On August 26, two of the biggest names in boxing and mixed martial arts are going to go head to head. Boxing’s Floyd Mayweather and MMA’s Conor McGregor will be stepping into the boxing ring, under boxing rules, for what is already being called the match of the century. However, even bigger than the fight is the promotion that precedes it. In cities that span the globe, the two fighters will meet up for pre-fight press conferences and fan meet-and-greets. This is not your normal promotional tour though; this tour has to two biggest trash talkers in fighting, and maybe in sports across the board, slinging challenges and insults at each other in front of record crowds.
Mayweather has never met someone like Conor McGregor before.
Floyd Mayweather has been in his share of fights. His record stands at 49-0 and the undefeated champion has been fighting professionally since 1996. He is one of the best defensive fighters in the history of the sport. Mayweather is also one of those guys that know how to talk up a fight and get so far in his opponent’s head that all they can see is him. He is a trash talker of epic proportions and has used his skill over the years to promote just his fights, but his brand as well. People have tuned in for years to watch him spout off at his opponents at will.
In the past, Floyd Mayweather has used a combination of skill, natural athletic ability, and mental warfare to win his bouts.
He also continually trains, staying in some sort of fighting shape even when he’s not fighting. The key to the Mayweather Empire, however, is Mayweather himself. He has been careful to create a Larger Than Life persona that gets into his opponent’s heads and does as much to unsettle them as his boxing does. In the past, Mayweather’s opponents have not been capable of battling him on a verbal front, or the boxing front and all have fallen to his skill.
The show has always been about Mayweather until now. Now, as Mayweather emerges from retirement to fight again, he faces his toughest competitor both inside and outside the ring.
Conor McGregor makes his predictions for the fight.
Conor McGregor is larger than life and he looks it when he stands next to Floyd Mayweather. McGregor stands several inches taller than Mayweather and has an obvious reach advantage.
More than that though, McGregor knows how to talk, he knows how to push his opponents buttons to the tipping point and how to go ahead and tip them over the edge. He can wind up and opponents, and a crowd, like no one else. In just a few minutes on the microphone, McGregor can have the whole place eating out of his hand and be spouting one-liners that are going to end up being printed on shirts before he even leaves the venue.
Just having his name on a fight is a promotion tactic and this fight it no exception, between him and Mayweather even the press conferences are sold out. All of this is of course in addition to McGregor’s vast skill as a mixed martial artist and a powerful striker, a fact he is certain Mayweather will find out when he knocks him out in the fourth round.
At least that is the prediction Mystic Mac is making.
Whether the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will end up being the bout of the century or a letdown to fight fans everyone remains to be seen. What can be seen, however, is how the two champions leave it all on the table when the get-together, putting on a great show before the real show even begins.
