#MayMac Pure Cool Entertainment; Not Bad for Boxing
By Carlos Costa
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 27 Aug 2017
There is no reason for us who have loved boxing for so many years to disagree or even hate Mayweather vs McGregor, which is taking center stage in just a few hours @ the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas; and one reason is because the fight is simply pure, exciting, intriguing entertainment in a really high level, which is, after all, what we all like in a weekend.
In addition, the fight could not hurt boxing.
To me, nothing can hurt boxing as boxing is above any fight. No single fight could top the sport; and long after this huge hype of #MayMac is gone, boxing will still be there.
Boxing brothers who do not see Mayweather vs McGregor with good eyes (an there are many), they should just chill, this is just one fight and after the smoke has gone, our awesome old sport of boxing will still be there.
And to the very fervent purist boxing, one might even argue that even the Marquess of Queensberry who endorsed the rules of modern boxing in 1867, would have agreed to the staging of MayMac.
Why?
Because during his whole life, Queensberry was a huge fighting enthusiast and he did not discriminate in boxing. That feeling led him in 1866 to be one of the founders of the Amateur Athletic Club (now the Amateur Athletic Association of England).
What is so special about that founding is that is that it was one of the very first organizations ever that did not require amateur athletes and boxers to belong to the upper-classes to compete.
Yes, in the eyes of the Marquess, any athlete with the skills, the talent and the passion for the sport should be able and compete. Anyone. They just had to follow the rules.
Then, in 1867 he printed the revolutionary set of twelve rules for conducting boxing matches. It is true that the rules had been drawn up by someone else a couple of years earlier. But the rules were not just rules. They were a concept in fairness. The rules appeared under Queensberry's very important and needed sponsorship and that's why they became known as the "Queensberry Rules."
Mayweather and McGregor are fighting today precisely under those very same rules, which were conceived with the intention to organize the fights and welcome anybody to get in the ring and go for it. That's the revolutionary, beautiful, noble idea -- fighters do not have to belong to the nobility or the upper classes to compete, anybody could.
So, by principle, Queensberry would have given the thumbs up to MayMac. The fight could not have been against the very spirit of boxing, but right into it. Boxing purist, capiche?
There is nothing wrong with Mayweather vs McGregor, which is promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr himself. And that might be the root for the invalid argument that the event is bad or "disrespectful of boxing," as competing promoter Oscar de la Hoya put it.
Of course, Oscar, who is staging Canelo vs GGG on Sep 16 (a fight which was announced before #MayMac), wants to market his own fight and see MayMac as a mere show which is capturing much of the attention that should be directed to his own promotional effort. The resentment is understandable. But we love the Golden Boy, one heck of a fighter and promoter who has done and does so much for boxing.
Nevertheless that is not all. Even some boxing organizations do not not seem to like at all the idea of #MayMac.
However, the WBC, created a special "WBC Money Belt" for #MayMac, studded with an amazing 3,360 diamonds, 600 sapphires, 300 emeralds and 1.5 kilos of 24-karat gold all on green Italian alligator leather. Indeed, the WBC Money Belt is quite something.
So we can all notice that there is a lot of professional rancor as well as lots of boxing politics in the mix. Though, it's my humble boxing view that at the end of the day most boxing lovers would still watch the #MayMac and enjoy the cool, thrilling clash, which I think Mayweather should win.
If Conor McGregor has a chance, it's in the first two to three rounds. After that, I think would be Floyd being Floyd the whole night long, and it could be very long night of boxing for Conor, which could get even be bloody as both men are to wear 8 oz gloves. So we shall see.
FINALLY, LET'S HAVE 3-DIVISION CHAMPION BOXER MIKEY GARCIA'S OPINION ON #MAYMAC
About #MayMac, this is what undefeated 3-division World champion and reigning world champion Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KO's) commented yesterday on Showtime, which I think sums it up really good for all of us. The question was thrown to Mikey Garcia from veteran Showtime sportscaster Jim Gray:
What is your opinion of "a fight of a man who has never boxed professionally (McGregor) against perhaps the greatest boxer not only of his generation, but one of the greatest boxers of all-time?"
Here's Mikey answer:
"It's a kind of fight has never done before. There was a lot of criticism earlier on. But it's the best in MMA versus the best in boxing. So why not? Give it a shot and see what happens.
"I think Floyd wins because it's in the boxing ring. But I think Conor would have some success in a few rounds being able to land some shots and I think it will be a good fight all around.
"How could Conor counter that of Floyd's experience, I think Conor just have to be awkward early on, punching from different angles, using different combinations, switch and stand left and right and that might actually give Floyd something to look for it and complicate things a little bit. But eventually Floyd will make the adjustments, which he has done so many times. He has been in the ring all 49 times.
"It might not be easy. But Floyd would capitalize in the openings, being able to dominate Conor, winning enough rounds to win the fight."
Well, we shall see.
Let's enjoy the fight and find out who will win.
About the author: Carlos Costa of Panama is a boxing writer, photographer and reporter who is an admirer and lover of the sport of boxing since he was a kid. Carlos attends boxing fights all over the world, big and small, from amateur fights in Cuba to the mega events in Las Vegas and in the far flung afternoon fights in Thailand. He can be reached at +63(918)453-8152 and Carlos512@hotmail.com.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Carlos Costa.
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