A mismatch made in hell won’t wash
THE NOBLE art of boxing would not endure without our willingness to look the other way when something truly distasteful occurs.
It wouldn’t thrive without a collective inability to avert our gaze from the truly outlandish.
Even in a sport that relies upon mass hysteria to keep the money flowing in, however, there has to be a limit to both the public’s tolerance and their bloodlust.
It is to be hoped that the impending collision between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Conor McGregor is that outer marker beyond which the fight game will never venture. Because confirmation that a true legend of the ring will be let loose on an absolute novice — McGregor has zero minutes as a professional boxer under his mixed martial arts belt, remember — is already a step too far.
You may accept that boxing is a sport hardly noted for its adherence to high ethical standards; few would deny that, for all the bravery displayed by its champions, it is a business populated by plenty of con artists happy to make money from serial winners and punchdrunk palookas alike.
But this bout, this bastard love child of money men and lawyers? utterly irresponsible.
Sadly, it is also guaranteed to prove completely irresistible to the kind of sensationseeking thrill junkie now driving sporting revenues, with their constant switching of screens and channels in pursuit of the next big hit or bloody spectacle.
There is a reason why your average fight promoter recites PT Barnum’s favourite mantra — ‘Nobody ever went broke underestimating the public’ — before they eat their first kitten for breakfast.
The human race boasts enough absolute morons, people who would gladly pay good money to see a man in a leather jacket actually jump a shark on water skis, to guarantee profits for those willing to blur the lines of decency.
And the bottom line is the only line that matters to not just the managers and hangerson, but the fighters themselves.
All involved in this farce know that people will pay to watch it. Six hundred million dollars is the estimated gross take from ticket sales, pay-per-view subscriptions and ancillary revenue streams.
uFC president Dana White didn’t hold back with his initial response to yesterday’s news, cutting straight to the money shot as he declared: ‘It’s definitely going to be the biggest fight ever in combat sports history — and probably going to be the biggest pay day ever.’
Yeah, well, don’t ever mistake cash for credibility. And be aware that freak shows have been a popular staple of the bread-and-circuses culture since the early days of Roman ‘sporting’ festivals.
The Emperors of old used to keep the populace diverted from tax increases and foreign wars by letting them watch an elephant and a rhino go at it. Or just chucking in some poor gladiator against six wolves and a pride of lions.
All old enough to remember the utter lunacy of Muhammad Ali v Antonio Inoko, a boxer-versuswrestler bout ironically credited with planting the seed from which mixed martial arts grew, thought that might have been the craziest stunt ever witnessed in a boxing ring.
Look up the action on YouTube, if you like. Marvel at the sight of the Japanese grappler spending most of the fight lying on his back, trying to kick a clearly baffled Ali.
In case you’re wondering, those involved in making the McGregor-Mayweather bout happen have already made it clear that the uFC man will face a hefty lawsuit if he so much as raises a leg towards the pugilist. We’ve entered a whole new world of crazy, when that kind of clause is required.
You won’t be able to avoid the hype between now and the bell sounding in a mismatch that has all the sporting credibility of Rocky Balboa v Hulk Hogan. With a bear versus a tiger on the undercard.
But boxing will lose, even though Mayweather is absolutely assured of victory. By letting the uFC man into the ring, the sport that gave the world Marciano, Ali, Robinson, Leonard, Duran and so many other great champions is waving the white flag to a stillnew fighting discipline that has been nipping at its heels in terms of audience figures and — crucially — youth interest.
Because Mayweather was never going to agree to get into an MMA octagon, he can’t win even when he wins.
In a recent conversation with Scottish uFC star Paul Craig, the former kick-boxer told
Sportsmail: ‘If Mayweather beats Conor, he’ll get no credit because he’s only fighting a uFC guy. If he loses …’
But winning, of course, isn’t what McGregor wants or needs. He’s already counting his share of the purse, a paltry $80million to Mayweather’s cool $100m, and wondering whether he will even need to return to the sport where he’s actually a champion.
All the Irishman has to do is avoid brain damage — don’t joke, this is a serious, brutal, dangerous business — and he’ll have not only earned his cash, but proved a point.
Hey, if this gets enough suckers pressing the red button, who knows what the boys in Vegas will think of next.
How about a boxer versus John Cena? You’ll know him well if you’ve got kids still naïve enough to watch WWE without a WTF thought ever crossing their innocent minds.
Failing that, we could always just turn our attention towards Anthony Joshua actually fighting another great heavyweight challenger.
One who hasn’t just wandered into the wrong gym, fancied a crack at the champ — and been granted permission to risk life and limb because, hey, it’s all good box office.
FOR ALL BREAKING SPORTS NEWS VISIT dailymail.co.uk/ sport