Former super middleweight champion and Sky Sports analyst, Carl Froch, is really looking forward to the finalized fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC superstar Conor McGregor - who collide on August 26 in a boxing match that will feature two of the top-selling fighters in the world.
The two fighters both announced the fight Wednesday, after months of speculation about whether Mayweather would be lured back to the ring at the age of 40 to face a mixed martial arts fighter who has never had a pro boxing fight.
Mayweather, who retired in September 2015 after winning all 49 of his pro fights, will face the Irish UFC superstar at the T-Mobile arena on the Las Vegas Strip.
The cost of the Showtime pay-per-view event is expected to be at or near the $99.95 - which is close to the price of Mayweather’s 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao that drew a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather will come off a two-year retirement in a bout that McGregor has been pushing for nearly that long. It finally came together and Nevada boxing officials on Wednesday approved the date for a Mayweather Promotions bout.
Froch can't wait to see the two athletes get in the ring with each other - although he doesn't give McGregor much of a chance to win.
"I'm going to watch Mayweather-McGregor 100 percent. I'm intrigued and it's going to bring a whole new audience to boxing. The art of pugilism is hit and not get hit. It's a technique and skill that is acquired over years and years. Mixed Martial Arts is not boxing. I know McGregor has boxed a bit and likes to stay on his feet, but top fighters such as Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez could not really get near Mayweather. How is Conor McGregor going to get near him?," Froch told Sky Sports.
"Floyd has been out of the ring for nearly two years and apparently Conor McGregor can punch a bit. There is that little element of the unknown. How is Mayweather going to respond if this fight goes the distance, or it starts to go late? How is he going to look? Will he still have the same sharpness, speed, and reflexes? It will be fascinating just to see Mayweather back in a boxing ring.
"Mayweather does not knock many people out. I know he knocked out Ricky Hatton and he knocked a few other fighters out, but he is not known as a knock out man. The fight is at 154 and Floyd has only fought around that weight three times and he did not knock out any of those opponents. How will UFC champion Conor McGregor perform in a boxing ring? We ask the people who know. But I don't think Floyd necessarily needs to get a knockout to gain maximum respect in boxing. He could totally outclass him instead. It will be very entertaining for the build-up and interesting due to a few question marks about Floyd's inactivity."