The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
McGregor carrying flag for Miocic, UFC
Stipe Miocic will be in Chicago on Aug. 26 to promote the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather Jr. crossover boxing match.
It’s not like the mega bout needs help with the masses, but Miocic is a draw wherever he goes.
The man with the moniker “Baddest Man on the Planet” carries weight, and that’s Miocic.
Many expect the Aug. 26 fight to break the record for Pay-Per-View buys set in 2015 when Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao.
Miocic will be at Chicago’s Fremont Bar & Grille, where UFC fans will get a double whammy hanging with the champ while watching the latest super fight.
When the bell for Round 1 sounds, the Eastlake North grad and part-time firefighter will be an interested observer like the rest of them.
Miocic can’t wait to watch.
Miocic can’t wait for the result.
He hopes a result will help carry the UFC and himself to more crossover bouts.
A lot is riding on McGregor’s performance. If he bombs, it would likely squash any hopes of future crossover bouts between boxing and UFC stars.
That would likely crush Miocic’s hopes of one day getting in the ring against someone such as heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua.
Even in a loss, if McGregor proves to all the doubters he belongs in the ring with the 49-0 Mayweather, the state of crossover bouts should move forward.
If McGregor pulls off a stunning victory, expect the floodgates to open. Miocic will undoubtedly be in the ring fighting with boxing gloves one day.
That would likely mean the biggest payday of Miocic’s career — and in combat sports, that’s what it’s all about.
Miocic has been active on Twitter, challenging Joshua to a boxing match.
Miocic recently said he would “shut a lot of people up” if and when he fought Joshua.
Miocic isn’t a stranger to the ring. Before he became a UFC champ, Miocic took two years off from MMA training to box, and became a golden gloves champion.
His boxing coaches, Mentor grad Alex Cooper and Eastlake North grad Joe Delguyd, helped Miocic develop a vicious straight right that has floored many opponents, including his last.
At UFC 211 in Dallas in May, he KO’d Junior dos Santos in 2 minutes, 22 seconds. That win has put Miocic in position to break the UFC heavyweight record for most consecutive title defenses at three.
Whom Miocic fights next and when are the questions — the “whom” being the bigger question these days.
UFC president Dana White said this week there were discussions of a Jon Jones-Miocic bout later this year in Detroit, but a reported failed drug test by Jones ended any immediate hopes for a super fight. Because of the failed drug test, Jones had to give up his light heavyweight championship belt.
Two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez could be an option now for Miocic, but Velasquez has been out with injuries.
“We’ve got a lot of problems if this turns out to be true, but they aren’t problems compared to what Jon has,” White told reporters this week in Las Vegas. “The list goes on and on of what could have been with Jon Jones.”
With a UFC opponents list seemingly dwindling, Miocic’s camp likely won’t stop campaigning for a venture into the ring.
When asked recently if he would prefer a boxing match against Joshua over a bout with, say, Velasquez, Miocic didn’t flinch.
“Of course,” Miocic said. “(A Joshua fight) would pay a lot more. Money talks.”
Miocic added a boxing match between him and Joshua is “what the fans want to see.”
For now, fight fans want to see Mayweather-McGregor. Miocic might be the one UFC star with the most to gain — or lose — from the result.
“Mayweather’s the best, but you never know,” Miocic said. “It’s a fight. Anything can happen. McGregor has a puncher’s chance. We’ll see. If McGregor does well, it will be good for us. Not just my cause, but everyone’s cause. It depends what McGregor does.” Reach Podolski at MPodolski@News-Herald. com. On Twitter: @mpodo