BOX: The Fight We've Been Waiting For

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking on the undefeated king of boxing, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. McGregor, 29, is 21-3 in his MMA career, but this will be his professional boxing debut. While he has no amateur boxing experience, he did delve into boxing in his youth. This early exposure helped influence his current fighting style. McGregor is known as a striker in MMA.
He does not rely on submissions or a strong ground game to beat his opponents. 18 of his 21 professional wins have come by knockout. His aggressive style and raw strength allows him to punch out his opposition. After his win at UFC 205, McGregor decided to take time off from UFC. In the meantime, he continued to trash talk Mayweather and try to coax him into a boxing match.
Mayweather, who announced his retirement from boxing in 2015, eventually agreed to terms on the fight. Mayweather, 40, is 49-0 in his professional boxing career. This record is tied with Rocky Marciano for the best record ever with no draws. A win would put Mayweather in the record books unopposed.

Mayweather comes from a family of boxers. He was pressured into continuing the family legacy from an early age. He is a three-time Golden Gloves winner, winning the award in 1993, 1994, and 1996. This is given to the winner of the annual National Golden Gloves Competition, the biggest amateur boxing tournament in the United States.
In 1996, at 19-years-old, Mayweather competed at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He fought in the featherweight (125 lbs.) division and won the bronze medal. In his professional career, Mayweather has fluctuated in and out of different weight classes. In his career, he has won nine different major world titles in five different weight classes.
This fight will be fought at a 154 lbs. bodyweight. Mayweather is often criticized for his fighting style. He fights defensively, always protecting his face. He specializes in what many would call “dancing around the ring” and scoring points. 26 of his 49 wins have come by knockout, but he has not knocked out an opponent since he knocked out Victor Ortiz in 2011.
His last seven fights have been decided by decision. With that said, McGregor may have an advantage. He will not fear being knocked out, so he can be as aggressive as he wants. He has a two-inch reach advantage over Mayweather, 74 to 72. One more advantage that McGregor may have is the gloves the two men will be fighting in. Both fighters requested that they fight in eight-ounce gloves, and the Nevada State Athletics Commission voted unanimously in favor of this decision.
The NSAC normally prohibits gloves smaller than 10 ounces to be used above the 147 pound weight class, but they decided to make a one-time exception. These smaller gloves will allow the fighters to punch with more force, as there is less weight and padding on their hands.

Conventional wisdom says that Mayweather has a strong chance of winning. Vegas odds makers seem to echo that sentiment, as his odds of winning currently stand at -500. This means that any amount of money bet on Mayweather will gross one-fifth the payout if he wins. Initially Mayweather was a much heavier favorite, but then people started pouring money into McGregor.
Practically speaking, it does not make much sense to bet on Mayweather. The only reason to bet on him is if someone has a lot of money to throw around. The average person, though, should bet on McGregor. The payout if he wins will be ridiculous. Currently, a 100-dollar bet would make 400 dollars if McGregor wins.
The fight is expected to be the biggest “money match” of all-time. According to the Los Angeles Times, ticket sales for this fight may have already broken the record set by the Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight in 2015. It is possible that after pay-per-view revenue is factored in, Mayweather could be making $350 million and McGregor $110 million. The fight will take place on Saturday, August 26, from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo Credit: MMA and The Telegraph.