have had to risk twenty-five hundred dollars, while a bettor willing to risk a hundred dollars on McGregor would have stood to win eleven hundred dollars. With those odds, betting on Mayweather would be rational only if you thought his chances of winning exceeded ninety-six per cent. And many experts thought precisely that—he was, after all, one of the world’s best boxers, facing an amateur. How could he lose?
The fight will finally take place on Saturday, in Las Vegas, and the odds have narrowed considerably. By fight week, Mayweather’s odds had dropped to -400, while McGregor’s had increased to +300, a price that only makes sense if you think that McGregor’s chances of pulling the greatest upset in combat-sports history are greater than one in four. By comparison, Buster Douglas was a +4200 underdog on the night, in 1990, when he knocked out Mike Tyson—and Douglas was, let’s remember, a skilled and experienced boxer.
Wild odds swings like this are unusual, partly because they present opportunities for arbitrage. (A sophisticated and risk-averse bettor, who had previously laid a thousand dollars on McGregor, at +1100, could then have laid ninety-five hundred dollars on Mayweather, at -400; on Saturday night, those combined bets would earn about fifteen hundred dollars, no matter which guy wins.) The changes to the odds reflect not some sudden change of heart among the nation’s boxing experts but, rather, the stubborn optimism of McGregor’s fans, who have bidded up his price in the months since the fight was announced. By narrowing the odds, bookmakers are effectively raising McGregor’s price, and yet his fans keep buying. Perhaps that is reason enough to consider earnestly the question at the heart of those bets: How, exactly, could Floyd Mayweather lose?
McGregor, naturally, has expressed confidence from the outset, and he has done what he can to put across the farfetched idea that, through some magical combination of attitude and freakish athletic talent, he has suddenly transformed himself into an élite boxer. His warmup routine seems to include a “shoulder-loosening exercise,” which has become a running joke. But footage of McGregor sparring Paulie Malignaggi, a retired boxer, made it easier to imagine McGregor looking something besides ridiculous in a boxing ring. Mayweather, by contrast, has been trying to convince fans that, although he is known for meticulous preparation, he has suddenly grown lazy and reckless. Last weekend, Mayweather tweeted that, for the next ten days, fans could find him at Girl Collection, his new “upscale gentleman’s club,” in Las Vegas. He wrote, “I’m Partying The Entire Week Before My Fight All The Way Through To Next Monday Following My Fight only at girl collection!!” (The idea of Mayweather “partying” before his fight may seem less shocking when you consider that he famously abstains from drugs and alcohol.)
One bystander who now claims to be more bullish on McGregor is his boss: Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed-martial-arts company that built McGregor into a global celebrity. Soon after the match was announced, White admitted that McGregor was not “at the level of a Floyd Mayweather, as far as boxing standards go,” and wondered, “Is Conor McGregor, in a twelve-round fight, going to be able to touch Floyd Mayweather?” Since then, White has grown bolder, and this week he has been offering his own prediction. “Conor is the bigger, stronger man who will apply pressure, hit him with hard punches,” White said, at a media event on Wednesday. “He will eventually catch him, and he will knock him out.”
Perhaps it is unfair to call McGregor a boxing novice. He is, after all, a mixed-martial-arts champion, though not an untouchable one—just last year, he was choked into submission by Nate Diaz. (McGregor won the rematch, a few months later, by majority decision.) M.M.A. fighters do a lot of punching, although they also kick and throw knees and elbows; these tactics are known, collectively, as “striking” or “standup,” to distinguish them from the tactics that are employed when the fighters are on the mat, grappling for position. Mayweather-McGregor would be much more interesting, and more competitive, if it were a hybrid—say, a kickboxing match, with punches and kicks allowed, but no grappling. Instead, it is a boxing match, although there is one infinitesimal concession to McGregor. In M.M.A., the fighters wear small, four-ounce fingerless gloves, to help them grapple. And while the state of Nevada would usually require Mayweather and McGregor to wear ten-ounce boxing gloves, the state’s Athletic Commission has decided, for no good reason, to allow them to wear eight-ounce gloves instead. Suffice it to say that those two ounces are unlikely to prove decisive.
If this fight is a grudge match, the grudge is not between Mayweather and McGregor but between boxing and M.M.A.: a stubbornly old-fashioned sport, hoping to embarrass its younger, more broad-minded rival. People who say that McGregor has no chance are saying, with some justification, that the M.M.A. version of boxing is scarcely comparable to the real thing. Accomplished M.M.A. strikers can certainly punch—and, likewise, the N.F.L.’s fastest wide receivers can certainly run, but that doesn’t mean that, with enough self-belief, they could find a way to outrace Usain Bolt. Boxing is single-minded: the combatants spend every minute of every round trying to punch while not getting punched; Mayweather, in particular, loves to frustrate his opponents by standing at what looks like a punchable distance and then suddenly darting or twisting out of range.
The most persuasive argument for McGregor is more or less the one that Dana White advanced: that he will be able to harass Mayweather, fight rough, and eventually wear him down. Virtually every boxer who has ever fought Mayweather has had this plan, and it has never worked. Four years ago, Saúl (Canelo) Álvarez was big and rough, too, with forty-two wins and no losses; Mayweather spent twelve rounds making him look like a lumbering novice. Mayweather is known as a light puncher, and his low-impact style seems calculated to protect his fists, which are injury-prone. Although both fighters are promising knockouts on Saturday night, it seems likelier that the encounter will resemble most recent Mayweather fights: he will largely avoiding taking punches, while delivering just enough to remind McGregor, the judges, and everyone watching that he could, if he felt like it, deliver many more. Fans typically leave a Mayweather fight wishing there had been more fighting.
That means that Mayweather, especially at -400, is a great deal—but not quite a sure thing. It seems clear that he would win a purely athletic contest, but boxing matches are not always purely athletic contests: strange things have been known to happen, especially in big fights. Think of Fan Man, paragliding into the ring during the second Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield fight, in 1993, interrupting the action and giving Holyfield a crucial unscheduled timeout. Think of Tyson, dining out on Holyfield’s ear; think of Manny Pacquiao comprehensively outboxing Timothy Bradley and then, somehow, being declared the loser. It’s hard to picture McGregor’s strategy, whatever it is, being successful, unless Mayweather, who is forty, suddenly begins to act his age. It is markedly easier to picture McGregor clobbering Mayweather after the bell, without being penalized; or causing a fight-stopping cut with an illegal head butt, which the referee somehow doesn’t see; or raising his hands in victory after Mayweather suffers a suspicious injury; or lasting twelve rounds and then, for no reason anyone can understand, being declared the winner. These are all good reasons not to bet your life savings on Mayweather, even at -400. And perhaps they are good-enough reasons, too, to watch the fight: the buildup has been an absurd but entertaining farce, and there is a chance—and, among some of us who will be watching, a perverse hope—that whatever happens on Saturday night will be pretty farcical, too.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-may ... story.html

Mayweather-McGregor: Countdown to the fight Saturday night in Las Vegas
AUG. 26, 2017, 3:53 P.M.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor will face off in Las Vegas at approximately 8:55 p.m. Pacific time Saturday. We will have continual coverage leading up to the match and live round-by-round coverage of the fight itself.

The best from Times boxing writer Lance Pugmire and columnists Dylan Hernandez and Bill Plaschke:

Hernandez: Mayweather vs. McGregor is more farce that fight
Pugmire: Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather offer one last bit of drama before settling it in the ring
Plaschke: Spectacle or sham? Mayweather-McGregor is outside the box and we can't look away
Graphic: Side by side: What’s going down when Mayweather and McGregor enter the ring
AUG. 26, 2017, 1:28 P.M.
REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS
Mayweather vs. McGregor: Predictions from Times staff
Lance Pugmire, Bill Plaschke and Dylan Hernandez
Floyd Mayweather Jr. shadow boxes with weights in his hands during a workout for the media. (Isaac Brekken / Getty Images)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. shadow boxes with weights in his hands during a workout for the media. (Isaac Brekken / Getty Images)
Conor McGregor is going to get kicked out of this fight. Seriously. Literally. This is how it will end.

It will be the eighth round. Floyd Mayweather Jr. will be completely in control, frustrating the wild-swinging McGregor with his elusiveness and balance, landing enough punches to occasionally stagger McGregor but not quick enough to knock him down.

McGregor will slowly become bloody, his face slowly swelling from the beating, his eyes growing wide from the stark realization that boxing is not his sport and this is not a fight he can win.

So, what the hell, in the middle of the eighth round, he’ll kick him. McGregor will drop his hands, lift his left leg, and kick Mayweather smack in the side of the face.

He’ll kick him like he’s kicked his 24 UCF opponents. This is what McGregor does. This is who he is. It will be the first moment in the entire fight that he will seem comfortable. The kick will come as natural to him as his next breath.

Mayweather will stagger back in shock, the crowd will scream, referee Robert Byrd will stop the fight by disqualification, McGregor will shrug and smile, and everyone will immediately start scrambling around to make the rematch.

Admit it. You know this could happen. You’re probably cheering for this to happen. Why else would you be watching this fight?

-- BILL PLASCHKE, Times columnist

Conor McGregor has said much about defeating Floyd Mayweayther Jr. on Saturday night.

But let’s be serious.

Now that the fight is at hand and McGregor has ensured prize money that should exceed $100 million, everything that follows the opening bell will be about how to spin this forward.

Mayweather will pick McGregor apart in a true boxing match, so McGregor has to bring the fight to Mayweather in the early rounds. He has to hope that being close and landing one of his heavy left hands will affect the40-year-old, five-division world champion who hasn't fought in almost two years.

I would argue McGregor doesn’t even have a puncher’s chance given Mayweather’s first interest in defense.

Mayweather “can go 12 rounds in his sleep,” as gifted Southland trainer Manny Robles told me, so he can be intent to let McGregor start to tire after three rounds of intense pursuit. Then he will begin to dismantle the Irishman with jabs, body shots and clean punches.

This form of execution is Mayweather’s choice, captured in Mayweather’s faked hand pistol shots at McGregor during Friday’s animated weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena.

The fact that this fight is entertainment first does give me pause to strongly consider if McGregor, at some point in frustration, attempts some rough play allowed only in MMA fights as part of an exit strategy back to UFC.

And I’ve also wondered how “Money” Mayweather can’t consider the idea of walking into a heavy punch, taking a loss and setting up two more fights for even more cash.

But I’ll give Mayweather’s interest and dedication in boxing the benefit of the doubt here, and say he’s going to underline his belief that his sport is the king of combat sports.

Through repeated blows in a technical masterpiece, Mayweather wins by eighth-round technical knockout and heads back to retirement with a 50-0 record.

-- LANCE PUGMIRE, Times boxing writer

Admittedly, I haven’t been around Conor McGregor much. But I can tell you the McGregor who was in Los Angeles for the first stop of his four-city press tour with Floyd Mayweather Jr. last month isn’t the same person I’ve seen this week.

McGregor has looked scared in Las Vegas, and understandably so. This isn’t a fight. This is the best boxer of his generation attacking a practically defenseless man.

Mayweather’s 40, but that shouldn’t make a different. Mayweather could be 50 and he would still be favored here.

Mayweather has said he would take the fight to McGregor and while that seems out of character for him, I’m inclined to believe him.

Mayweather walked down Zab Judah, whom he correctly determined was incapable of throwing punches while in retreat.

He also walked down Shane Mosley. Judah was once an undisputed welterweight champion. Mosley is a future Hall of Famer. If Mayweather can stalk and dismantle fighters of their quality, he can certainly do the same to a novice such as McGregor.

How long the fight lasts is entirely up to Mayweather. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to blast out McGregor early, which could prevent the audience from seeing the extent of McGregor’s incompetence.

Doing so might even earn him some undue credit for the farcical win. The more likely scenario is that Mayweather takes his time, advances behind a high guard, methodically breaks down McGregor and stops him between the fourth and seventh rounds.

Something to keep in mind: the longer the fight lasts, the more head shots McGregor will take and the more likely he gets seriously injured in this fight. Referee Robert Byrd better be alert.

Prediction: Mayweather wins by fourth-round knockout.

-- DYLAN HERNANDEZ, Times columnist

Latest updates
AUG. 22, 2017, 9:47 A.M.
REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS
What time is the Mayweather-McGregor fight?

Lance Pugmire

Does McGregor have a chance against Mayweather?
Tribune Publishing Co.


00:0001:00
The Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday should start around 8:55 p.m.

Showtime’s pay-per-view broadcast begins at 6 p.m., with a 10-round cruiserweight bout between Chicago’s Andrew Tabiti (14-0, 12 knockouts) and former champion Steve Cunningham (29-8-1, 13 KOs).

The start time of the Mayweather-McGregor fight will depend on how long the next two world-title bouts last.

Former super-middleweight champion Badou Jack (21-1-2, 12 KOs) meets Nathan Cleverly (30-3, 16 KOs) for the vacant World Boxing Assn. secondary light-heavyweight belt. Jack is moving up in weight after a majority draw in his 168-pound unification bout against James DeGale.

The start time of the fight between unbeaten Mayweather (49-0) and UFC champion McGregor is more likely to be decided by Gervonta Davis’ lightweight title defense against Francisco Fonseca.

Davis (18-0, 17 KOs), nicknamed “Tank,” is the prized possession in Mayweather’s promotional stable. At 22, Davis is the youngest world champion, possessing the International Boxing Federation belt. He has won nine consecutive bouts by knockout. Costa Rica’s Fonseca (19-0-1, 13 KOs) is making his U.S. debut.

The national anthem will be sung by Demi Lovato, and each of the main-event fighters will have separate ring walks. Mayweather, who’s been accompanied by Justin Bieber in the past, told Jimmy Kimmel he’s unsure whether the singer, who recently ended his tour prematurely, will make the trip this time.
AUG. 26, 2017, 3:53 P.M.
Mayweather vs. McGregor: Tickets still unsold; cheapest seat is about $1350


AUG. 26, 2017, 3:50 P.M.
LAS VEGAS
Mayweather vs. McGregor: Floyd is a genius

Dylan Hernandez

I received a text message yesterday from a friend, who might or might not happen to also be a co-worker.

“Just bought the fight, like a total mark,” he wrote.

The same friend also wagered $200 on Floyd Mayweather Jr. to knock out Conor McGregor, which could earn him a $100 profit.

Actually, “profit” might be the wrong word, since that $100 will cover the cost of the pay-per-view broadcast.

“So I basically risked $200 to win the $100 that I just lit on fire,” my friend said. “Floyd Mayweather is a [expletive] genius.”

AUG. 26, 2017, 1:13 P.M.
REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS
The specter of race hangs over Mayweather-McGregor fight

Lance Pugmire
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Gerry Cooney said he was caught off guard by the idea that race was part of the equation in his 1982 heavyweight title fight against Larry Holmes. And now he finds it's unfortunate that there’s still a “Great White Hope” element to UFC champion Conor McGregor’s fight Saturday night against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“To the small little percentage of people who talk about [the fight] for a day, yes,” race is part of the fight, Conney told The Times.

“After that, it’s gone. I hated all that stuff with Holmes, but when we got in the center of the ring and [referee] Mills Lane gave me instructions, we said, ‘Let’s have a good fight.’ That’s what it’s about. That’s sportsmanship.”

One-hundred and seven years ago, Jack Johnson defeated James J. Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match that spawned the term “Great White Hope” in reference to Jeffries, who lost.

Race surfaced between the fighters during the Mayweather-McGregor press tour, when McGregor told Mayweather, “Dance for me, boy,” on one stop, then called him a monkey , according to Mayweather.

The fighters mostly avoided that kind of talk this week, but in a Fox News interview on his media day, Mayweather spoke as if he’ll remember the slur during the bout.

“Ten seconds before the fight, I want him to call me 'monkey,'” Mayweather said. “When I drop him, I’m going to say, ‘Get up, monkey.’”

Cooney felt some backlash from fans after he lost to Holmes by 13th-round technical knockout. He said McGregor could face the same if he doesn’t fare well – as expected – against the 49-0 Mayweather, whose villainous persona has helped make him the top pay-per-view fighter in history.

“That could be,” Cooney said. “[McGregor’s] such a promoter, such a vibrant guy, such a great athlete, but there can be that [backlash] because he can be embarrassed in there fighting a guy like Floyd Mayweather. [Support from McGregor’s newer fans] could be very short-lived and it could very embarrassing. And Maywerather’s used to doing that.

“Floyd Mayweather’s going to do what he does: cover up on the ropes, shoulder roll, counter-punch, counter-punch … you remember seeing Marcos Maidana-Floyd Mayweather? Great fight for Maidana, for six, seven rounds … once he got tired, it was all over for him. That’s what I see for McGregor in some aspects, unless all of a sudden, at 40, Mayweather got old. I don’t think he did, because he’s in shape all the time.

“It’s a great promotion. A lot of people are talking bad about it. It did have nastiness and ugliness, but everyone always wants to know who’s tougher. What I want to see is how the corners break it down, how does Mayweather adjust, does Mayweather do the same old stuff, or is he going to be more aggressive?”
AUG. 26, 2017, 12:18 P.M.
A look back at Floyd Mayweather's last fake fight

John Cherwa
Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes on The Big Show during Wrestlemania 24. (Associated Press)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. takes on The Big Show during Wrestlemania 24. (Associated Press)
Saturday night’s mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor for the world’s P.T. Barnum title belt has fascinated America like few mismatches in recent sports history. What would the brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning L.A. Times sports columnist Jim Murray have said about this? Why, it’s the Titanic and the iceberg.

And the iceberg always wins.

But it also harkens back to another circus that Mayweather was involved in: Wrestlemania 24 at Orlando’s Citrus Bowl on March 30, 2008.

The diminutive, by comparison, Mayweather was going up against The Big Show (real name Paul Donald Wright II), whose stats were said to be 7 feet and almost 400 pounds of both muscle and the opposite of muscle. Any way you look at it, he was a big guy. It was a no-disqualification match, of course.

I was there to cover and coordinate coverage of that event for our sister newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, which did near record digital numbers that night — but nothing like The Times should do Saturday, with its world-best digital coverage of the Mayweather-McGregor fight.) I was a legitimate journalist at an illegitimate event, but I was more than OK with it.

I grew up watching championship wrestling from Florida every Saturday afternoon. There was the golden voice of Gordon Solie, the Vin Scully, Chick Hearn and Bob Miller of pro wrestling all rolled into one. He may have invented the phrases “squared circle” and “crimson mask,” but even if he didn’t, I give him credit for them.

My colleague Houston Mitchell and I were among the first mainstream journalists to blow the lid off steroid and drug abuse in pro wrestling on the front page of The Times in 1992. Looking back, it might have been one of the biggest no-brainer, obvious stories ever.

So I knew that there was absolutely no question the Mayweather-Show match, along with every other one on the card, was an absolute “work” (code for fake).

The promoters had to come up with an ending that allowed both commodities — wrestling and boxing — to appear to be winners.

Here’s how they did it.

Mayweather started with the style we’ve grown accustomed to, running around the ring, alluding contact like a live chicken that knows it’s on the menu for that night. Mayweather connected with some body shots, a big target, and even caught Show on the jaw. At one point, he stopped for a drink of water as Show lumbered about the ring.

Show then headed for a corner and took out one of Mayweather’s entourage and dragged another into the ring. Mayweather just watched until he finally started hitting Show. The big guy lifted Mayweather, who was able to get on Show’s back and apply a sleeper hold, which is really just a chokehold from behind.

Show eventually dumped Mayweather to the ground and started beating on him. Mayweather’s entourage, fearing the mythical worst, dragged the champ from the ring. But Show went after him, swatting away the entourage and dragging Mayweather back to the ring.

Show was about to conduct a choke-slam, which is just what it sounds like, when Mayweather got hit with a chair by one of the entourage. Show choke-slams the helper, and then Mayweather hits Show with a chair. Show blocks a second chair shot, but Mayweather retaliates with a low blow. Mayweather then hits Show with a few more chair shots.

Finally, Mayweather goes to what’s left of his entourage, pulls out a pair of brass knuckles and floors Show with a right. (Note to self: If in a fight, brass knuckles work better than a chair or multiple chairs.)

Show is counted out, and Mayweather wins. The crowd, said to be 74,635 (but wrestling crowds are sometimes counted the same as inauguration crowds) didn’t like the result.

The match lasted 11 minutes and 40 seconds.

That was Mayweather’s last fake fight.

With millions of state-regulated dollars having been bet on Saturday night’s fight, surely the organizers can’t be pulling a “work.”

But if in the fifth or so round, heretofore dominated by Mayweather, McGregor pulls some illegal MMA move and knocks Mayweather down and a disqualification ensues, you wonder how many people are going to think that it turned out well for both sports.

Boxing gets the win and dominates the fight. Mixed martial arts gets to keep the tough guy’s street-fighting reputation. And both sports get to keep our money.

Nah, could never happen.
AUG. 25, 2017, 3:00 P.M.
Watch Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor weigh in
The Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor weigh-in will be streamed live starting at 3 p.m. The window will automatically refresh when the transmission begins.

AUG. 25, 2017, 3:32 P.M.
LAS VEGAS
Heavily pro-McGregor crowd starts fight weekend festivities at weigh-in

Lance Pugmire

Conor McGregor met the super-welterweight boxing weight limit for his Saturday match against Floyd Mayweather Jr., weighing in at 153 pounds Friday at T-Mobile Arena.

Within view of the boxing ring where McGregor will take the unprecedented steps to become the first reigning UFC champion to engage in a pro boxing match, the 49-0 former five-division boxing champion Mayweather weighed 149 1/2.

"That's the worst shape he's ever looked," McGregor said. "I'll stomp my foot on his head. I see a man afraid."

A festive pro-McGregor crowd waving orange, white and green Irish flags and belting out songs rooted in their native land roared for McGregor, who confronts steep odds likely beyond the current 4/1 line supported by his die-hard fans.

Scalpers were hawking free tickets to the sold-out weigh-in for $65 outside the arena.

The heavy betting money, such as the single $1-million bet Friday at MGM Grand, supports Mayweather, but bookmakers say 95% of the action they take is on McGregor, a devastating UFC striker who captured featherweight and lightweight belts simultaneously within a year's time.

"Weight doesn't win fights," Mayweather said. "Fighting wins fights. It won't go the distance, mark my word. This will become McGregor's last fight also."

He added: "I'm used to fights of this magnitude."

The weigh-in was preceded by a highlight package shown in the arena of the four-stop international press tour in which the fighters exchanged flurries of verbal digs.
AUG. 25, 2017, 2:42 P.M.
Scalpers asking $65 for Mayweather vs. McGregor weigh-in tickets

AUG. 25, 2017, 2:24 P.M.
A first look at the ring for Mayweather vs. McGregor

AUG. 25, 2017, 2:23 P.M.
Irish have arrived in Las Vegas for Mayweather vs. McGregor
One of the more interesting things to watch in the run-up to the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight has been the huge support the MMA star receives from Irish fans.

A large base of Irish fans was expected to descend on Las Vegas this week to support McGregor, their native son.

Based on the video, it appears support is strong, especially for Friday's weigh-in.

[ness31]

Go McGregor!!

For once, I want the Irish to win because they fucking deserve to!

Go Ireland!! Woooooootwooooottt

[MB.]

This went down about as expected. McGregor threw a lot of illegal punches and landed mostly superficial blows during rounds 1-5, then Mayweather in great Ali fashion wore him out and started landing huge uppercuts, roundhouses, by round 8-9 McGregor was exhausted and Mayweather looked relaxed. He pulverized McGregor in round 9 for a TKO. Convincing.

[Igor Antunov]

As I thought the UFC freestyler has no chance against a conditioned career boxer, even with the dual advantages of larger limbs and being much younger. Maybe if they had fought in an octagon and there was a ground game, but not like this. McGregor was way out of his league.

But, for a debut pro boxing fight, doesn't hurt to start at the apex, he lost but he lost respectably against one of the best boxers in history, kept his feet to the end and lasted 10 rounds. Better than I expected.

[MB.]

Mayweather was merely playing early on. It was part of his strategy. The whole "I'm in the club 9-5" the week prior and letting McGregor appear to dominate at the weigh in. I'm not surprised but I'm impressed McGregor did *appear* strong early on but he clearly did not have the long term strategy for this. The MMA fans will have to do some serious soul searching from here on in, no more nonsense about which sport is more intense.

I don't think we should over look the illegal moves either. McGregor punched Mayweather in the back of the head a number of times during rounds 1-5.

Mayweather says it was his strategy:

Floyd - now 50-0 in his career - speaks after the fight: “[Conor]’s a tough competitor - we gave the fans what they wanted to see

“He’s a lot better than I thought he was ... he used different angles. But I was the better man ... It was our gameplan to take our time and take him out down the stretch.”

It's true, McGregor certainly couldn't lose in terms of publicity with this, but where does he go now? I'm betting Hollywood. His boxing days may be finished and why would you go back to UFC now just to play second fiddle?

[Igor Antunov]

He's done with UFC. But he can box for a few years before resorting to film.

[Wellsy]

Mayweather's long game was pretty clear when could see how jelly McGregor was, he was nearly falling over himself the round before the TKO.
Watching the replay was brutal, i don't know how many punches he had, but it looked like 15 repeated punches to the head by Mayweather. McGregor couldn't defend himself at all, he was fucked.
Good call on the referee to call it because it was a clear win for Mayweather.

here's McGregor getting fucked up...

[Hindsite]

Mayweather's long game was pretty clear when could see how jelly McGregor was, he was nearly falling over himself the round before the TKO.
Watching the replay was brutal, i don't know how many punches he had, but it looked like 15 repeated punches to the head by Mayweather. McGregor couldn't defend himself at all, he was fucked.
Good call on the referee to call it because it was a clear win for Mayweather.

here's McGregor getting fucked up...

I would like to see Mayweather or some other pro boxer fight under MMA rules. That might be interesting.

[Igor Antunov]

Well unless he spends a few years working on his ground game, he's gonna be a standing duck. UFC is dirty dirty dirty compared to boxing. Fights go on even if players have blood in both eyes.

[ness31]

Well that was better to watch then expected; McGregor didn't humiliate himself so that's good
As mentioned lots of illegal hits which probably should have bought on some sort of immediate disqualification, but I found the whole spectacle quite enjoyable and appreciated the fact that boxing doesn't allow one to pummel their opponent needlessly.

I think both codes could learn valuable lessons from each other.

[Istanbuller]

I heard on news that those idiots got 450 million $ in total for a single game.

[SolarCross]

Did anyone ever see a movie called The Great White Hype ?

This match was a remake made real..

[Istanbuller]

No, i didn't. I am neither interested in boxing nor watching it. It is not even a sport. I would rather watch ISIS cutting throats of their enemies and hanging them in ancient theaters. The same barbaric. At least ISIS is not monkeys but real.

[Igor Antunov]

The fight purse is supposed to be split 75/25 in favor of victor of course. It was also reported to have reached ~$300 million. So mayweather got $225 million, Mcgregor got $75 million.

[SolarCross]

I heard on news that those idiots got 450 million $ in total for a single game.

What makes them idiots then? It is far smarter to take punch in head for a million quid than explode yourself for free.

[Oxymoron]

For one Mcgregor performed very well against one of the best boxers of all time. He deserves respect for that, as far as illegal fook that shit, Mayweather kept using his forearm in the breaks and turning around like a pussy both illegal. I think the fight should not have been stopped, I think Mac could have withstood that round, and like in the Paul Maglini sparring sessions he comes back in 11 and 12 and wins by points.

[Hong Wu]

McGregor hates on Trump, gets punched out by Trump supporter.

Holy wow. So like, McGregor was punching a black nazi Trump supporter in the face but then the Trump supporter fought back and beat him down. Just like real life

[Istanbuller]

What makes them idiots then? It is far smarter to take punch in head for a million quid than explode yourself for free.

If you look from the Islamic perspective, the money they got is not halal. They will be burning in the hell. On the other hand, ISIS militants are free to storm anywhere and anyone they want. It is perfectly legal and their activities are blessed by the God.

[Oxymoron]

I wonder would ISIS agree to a Champion vs Champion to decide if they get Caliphate or if they put down arms and submit?

[Rancid]

Am I the only person that thinks it's kind of weird that they always refer to the prize money for a fight as "the purse."