Through sheer arse-chancery alone, Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather have convinced most fight fans and scribes alike that they will throw down in the not-too-distant future.
Mayweather's statement to the contrary last week did little to dampen the year-long speculation; the overriding sense is that, despite the obvious hold-up that is McGregor's UFC contract, the fight makes too much financial sense not to happen.
It is indeed the only sense it makes. Why anybody would want to watch a boxing match between an all-time pugilistic great and a man who, despite his significant accolades in another fight code, was little more than a rank-average amateur boxer before dominating MMA, is beyond comprehension. We are perhaps more enthralled by the idea of the build-up than we are the final product in the ring.
Boxing has been quick to scoff at the notion that McGregor could hang tough with its former pound-for-pound king. Renowned trainer and broadcaster Teddy Atlas, however, believes McGregor has more sinister motives than simply standing and trading with 'Money'. He told ESPN:
If McGregor really can’t win the fight standing up, under [boxing] rules — and those would be the rules — then why would he take it? Because he would break the rules.
He would come in there, he would break the rules, he would pin pin him, and then he would proclaim himself as the ‘king of the ring’. Even though he might lose the purse money, his brand would go through the roof.
He’s a promotional genius, just like Floyd is, just like Muhammad Ali was. Nobody is thinking of that part of it. Floyd, before he puts his John Hancock on any contract, he better think that part of it.
It's a concept which has always drawn chuckles from excitable fight fans, but hasn't really been discussed publicly; what if McGregor simply tears up the rulebook and tries to take Mayweather to the canvas?
It's not beyond the realms of possibility, of course, especially within the context of Atlas' comments regarding McGregor's 'brand'. It would also be hilarious and hugely controversial, with the repercussions likely severe - particularly in the state of Nevada where 'The Notorious' has lived up to his moniker in recent months.
Of course, charging at Mayweather and attempting a takedown also presents a unique risk in that the 49-0 boxer is one of the most accurate counter-punchers in the history of combat sports, and so prospective McGregor scallywaggery doesn't offer guaranteed success. In any case, it's an amusing notion, and one which would perhaps provide a fitting ending to one of the most lamentable sporting sagas in recent years.
