In the build-up to the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor this weekend, SportsClub.co.za brings you closer to the action with a daily view by GARY LEMKE.
The Nevada boxing commission has bent over backwards and broken rules in its eagerness to host Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor in Las Vegas this weekend.
It is a commission which places integrity and the safety of fighters right at the top of the spectrum, but when it comes to appeasing the TV corporations, influential individuals and the banks, anything goes.
Consider this: the Nevada State Athletic Commission decision-makers handed McGregor, the marquee act in UFC’s brutal octagon, a boxing licence to take on a square-ring legend in Mayweather, without ever having had one boxing fight. And that’s against a 1996 Olympian who is unbeaten in 21 years and 49 fights as a professional, totalling 387 rounds, and who has knocked out more than half of his opponents.
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Only in America, as the flamboyant boxing promoter Don King would say.
For starters, the match-up should never have been sanctioned to be fought under Queensberry Rules as it presents a real health risk to McGregor. It should be a mismatch, but then again, entertainment is the new boxing.
Secondly, and contrary to the rules, the Nevada commission has lowered the weight of the gloves to be worn by both men to 8oz, as opposed to the 10oz that is mandatory for any fight featuring boxers at the 70kg-and-over weight divisions. The decision to have that rule enforced is because of safety. Bigger men hit harder, pure and simple.
The more a boxer weighs and the lighter the gloves are, the more chance of damage being done – and that’s not necessarily when it comes to broken noses, cut lips and eyes, but far more serious. A sustained beating can result in brain damage; the more hits to the head will increase long-term damage.
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Yet the Nevada commission has conveniently turned a blind eye to ensuring the most hyped sports event of 2017 goes ahead. As if granting a boxing licence to someone who hasn’t had a boxing fight before, and pitting him up against a modern legend, the commission lowered its guard to allow lighter gloves to be used.
All in the name of hype, of course. The betting firms are an industry in Nevada and more so in Las Vegas, where the contest will take place. They have to cash in on the public interest and the public has to believe that McGregor has a chance to produce a stunning upset.
By sanctioning 8oz gloves as opposed to the mandatory 10oz, common perception is that the heavy-handed McGregor has at least a puncher’s chance of producing that upset. And the 29-year-old Irishman quickly seized on the announcement. ‘I believe now that gloves are 8oz, I don’t believe Mayweather makes it out of the second round. I do not see him absorbing the blows in the first two rounds.’
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The cynics will argue that McGregor will do well to lay a glove on one of boxing’s finest defensive masters of all time in the first two rounds, even if he happens to be 40, albeit a young 40.
‘I’m telling McGregor, “Let’s fight in 8oz gloves”,’ Mayweather said on Instagram. ‘McGregor can fight in any brand he prefers or chooses. I’ll be wearing 8oz gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel more comfortable in the ring, I’m willing to accommodate.’
And, as if choreographed, the betting firms reduced their odds on McGregor’s chances of winning. World Sports Betting, a South African online company, has Mayweather at 7-10 to win by knockout (R170 return for every R100 you out on him) while McGregor is as low as 33-10 to win by knockout (R430 back for every R100 wagered).
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The fight will be screened live on DStv SuperSport 202 and Maximo from 3am on Sunday, SA time.
