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On the evening of Saturday, August 26, the sports world stood still to take in the much-publicized, highly-anticipated fight between arguably world’s best boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and renowned mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor.Would the balance focused, precision based boxer, albeit out of prime and retired, win against the younger, high energy, outspoken MMA fighter?
Would the balance-focused, precision-based boxer, albeit out of prime and retired, win against the younger, high-energy, outspoken MMA fighter?
The answer was clear before the fight started and the result was as expected. Mayweather tested the waters for several rounds, watching McGregor wear himself out dancing around the ring. McGregor showed decent fighting skills, his jabs and counterpunches finding a home. The early rounds saw both fighters showing their skills – McGregor kept Mayweather a bit off balance, while Mayweather started to land shots in rounds 4 and 5.By round 6, Mayweather had figured McGregor out. Rounds 7-10, McGregor looked tired and the fight turned to Mayweather. The fight ended with a TKO in round 10.
By round 6, Mayweather had figured McGregor out. Rounds 7-10, McGregor looked tired and the fight turned to Mayweather. The fight ended with a TKO in round 10.
via YouTubeThe real story was the media circus for weeks prior to the fight and the celebration of two men who do not represent the best of our culture. From racial slurs to the exuberant flashing of money, this fight played on the worst of us. McGregor called an African-American man a monkey. Mayweather has had five different domestic violence charges from five different women. Fans paid $100 for access to the Pay Per View event to line the pockets of two men whose egos are bigger than the venue they fought in.
This was not a fight, it was a spectacle. As a boxing fan, it made me sad.
Was it entertaining? Sure. But as a boxing aficionado, it was nothing more than a glorified sparring match. Did Mayweather train for this fight? Nope. By his own admission, Floyd didn’t spar for a month before the fight. Did Mayweather take this seriously? Not even close. This was evident when you watched Floyd smiling all throughout the fight. He knew the McGregor couldn’t hurt him and he knew the risk was minimal. For Mayweather, it was simply a money grab. This spectacle was like putting Ice Cube against Taylor Swift in a rap battle.
With all that said, Mayweather was guaranteed to cash in at least $100 million; McGregor was guaranteed at least $75 million. For what? For homosexual and racial slurs, the degrading of black women at a news conference? What this fight did was prey on the dark side of who we are as a culture and we bought into it.
What does that really say about us?
