What happens to Floyd's legacy if McGregor beats him?

[Szef]

Did Spinks' legacy get put down the "gurgler" when Tyson made him piss himself in 1 round? Did SRL's legacy go down the gurgler when trip hammer jabber Hector Camacho soned him in his whatevereth comeback? Did Tyson's legacy go down the gurgler when that McBride guy made him quit in the corner?

L's happen to almost every boxer in the history of boxing to all sorts of guys they shouldn't have lost to at one time or another. Its not that serious or dramatic a thing. L's happen just like sh^t happens. Can't destroy what you already built.

None of the guys you've mentioned was p4p#1 at the time they retired and none of them, except Spinks, was undefeated at the time they lost either. And Spinks wasn't nearly as accomplished as Floyd.

Losing to past prime versions of guys like Pacquiao or Bradley would hurt his legacy a little bit, let alone losing to a complete novice in McGregor.

His legacy would take a massive blow and so would the sport of boxing.

[boliodogs]

He would badly hurt his legacy and hurt boxing's reputation as a combat sport compared to MMA if he loses to an MMA fighter under boxing rules. I think it is almost impossible for him to lose and the betting odds should be about 40 to 1 in his favor. I think the odds are way to close. I will bet on Mayweather and consider it a sure thing.

[Eff Pandas]

None of the guys you've mentioned was p4p#1 at the time they retired and none of them, except Spinks, was undefeated at the time they lost either. And Spinks wasn't nearly as accomplished as Floyd.

Losing to past prime versions of guys like Pacquiao or Bradley would hurt his legacy a little bit, let alone losing to a complete novice in McGregor.

His legacy would take a massive blow and so would the sport of boxing.

The fact Floyd has done more than those guys would lead me to believe his legacy would be MORE unshakable not LESS.

I mean granted its not a good look for him if he were to lose, but your history just doesn't get erased or drastically altered if you do at this point of ones career. I mean he's 40 & hasn't fought in 2 years. Its not like it'd be the most shocking thing in the world if a 40 year old who hasn't fought in 2 years took a L regardless of previous successes. The betting odds are +700 Conor. According to sports books it'd be a more shocking event if Agnew (+1400) beat Bivol this weekend then Conor beat Floyd.

[bluepete]

So boxers can only lose the respect of their accomplishments if they lose to a non-boxer? Does that also destroy the legacy's of guys Floy beat since while in this speculative discussion he's caught an L to Conor, but he's beaten everyone else up til now? So a Floyd L to Conor f#cks up Floyd's & Manny's legacy's to some degree?

I don't agree with the premise one can even lose the respect of their accomplishments via a future L after who've accomplished whatever you've accomplished.

And kids are already going to MMA gyms. I live in a fairly large metro area & there are roughly twice as many MMA gyms as boxing gyms.

It would diminish any champions image to lose to a guy making hes pro debut. It's just inevitable. It's not like he retired 15 years ago. He's physically comparable and lives in an age where fighters are very successful into their late 30s and 40s.I live in South London and although there are a comparable number of boxing gyms to MMA gyms, I know firsthand that there are alot more young boys and teens doing boxing here than MMA, who already largely tend to be mature adults. Seeing how kids largely go by image, watching the best boxer in the world getting chinned by an MMA guy who was doing boxing first time ever as an experiment is gonna lose recruits for sure.

[paulf]

He wont have one.

[-Johannes-]

Not only does his legacy goes down the toilet, boxing's reputation would go down the drain as well.

That ain't happening though, there's no way Floyd loses this circus fight.

[HanzGruber]

The same thing that has happened to Roy jones legacy. Nothing

[GhostofDempsey]

Floyd's entire legacy is hinged upon his undefeated record. Without that, he's out of the conversation.

[richardt]

Lets put it this way - I cant imagine a true boxing fan, now matter how much they hate Floyd would want to see him lose this one. If in the rare chance that this happened, we would ALL lose. It would be the most embarrassing moment in boxing history. UFC would be boasting and then more match ups like this would take place just so that boxing could balance the ship. Having said that, this should have been a two-fight deal where one fight is under the boxing rules and the other under the UFC rules. I'm surprised the UFC side didnt demand this type of fairplay. Floyd better not lose this fight. I dont think there is a chance he will.

[FrankieClutch]

Honestly, no boxing fan should root for this. Even the biggest Floyd hater should want Floyd to completely make a fool of McGregor. I can't live in a world where meathead MMA fans talk about how much better MMA is than boxing