Multi-million dollar fight, big expectations
IN A FEW days, reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will take on Floyd Mayweather in a multi-million dollar boxing match in the fight capital of the world, Las Vegas.
It has been billed as the “Billion Dollar Fight” and I only hope it will live up to its top-class billing – money aside.
Just over two years ago, boxing fans from around the world waited with bated breath for what was billed to be one of the best fights between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
But let’s be honest, that fight was a disappointment. Mayweather banked millions. The exact figure ran into tens of millions and was kept a secret but many boxing fans were disappointed with the fight that failed hopelessly to live up to all the pre-match hype.
Mayweather did not fight and Pacquiao, well, was just quite happy to see out the fight by throwing as few punches as possible for his biggest pay day.
I hope McGregor will step into the ring and give Mayweather a run for the title and not disappoint the millions of fans who will be watching.
Four years ago, McGregor was picking up a dole cheque and worked as a trainee plumber.
His most famous fight to date was when he defeated Jose Aldo in December 2015 to win the UFC featherweight title.
Aldo was not beaten for 10 years and McGregor knocked out the Brazilian in just 13 seconds and, with that win, has risen to become a huge star in Ireland.
Mike Tyson has already predicted that McGregor is in for the hiding of his life and will not even hit Mayweather once.
According to Tyson, MMA (Mixed Martial Arts), to which McGregor subscribes to, will be no match for the orthodox style that suits Mayweather perfectly.
Most pundits have the Irishman, who has never boxed professionally, as an outright underdog.
McGregor has other ideas to prove his doubters wrong.
This is the biggest event in combat sports history.
Whichever way it goes, I hope we get to see a good fight that will go the full 12 rounds and not be disappointed.
■ I HAVE always been a great fan of former Indian Test and One Day captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Undoubtedly, he is a world-class wicketkeeper-batsman but I sometimes wonder if his days in the national shirt are coming to an end and probably not make the next limited overs World Cup, in 2019, in England and Wales.
The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has made it clear that Dhoni will have to consistently perform at his best with the gloves and bat to remain in contention.
He captained the Indian team for 10 years in the limited overs format of the game and relinquished the armband to Virat Kholi in January.
Dhoni holds numerous captaincy records such as most wins by an Indian captain in Tests and ODIs and most back-to-back wins by an Indian captain in ODIs.
He took over the ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid in 2007 and led the team to its first-ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the CB Series of 2007-08, the 2010 Asia Cup, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
In the final of the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni scored 91 not out, off 79 balls, handing India the victory for which he was awarded the Man of the Match.
In June 2013, when India defeated England in the final of the Champions Trophy in England, Dhoni became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies (World Cup, Champions Trophy and the World Twenty20). ■ IT IS ALWAYS good to interact with our readers via e-mail and other social media platforms.
One such email was sent in by Terry Phillips, who is an avid Tottenham Hotspur supporter.
Spurs are one of the best supported clubs within South Africa and have visited our shores on many occasions, having won pre-season tournaments.
I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing many of their stars, including club chairperson, Daniel Levy, who has always kept his faith in the club.
The club has been consistent and finished second to Chelsea last season with super striker Harry Kane in superlative form, netting 29 goals and winning the golden-boot award.
But Spurs will be playing their home games at Wembley Stadium this season, while White Heart Lane undergoes a revamp and I wonder whether or not this will be an impediment to Mauricio Pochettino’s title aspirations. Time will tell.
Until next time, happy sporting.