Floyd Mayweather Working Hard to Sell Matchup Against Conor McGregor as a Fair Fight

Conor McGregor AFP
Dylan Gwinn

So, I believe I started my breakdown of a possible Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather boxing matchup by calling it a no good, very bad situation for the UFC. Their most prized, visible, and lucrative fighter would be embarrassed on the largest PPV event in recorded human history, resulting in a massive pay day for McGregor and tremendous loss of prestige for the UFC.

While I still believe those things, and still can’t believe that UFC President Dana White will not allow this to happen, watching how hard Floyd Mayweather is trying to sell this makes me believe there’s a legit chance it could happen.

Watch this:

So, all it takes is one very vague question about how much Mayweather “misses competition,” and Floyd goes into a hard Conor McGregor sell? That’s pretty aggressive. Almost to the point where it appears Mayweather is desperate for the fight to happen.

Mayweather has a point about a possible matchup against McGregor being the fight “fans want to see.” Chances are it would surpass Mayweather vs. Pacquiao in terms of PPV buys.

However, whether the fight would be fair is an entirely different question. Mayweather’s comments about the weight of the gloves used by the UFC, versus the weight of the gloves used by boxing, are very misleading. The gloves worn in the UFC tend to weigh only 4-6 ounces. Most of them weigh the minimum 4-5 ounces. That’s why you see so many more knockdowns and knockouts in MMA, as opposed to boxing.

Boxing gloves vary in weight depending on the weight class. But, the gloves normally worn by fighters on Floyd Mayweather’s division, are normally no less than 8 ounces. Meaning, the gloves that McGregor would use in a hypothetical matchup with Mayweather would likely weigh nearly twice as much as the gloves he normally uses.

Which would mean McGregor’s punching power would suffer significantly. So, to recap, McGregor wouldn’t be able to take the fight to the ground, where he would enjoy a clear advantage, since he would be fighting one of the greatest fighters of all time in his first ever professional boxing match. And, to cap it all off, his punches might get reduced to anywhere from 30-50% of their normal power.

Other than that, it’s a totally fair fight.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn

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