The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
White, Miocic on opposite sides
UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is ready to become the next MMA fighter to do a crossover boxing match. But UFC president Dana White isn’t ready for that in the wake of Mayweather-McGregor.
What’s next for the UFC inside a boxing ring depends on who’s talking — or tweeting.
Conor McGregor’s better-than-expected showing against Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26 might have given future crossover bouts an extended life, but Dana White isn’t so sure.
The UFC president was asked after McGregor took Mayweather to 10 rounds before the bout was stopped by the referee if he would consider his heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic for a crossover bout.
“I don’t want to talk about my other guys in a boxing match,” White told reporters in his post-fight news conference.
He continued by saying, “(May weather-McGregor) was just a real special event and a rare event. I’m not looking to do this again.”
While White downplayed a possible future Miocic boxing match, the champ himself isn’t giving up. Moments after McGregor’s bid for a historic upset was stopped in Round 10, Miocic fired off this tweet:
“Want a more exciting fight? The two best heavyweights in the world. @anthonyfjoshua let’s do this. Don’t be scared homie!”
The tweet has received more than 3,800 mentions
Anthony Joshua is currently boxing’s heavyweight champion. At 19-0, he owns the IBF, WBA and IBO championship belts.
Pairing Miocic and Joshua for another mega crossover bout doesn’t seem to be on White’s mind — at the moment.
Perhaps it was the work involved putting together the Mayweather-McGregor bout that had White ready to move on from crossing over boxing and the UFC.
“It takes two very special people and the right place and the right time to do the freakish (pay-perview) numbers and the water cooler talk and all the things this fight had,” said White.
The boxing match was McGregor’s first official venture into the ring, and he did more than hold his own. Many experts gave the UFC star the first three rounds vs. Mayweather before he wore down in the later rounds.
McGregor told ESPN he wasn’t sure what was next for him, but when asked about another boxing match he said:
“I’ll do it again no problem.”
Meanwhile, Miocic is in line to break the UFC heavyweight record for most consecutive title defenses at three should he win his next bout inside the octagon.
White said last week a potential mega UFC bout with Jon Jones was in the works for later this year in Detroit, but that fell apart when the light heavyweight champion reportedly failed a drug test.
Another possible candidate for Miocic is former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.
For now, though, Miocic, who turned 35 this month, is clearly ready to challenge himself in the ring, and cash in with a big day.
Miocic’s tweet at Joshua isn’t the first time he went the social media route to get the attention of boxing’s heavyweight champ.
In early August, the Eastlake North grad tweeted at Joshua, “No excuses, let’s dance!”
Miocic recently told The News-Herald 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 champion, Miocic took two years off from MMA training to box, and became a golden gloves champion.
All of Miocic’s tweets and previous experience as a boxer likely would have meant little in the big picture had McGregor not delivered a respectable performance against Mayweather. That was vital to any hopes for future crossover bouts.
For now, though, Miocic has to play the waiting game.