Mayweather - McGregon drags boxing through mud George Willis
WHEN Floyd Mayweather’s fight with UFC star Conor McGregor was announced last month, most of the boxing world either shrugged or cringed. Those looking for positives suggested casual fans who haven’t been exposed to boxing might become enchanted with the sport.
Well, after four stops of the Mayweather-McGregor world tour, it is time to cringe. May weatherMcGregor quickly has turned into some kind of bad vaudeville act resorting to gutter language to promote a bout that everyone already knows about. It is billed as a boxing match. But what we’ve seen so far has little to do with boxing.
Boxing is what took place at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night. It featured young warriors who have dedicated their lives to the Sweet Science, honing their skills through the amateur ranks, establishing themselves as professionals and hoping they’re good enough to making the kind of money that will set themselves up for lives.
It was Marcus Browne, a former Olympian, trying to protect his unbeaten record against Seanie Monaghan, another unbeaten light heavyweight. The winner would put himself in a position for a coveted title shot that has been their dream since they put on gloves.
It was Omar Figueroa, a young unbeaten Texas, trying to shake off a year-long layoff to take on Robert Guerrero, a former champion, who has been in the ring with Mayweather, and is trying to prove he isn’t washed up. It was two Polish heavyweights named Arthur Szpilka and Adam Kownacki fighting for national pride in the middle of Long Island.
During the press conference to promote the PBC on FOX event, there were no profanities exchanged, no vulgarities or homophobic slurs shouted, no race baiting and no calling network executives weasels. Instead, those fighting on Saturday’s card on Long Island were complimentary towards their opponents and looked forward to displaying their skills. That is what boxing has been about 99.9 percent of the time.
The Mayweather-McGregor World Tour actually might have done more harm than good. About the only thing it accomplished was to display how crass the two fighters could be to one another. Two world tour stops would have been plenty. These are fighters, not nightclub acts.
The first one in Los Angeles was business-like. The second in Toronto turned more personal. The third stop in Brooklyn bordered on disgusting, and the final leg in London was a like a bad act in need of new material.
McGregor actually was booed at Barclays Center when he made a vulgar gyration for his “black female fans,” then Mayweather went to the gutter by calling McGregor a homophobic slur in London. It was more WWE than boxing and even was over the top for UFC, which can get raunchy in its buildups.
Once the May weatherMcGregor tour, which covered 14,000 miles through three countries, was completed, an estimated 50,000 fans in attendance and millions watching on social media witnessed two bullies acting like high school rivals.
And let’s be real: If you’re a casual sports fan not familiar with combat sports, why would you be drawn to any of this after listening to Mayweather and McGregor last week?
Yes, it might turn out to be the richest boxing event of all time because there are enough MMA fans who love everything McGregor and curious boxing fans to do big business. But this is a novelty and not a referendum on boxing or MMA.
Sure there have been plenty of trash-talkers in boxing, but there is a line that isn’t often crossed, and when it is, there are repercussions. Angel Garcia, the father of Danny Garcia, found that out when he uttered a string of B-words and Nwords at Keith Thurman during a presser at the Barclays Center. The elder Garcia was hauled in front of the New York State Athletic Commission and nearly lost the chance to work his son’s corner.
Truth is there were way more UFC fans at the May weatherMcGregor press conferences. They’re used to the orchestrated trash talk. It is part of that sport’s appeal. Boxing needs to hold itself to a higher standard.