Money punch

> Divided by fighting styles, united by money

THE biggest prizefights are forged only when competition is amalgamated with star power, storyline and conflicts that reach beyond sport into distant corners of society.

The mad alchemy of undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and mixed martial arts (MMA) champion Conor McGregor has conjured gold, with their boxing match Saturday in Las Vegas bidding to become the most lucrative bout in combat sports history. So much so the promoters have titled the event ‘The Money Fight’.

By conventional measures, McGregor shouldn’t have a chance. Mayweather is 49-0, the consensus greatest boxer of his generation. McGregor is a champion in MMA, a fullcontact combat sport combining kickboxing with wrestling and jiu-jitsu, but has never boxed professionally.

Mayweather, retired since September 2015, says McGregor is “officially” his last match.

“Even though I was gone for two years, I still was the biggest name in boxing,” Mayweather told broadcaster Showtime.

Mayweather became boxing’s most bankable star by defeating MexicanAmerican icon Oscar De La Hoya. The 2007 bout sold a then-record 2.4 million times in the lucrative North American pay-per-view (PPV) market.

That mark stood until 2015, when Mayweather’s long-delayed match with Manny Pacquiao exceeded all expectations to sell 4.6 million PPVs.

The 40-year-old Mayweather has just seven bouts in the last six years, while McGregor, 29, is in his physical prime and fought eight times in three years.

The scion of an African-American family of boxers, Mayweather grew up in Michigan and lives in Las Vegas.

McGregor, a native of Dublin, was Ireland’s most admired sports star according to a 2016 survey, conducted after he captured his second title belt in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the dominant organisation in MMA.

Mayweather, a 1996 Olympic bronze medallist, is a defensive genius, a righthanded, jab-heavy counterpuncher who often loses the first round while measuring his opponent.

At 173cm tall, with a reach of 183cm, Mayweather has held professional world championships from 59 to 69.9 kilograms.

McGregor pressures opponents with accurate strikes while frequently switching out of his natural left-handed stance. Without his usual array of weapons - including kicks, elbows and knees - he is expected to try to muscle the smaller Mayweather in the clinch, while fighting from unconventional distances and angles, both inside and from long distance.

“I don’t fight like nobody else. You can’t prepare for me,” McGregor told reporters last week in Las Vegas.

He stands 2cm taller with the same reach as Mayweather, but could be as much as 10 kilograms heavier in the ring. McGregor has called himself “a 170pound Irish gorilla” and vowed to win by knockout within four rounds. At 21-3 in MMA, all but two of his victories were by knockout or TKO, but McGregor has struggled in longer fights.

The supremely conditioned Mayweather pulls away from opponents in the later rounds, yet, despite his clearly superior hand speed, he has only one knockout in the last nine years. – dpa

are under fire form all sides after their Test team’s abject performance in the first Test defeat – by an innings and 209 runs -- against England inside three days at the weekend. England also beat them 3-0 in an ODI series in the Caribbean earlier this year, although neither Gayle or Samuels were in the side. Gayle, Samuels and Taylor have returned after making peace with Cricket West Indies, after disputes largely over money. “With regards to the selection of the ODI squad, the panel welcomes back Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels – who will both add value to our batting and help with the nurturing of the young batsmen in the team,” read a statement from the selection panel chairman Courtney Browne.

PAKISTAN TO HOST WORLD XI

AFTER playing most of their home games in the United Arab Emirates due to security concerns over the last eight years, Pakistan hope hosting a series against a World XI next month will help cement the return of international cricket to the country. Barring a short visit by Zimbabwe two years ago, Pakistan has been starved of international cricket since 2009 when gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lankan players in Lahore, wounding six players and killing six security staff and two civilians. Sri Lanka have already indicated their willingness to return to Pakistan as part of a series next month, and yesterday Punjab’s local government promised watertight security for the proposed three-match Twenty20 series against a World XI. The International Cricket Council has also given its backing to the series in Lahore, subject to security clearance. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi said getting security clearance had put the wheels in motion but he was praying that the situation remained steady. “This is a very big thing,” Sethi, who was recently named PCB chairman for the next three years, told reporters in Lahore. “September, October and November are big months. The World XI, comprising of 15 international players, would be led by former England coach Andy Flower and the identities of the players would be announced soon, Sethi added.

AZARENKA WITHDRAWS

TWO-TIME US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka confirmed her withdrawal from the tournament yesterday amid a custody battle concerning her eight-month-old son. Azarenka, who signalled last week she may miss the tournament rather than travel to New York without her son Leo, confirmed her withdrawal in a statement. “I am sadly unable to compete in this year’s US Open due to my ongoing family situation that I am working through,” the Belarus star said. The 28-yearold said last week she would skip Flushing Meadows rather than be separated from her baby. It came after a Los Angeles judge presiding in her custody case with the boy’s father, Billy McKeague, said the child could not leave California until the matter had been resolved. Azarenka, ranked 204 after a layoff while pregnant and after her son’s birth, played last month at Wimbledon, reaching the round of 16 before losing to second-ranked Simona Halep. “Shortly after Wimbledon, Leo’s father and I separated and as we work to resolve some of the legal processes, the way things stand now is that the only way I can play in the US Open this year is if I leave Leo behind in California, which I’m not willing to do,” Azarenka said last week. “No parent should have to decide between their child or their career.”

SON SHINES IN GLASGOW

TOP seed Son Wan Ho didn’t have it easy against Finland’s Kalle Koljonen in his first round of the men’s singles at the World Championships in Glasgow yesterday. The 29year-old trailed in the early stages of the first game – 3-5 and 5-7 – before eventually getting in front 9-8. He took it 21-14. The second was also a tester. It got to 16-all before the South Korean broke through to win 21-14, 21-16 in 44 minutes. “It was my first match and I know all the other players are keen to beat me,” said

29-year-old Son, who led South Korea to victory at this year’s Sudirman Cup in Jakarta. Koljonen, ranked 72 in the world, was pleased with his effort on his first visit to Scotland. Chinese legend Lin Dan had a much easier passage as he began his quest for a sixth world title. He was up against the Scottish No.1 Kieran Merrilees, and won 21-15, 21-10.

BOOING ‘HURT’ GATLIN

THE booing that resounded around the London Stadium when Justin Gatlin mounted the podium to receive his gold medal as 100 metres world champion hurt the American, he admitted yesterday. The 35-year-old – whose victory denied Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt a farewell gold in the individual event – also told ITV News, contrary to popular perception, that he had apologised for his second positive doping test. The medal ceremony produced astonishing scenes with Gatlin being booed and Bolt’s name being chanted despite taking only bronze. Gatlin, who prior to his second ban from 2006-10 won Olympic 100m gold in 2004 and double individual sprint world gold in 2005, had shown great character to triumph in London earlier this month after he was booed intensively throughout the 100m heats and final when his name was announced. Athletics chief Sebastian Coe had admitted his victory was not the ‘perfect script’, a remark that led to Gatlin’s agent Renaldo Nehemiah labelling his star’s treatment as ‘inhumane’. “It did hurt because I’m not there for myself,” he said. Gatlin, who has toyed with the idea of trying to go on until the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, said despite having already apologised he would issue another one. “If they want an official apology, I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” said Gatlin, who revealed his original letter of apology to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) had been suppressed for several years before being made public in 2015. I apologise for any wrongdoings I’ve brought onto the sport. I love the sport. That’s why I’ve come back and run to the best of my abilities. I have worked hard to right my wrongs.”