LONDON: As fight fans across the Gulf look forward to the scrap that everyone is talking about, Arab News gets in the ring with two Dubai coaches — one a boxer, the other from the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) — to get the lowdown.
Saturday night will either see a great battle between two fighting icons or a desperate and demeaning duel, a pantomime created for pay-per-view excess.
Whatever happens, one thing is clear: The Floyd Mayweather versus Connor McGregor bout does not allow for fence-sitting.
Former undisputed world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis is just one boxer who says Saturday’s bout is a farce: “There’s tremendous build-up and hype, but I don’t really take it as a serious fight.
“I wouldn’t count a fight like this as a ‘fight.’ He’s basically boxing a guy who is a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) fighter and not a boxer.
“No other boxers from 49 fights have figured out how to beat Mayweather. Now a UFC fighter who doesn’t even have a boxing career is trying to beat him at boxing — I think it’s a farce to a certain degree.”
The sight of boxing in the gutter is not new — think Mike Tyson biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, and any number of swear-laden, pre-fight press conferences. But this fight has, for some, dealt a right hook to a sport that was still basking in the glow of Anthony Joshua’s enthralling win over Wladimir Klitschko.
The sight of Mayweather coming out of retirement to fight an MMA fighter, a boxing novice, for a huge payday, one he does not need (Forbes estimates his net worth at $340 million), only adds to the view that as good a boxer as he is, this match-up is one both he and boxing could do without.
Is the fight a farce?
MMA fans are less inclined to call out the bout as a joke. “Boxing is a huge sport before MMA, which is catching up. I’m a huge fan of McGregor, but he’s up against a great boxer,” said coach Dante Macawile from TK MMA Fitness in Dubai.
“McGregor is an energetic fighter, whereas Mayweather is a strategic and talented defensive boxer. I think it could be good.”
But boxers seem less inclined to view it as a sporting spectacle, and more as a bit of money-making entertainment.
“I think this fight is about putting on a show,” said Nick Mwangi, trainer at Dubai’s Round 10 Gym.
“It’s basically a payday for them. It’s more about the money than it is a proper fight. People are interested in it because they’re curious about what will happen, about what the fight will look like.”
Who will win?
This being a boxing fight, with boxing rules and not the mayhem of an MMA cage, both agree that anyone expecting a shock McGregor win should think again.
“McGregor is a good MMA fighter, but he’s in a boxing ring, not an MMA cage, and he’s fighting Mayweather under boxing rules,” Mwangi said. “No boxer has beaten him before so, I can’t see McGregor doing it.”
Macawile echoed that view: “I’m a huge fan of McGregor, but he’s up against a great boxer. Mayweather will win.”
In which round?
This is where it is obvious whether you are cynical about the fight or not. Mwangi certainly is: “Mayweather will be patient then show McGregor who’s boss and who’s king of the ring in the third round.
“He’ll know a lot of people have paid money for the fight, so I think he’ll end it in the fifth or sixth.”
The MMA trainer agreed with his boxing counterpart, but not for the same reasons: “I can see this fight ending with a Mayweather win in the fifth, maybe.”
Will you watch it?
Once again the answers are the same: Of course they will, but the reasons for staying awake or getting up early (depending on whether you are a morning person or a night owl) are very different.
“There’s little doubt this is about the money. They’ll both make a lot of money through the pay-per-view sales,” Macawile said. “I’m going to get up early and watch it at home. I’ve paid for the pay-per-view.”
But for boxers, the fight is a mere sideshow to the undercard, which for them involves proper bouts.
“I’ll watch it, but I’m far more interested in the undercard than I am the Mayweather versus McGregor fight. I think that’s how a lot of boxing fans will view it. They’ll all be keen to see fights like Gervonta Davis versus Francisco Fonseca before it,” Mwangi said.
“We’re showing it at the gym, and the people who come here are going to be more keen to watch the earlier fights.
“People are curious about the Mayweather versus McGregor fight, but they’re not too fussed about it.”