When a fight is a farce
F or sure, Manny Pacquiao will be an interested watcher when Floyd Mayweather Jr. battles Conor McGregor on Sunday in what is one of the mostawaited encounters in boxing history.
Pacquiao fought Mayweather two years ago, and their bout broke all records in pay-per-view buys, guaranteed prizes, and global television views. While the fight did not live up to the hype — Floyd Jr. won by unanimous decision in what was generally described as a dull and unexciting match — the records it left were so overwhelming, these have been expected to survive the test of time.
But those numbers may soon be overshadowed. The Sunday Mayweather-McGregor fight seems headed for a blockbuster finish. Promoters have been reporting record sales, what with the huge interest shown by a public curious about the encounter’s unusual character.
In boxing, Mayweather is 49-0 in his career; McGregor, a mixed-martial arts star, is 0-0. In other words, McGregor — highly respected and wildly popular in his game, where he is a two-time UFC world champion — is a total newbie in professional boxing. These differences between the two protagonists, although unusual and akin to comparing apples and oranges, have conveniently been ignored, thanks largely to McGregor who has a legion of fans.
But the interest does not lie just on the outlandish nature of the encounter. The fight has actually taken on racial overtones. It comes at a time when America is violently roiled by racial conflict, encouraged in no small measure by the divisive tactics of President Trump.
It is no surprise that promoters have been touting Mayweather as the representative of the black man and selling McGregor as a man supported by white supremacists. Unfortunately, the two fighters seem to have embraced those roles, insulting each other each time they came face-to-face during their four-city promotional tour.
In America, it looks like the conflict between black and white people sells tickets, and this has not been lost on wily promoters. One avid boxing connoisseur may have gotten it right when he said that if McGregor were also black the fight would not sell a single ticket.
My own take is that this fight is all a farce. It will not advance the cause of boxing, and it will not make Mayweather look like a bigger champ even if he wins, although it could make McGregor some kind of a hero with an upset win.
In the end, it’s all about money. These two fighters are there to line up their pockets, and the troubling race issue is simply collateral damage in the march to sell tickets.
My prediction: Mayweather by knockout or stoppage.