Floyd Mayweather versus Conor McGregor is finally in the history books, and it was a highly entertaining fight. Mayweather made history by going fifty and zero, however, McGregor also made history with an incredible performance that silenced every single one of his critics. Not only did McGregor silence the boxing community with his performance, but he and the sport of MMA have left as the real winners of this contest.
In a fight where Conor was not expected to land a punch, he not only landed punches, but he beat arguably the greatest of all time for almost four rounds. A man, who has never ever fought professionally in boxing, beat the very best for four rounds, and also made it to the tenth round of a twelve round fight. Aside from “Money” Mayweather, no one in the boxing world left a winner on Saturday night.
Too often, the boxing community has looked down on the sport of MMA, and they have viewed themselves as better. If Boxing is superior to MMA, then how and why did Conor McGregor make it to the tenth round against the very best? Why did Conor McGregor beat the best for four rounds?
Role Reversal
The best that the world of MMA has to offer went in with only a few months of training and went ten hard fought rounds with best. Now, if Floyd or any other elite boxer were given the same amount of preparation time to step into the octagon with Conor McGregor – the fight would be over in minutes, or a ‘minute’.
There are far too many skills one has to learn in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, that if any boxer tried to emulate McGregor and step into the octagon against the best UFC has to offer, the outcome would be very, very ugly.
If boxing wants an example of this – look no further than James Toney. James Toney spoke very negatively about MMA, and to his credit, he actually attempted to back up his words. Toney fought one of the all time greats, Randy “The Natural” Couture and it may go down as the easiest fight in Couture’s career. It ended in three minutes and nineteen seconds, as Toney was forced to tap out.
Exposed
It’s almost undeniable, that Conor McGregor has exposed the world of boxing to some extent. He walked into Mayweather’s world and beat him for almost fifty-percent of the fight. Some say, Mayweather allowed Conor to attack, which is true, but I’m certain he did not “allow” Conor to land many big shots to his face and body during the first four rounds.
The fight stats have also shown, in ten rounds, Conor landed more punches on Mayweather than Manny Pacquiao managed to land in twelve. Not only did Conor win rounds against the best, but he was more successful than the future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao.
In defeat, Conor McGregor has won the war against boxing. Floyd Mayweather did win the fight, but if anything, his victory should have come a lot sooner than the tenth round, if the gap between boxing and MMA is so significant.
“You’ll do nuttin”
We have now seen two high profile bouts between boxers and MMA fighters. When the boxer stepped into the octagon it was over before you knew it. But when the MMA fighter stepped into the boxer’s world, he won rounds and made it a competitive fight.
Also, from a financial standpoint, McGregor’s presence may have just helped boxing make more money than it has ever seen. He also gave boxing fans the most entertaining Floyd Mayweather fight in a very long time.
So with all set and done, if one truly looks back at everything that has transpired - boxing has lost the war to Conor McGregor and the sport of MMA. In many ways, it has been proven that from a skill perspective, it is far more difficult for boxers to succeed in MMA than it is for MMA fighters to succeed in boxing. Conor McGregor carried the sport of MMA on his back and produced an incredible performance. He talked a big game and fought a big game, and when it comes to the boxing world, all they can do now is try and talk because in reality, as Conor has so famously said: “they will do f*****g nuttin”.
Originally published in 2017
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