Rematch is hardly out of the question
McGregor win would be first step toward 2nd big-money bout
There is only one event in the immediate future of boxing and mixed martial arts that could possibly be bigger than Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor.
That would be Mayweather vs. McGregor II, a potential rematch next year and an outcome that almost certainly hinges on the Irishman from the world of the Ultimate Fighting Championship somehow producing a boxing miracle en route to a shock for the ages.
So much of the madness surrounding the bout, now less than two weeks away on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, has stretched the bounds of imagination, with the mere fact of its existence an extraordi- nary tale of modern promotional and social media forces.
The idea that it could happen again is absurd, but no less so than the suggestion several months back that Mayweather could take on a man who has never boxed professionally or even to a serious level in the amateur ranks.
“I am one and done on this,” UFC President Dana White said, adding that he might consider promoting boxing events down the road but has little appetite for seeing his most popular star step once more into the boxing ring.
Yet White also thinks McGregor has a realistic shot to win at T-Mobile Arena, that his punching power can stun the 40-yearold former pound-for-pound king and stop Mayweather’s perfect professional streak at 49 wins.
If that unthinkable outcome emerges or if another bizarre turn that leads to a McGregor triumph takes place — if Mayweather twists his knee and can’t move, if he suffers a freak eye injury or is disqualified for late blows — a rematch would no longer be an outside chance at all.
At that stage, it becomes virtually inevitable. With Mayweather slated to top $150 million in earnings and McGregor $100 millionplus, a redo in such circumstances likely would generate even more hype and intrigue. Next time around, both men could rake in $150 million or more, and guess what? If Mayweather won that to level the score, then a trilogy fight to decide it would make perfect sense, too.
No one much is buying into the theory, at least not publicly. Mayweather has consistently said it will be his last fight, and his adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, took pains last week to stress this is a “onetime thing.”
But in the next breath Ellerbe, with a twinkle in his eye, said, “You never know what might happen next.” And, indeed, for all the hoopla surrounding this promotion, never a truer word was spoken. We just don’t know.
Perhaps a rematch is the stuff of fairy tales and conspiracy theorists. Yet once upon a time not so long ago, so was this fight.