By Terence Dooley
Sky Sports Box Office have confirmed that they will broadcast the August 26 showdown between five-weight world titlist Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor after securing the UK rights to the fight.
“Money” retired following his victory over Andre Berto in September 2015, but the 40-year-old has been lured back for a money-spinning crossover encounter with the Irish southpaw.
Despite resistance to the bout within the trade, it was announced that the 29-year-old UFC star will meet the retired former pound-for-pound ruler over 12 rounds at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. Mayweather is 49-0 (26 early) and McGregor is making his debut, but the fight was sanctioned, set and is now a reality.
Showtime is carrying the contest in the US, with prices set at $100 for HD and $90 for standard definition. The purses are rumoured to be in the vicinity of $100,000,000.
“I'm a businessman, and it makes business sense,” said Mayweather when initially announcing the contest. “I believe in what me and [adviser] Al Haymon talk about every day.”
The UFC lightweight champion in his chosen field, McGregor will not vie for a belt in his first professional fight yet will hope to shock the sporting world by becoming the first man to beat Mayweather, something that the likes of Diego Corrales, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley and Manny Pacquiao tried and failed to do. Based in Dublin, McGregor has a 24-3 (18) record in MMA, but is entering a whole new field.
The fight against Pacquiao raked in around four million viewers in America, with the Hatton fight drawing in approximately 1.2 million buys here in the UK, so the financial forecast for Mayweather’s latest outing are high and some expect to see a record number of buys as MMA fans will also want to see if McGregor can achieve the seemingly impossible W.
“Everyone is talking about Connor McGregor,” said Adam Smith, head of boxing on Sky Sports. “Can he do something that no one believes he can pull off?”
“Who else could he (Mayweather) fight to create such controversy and interest?” asked Johnny Nelson when talking about the event. “You have to have self-belief to get in the ring with Mayweather. He is young and fast, and you have to ask if Mayweather would have stepped over to the UFC world—McGregor has done that.”
“Mayweather took his star status to another level, Conor McGrgeor has followed suit and broke the pay structure in the UFC,” stated former British and European middleweight titlist and three-time world title challenger Matthew Macklin. “He comes from a boxing background and his MMA style is about striking. He needs to bring sixty-seconds of intensity, because he’s done after that.”
He added: “He needs that street fighter mentality, within the Queensberry Rules, and how long do street fights last? About sixty-seconds.”
“Few would give McGregor a chance in real terms, but he is unbelievably confident, hits hard, is a southpaw and believes in himself,” stated Smith. “It would be a bigger upset than Buster Douglas against Mike Tyson.”
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