A Win For Conor McGregor Against Floyd Mayweather Is A Win For Boxing

Akaash Sharma
Aug 26, 2017 · 5 min read

My immediate reaction to the announcement of Mayweather vs. McGregor just under three months ago was pure disbelief. Not shock that the fight was on, but a literal refusal to trust that both parties had agreed to terms and signed contracts mere months into talks when Mayweather vs. Pacquiao took ten times as long. “I’ll believe it when I see it” I said. But here we are, hours away from what is all but guaranteed to be the biggest fight of all time in every aspect imaginable.

What followed my disbelief was an apprehension about the build up to the fight. Fans on both sides were bound to go to the extreme and make delusional statements not beneficial for anyone. The ‘analysis’ was always going to be an extension of the usual boxing vs. MMA talk — the idea that Conor and most MMA fighters would be embarrassed in the boxing ring and Floyd and most boxers would be embarrassed, probably even more so, in the cage. It’s not that it isn’t true, but by no means is it the high level, detailed breakdown that a fight of this magnitude deserves.

Despite all of the elite analysts attached to the fight — Paulie Malignaggi, Dominick Cruz and Dan Hardy to name a few — the general talk of the bout stylistically has still felt somewhat superficial and lacking in so many ways.

This is partly because most people have been operating under the assumption that Conor has been teaching himself how to box all year. Abandoning his wide stance for a more traditional boxing stance and adopting the Philly Shell in preparation to fight arguably the greatest boxer of all time? Poetic, perhaps, and a better fit for the perfect “you can do anything” story, maybe, but unlikely if you ask me.

What’s more probable is that the UFC Lightweight champion has acknowledged and accepted all of his so called flaws and MMA tendencies and adapted them, like true champions do, for the forthcoming bout. The man making the most convincing case that an unorthodox style could work?

MMA analyst Robin Black.

“Disruption never comes from within” he explained in the first of his many breakdown videos, citing the breakthrough of Uber in the black cab market as evidence amongst other things. His thoughts lie around the basis that when things happen one way for so long, they become tradition. They are now the norm and expected. This makes it considerably more difficult for anything else to state its claim. But when something does come along, it has the potential to redefine everything we thought we knew about a topic which in this case is boxing.

For example, every trainer will tell you that there’s a correct way to throw a jab. Don’t lean into it and don’t leave your chin open, mostly. But if I throw a “sloppy” looking jab and it lands, who’s to say it’s wrong? The only true fundamental and rule in boxing is that you use nothing but your hands to hit your opponent. Nothing more and nothing less. Everything in between is a personal matter. According to this theory, at least.

After sobering up from the elation of the idea of a UFC champion knocking out boxing’s undisputed top contender with some sort of unorthodox combo, I was sceptical again. The novelty of this idea repeatedly wears off and returns in my mind. How differently can punches really be thrown? Hasn’t Floyd Mayweather seen every sort of style in over two decades? But what if he hasn’t?

It would be wrong of us to blindly ridicule anyone making a case for a Conor win, however insane some justification might be. Silencing critics is just what Conor does. When José Aldo was supposed to put an end to McGregor’s winning streak at Featherweight, he was stopped in the length of a short Instagram clip. When Nate was supposed to tap him out for the second time, he failed to even take Conor down for more than a few seconds. When Eddie Alvarez was supposed to stop the Irishman from making history by wearing him down through wrestling and then knocking him out, he ran into a brick wall and faced a flawless performance. If any MMA fighter were tasked with Floyd, I’d pick Conor McGregor.

I agree that none of his past accomplishments really rationalise Floyd going 49–1 but perhaps the time for change is now. Recently I’ve been playing the remastered version of the Crash Bandicoot and I wondered how different it could possibly be to the version from twenty one years prior. It looked similar. I went back to observe the differences and they were monumental. But at the time, when all we knew was the version from 1996, it was absolutely high quality to us. This is the concept that Robin Black mentions.

“I have this little book, I got it at a yard sale and it was a How To boxing manual from the ‘20s. And when I look at it now there’s the odd little relevant thing that still sticks but most of it’s nonsense… You have to be able to look and go ‘VR, VR is the craziest thing we’ve ever seen’. In 2061 you’re gonna look at this VR, it’s gonna be a joke”.

Everything is ever-evolving. Switching from orthodox to southpaw multiple times per round might be “wrong” now but if Conor can at least execute it well, the kid watching tonight who is an aspiring boxer could come up with the perfect style inspired by it. If Floyd is even thrown off by some of McGregor’s Kapueira movements for a round or two before he adjusts, the next few years could see a prominent shift in styles for boxing. That’s why Conor even holding his own tonight is a win for him and MMA. And a win for Conor, is really a long term win for boxing.

Sure, it would be embarrassing for a few days, months, maybe even years. But it would be the cue for a new wave of boxing to take the place of what we understand today. Will it happen? I doubt it and if you ask me, we’ll see a Mayweather stoppage in the 6th round tonight. What I do know is that the most dangerous fight is the one you’re supposed to win and the last thing you want in a fight is the element of surprise, both of which apply tonight. May the best man win but more importantly, may the art of fighting evolve forever.


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Akaash Sharma

Written by

Assistant Editor of HipHop-N-More.com. Bylines at VIBBIDI, The Source and Karen Civil.

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