Mayweather-McGregor will be outrageous, and that's before they fight
On the surface, the promotional efforts for Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor are off to a particularly bad start. The bout, scheduled for Aug. 26 in Las Vegas, has been roundly criticized since its announcement Wednesday.
The fight will not be competitive. It is a joke to put a boxing champ against a UFC fighter who has never boxed. It is a waste of time and money.
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It is all true, to varying degrees. And, as far as the people who will promote the fight and further pad the bank account of Mayweather and McGregor, all according to plan.
Selling a fight on pay per view has everything to do with what people do and nothing to do with what they say. Just as long as they are saying something.
The worst thing that could ring in the ears of Mayweather’s advisor Al Haymon or Showtime television vice president Stephen Espinoza, or UFC president Dana White this week is silence.
It is just like a political campaign. The early running is not about the strength of a candidate’s policies or even how likeable he or she is. It is all about making noise.
Mayweather-McGregor is making noise, even without either of the fighters talking. Much of it has been derisory noise, but the fight promotion is off and running.
The next step will be to build up some hype. Mayweather, the undefeated former pound-for-pound boxing king, and McGregor, the loudest and arguably most proficient competitor in the UFC stable, are masters of trash talk.
It will follow a somewhat predictable path. Belittling of the opponent, personal insults, foul language, social media baiting and so on. But there are fans who can't get enough of all that.
Expect to see some controversy that we may never know is contrived or real. There may be a scuffle during a media event, conveniently situated as close as possible to the cameras. McGregor may even throw a water bottle like he did before taking on Nate Diaz last year.
A few weeks out you’ll possibly still be lamenting the spectacle of it all, cursing how the histrionics have overshadowed the build-up to the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin fight on Sept. 16.
You’ll vow not to dig into your pocketbook, think of all the other ways you could be spending your hard-earned money.
Those thoughts will be backed up by the boxing equivalent of the pollsters. The experts will detail all the reasons why Mayweather cannot lose, his speed and skill and movement. The sports books will weigh in, citing astronomical odds for a McGregor victory.
But then the nagging voice will pop up in the back of your head. "What if Mayweather’s age catches up with him? What if McGregor lands a fluke punch? What if the fighters are already looking ahead to a rematch and are minded to keep this one competitive?
Showtime will release an all-access series showing the preparations of both men. There will be panting interviews with McGregor’s boxing sparring partners as to how advanced his pugilistic style has become. Former boxing greats will be invited to his gym, and cajoled into touting his prospects.
The Mayweather side will revolve around his lavish lifestyle, with the undertone that perhaps he is taking this one too lightly, and that McGregor’s unusual style and the age gap between could cause problems.
There might even be a phantom injury, like in the lead-up to Mayweather’s one-sided victory over Ricky Hatton, when he appeared to complain about a sore hand, the same one he ultimately used to knockout the Englishman.
The show will take us deep into McGregor’s Irish roots, full of dramatic music and moody shots and a grave voice telling us not to underestimate a man who has been fighting all his life.
It will never make you believe that an upset is likely but it will convince that it is possible.
By then you’ll start to feel like this is an unmissable event, start to believe the hype that it is a once-in-a-lifetime meeting of two popular combat sports. The voice telling you that you might, however unlikely, miss out on something incredible will begin to drown out the one saying that $80 or $90 or whatever figure they price it at is a heck of a lot of money.
And then they’ve got you, and before you know it that credit card is sitting on the table and the numbers have been punched in on the order and your bank balance is smaller and thank you very much for your business, tune in on Aug.26.
All you can do at that point is wait and hope and make sure the beer is cold and the pizza is fresh. And that the snacks look good, because the fight may not.
