Somebody stole Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s thunder. And don't for a second let anything else distract you from that being the driving factor in tonight's "Money Fight" between he and UFC champion Conor McGregor.
If this was a fight about money, as the title of the fight or the gaudy championship belt suggest, then everybody wins. Mayweather, McGregor, their crews, their companies, Showtime and UFC President Dana White are all going to make a pretty penny tonight. But as much as both men like their green status symbol, this is far more about ego.
Depending on what side of the fence you stand on, this fight is either a circus or it is the biggest thing to ever hit combat sports. I'll go ahead and be the one to straddle the fence and call it both. Mayweather has always been the consummate showman and used his combination of flash and brash to climb the ladder to the top of a fledgling sport.
Yes, he sits at 49-0 lifetime. Yes, he is arguably considered the greatest boxer ever, especially of his weight range. Quick, terrific defensive fighter and yadda yadda yadda.
But you, the common sports fan, know who Floyd Mayweather is because he wears sombreros to the ring to fight Hispanic opponents, because he throws around cash out of a book bag, because he is accompanied to the ring by every celebrity that he can get his hands on from rapper 50 Cent to Justin Bieber.
Then on April 6, 2013, the little known McGregor made his UFC debut, knocking out Marcus Brimage 1 minute and 7 seconds into the fight. After the fight, McGregor took the microphone from announcer Kenny Florian and proclaimed "Dana, 60 g's baby!" His cry for a performance bonus for a contest he was paid just $8,000 in show money for. He got that bonus, the biggest payday of his life, and the small then tattoo less Irishman with the thick mohawk exploded as the most financially extravagant man to ever step into combat sports.
And Mayweather? He absolutely noticed.
After that fight, McGregor has gone 8-1 and captured two divisions' world titles in mixed martial arts with just two decision wins along the way. Mayweather, since the date of McGregor's UFC debut, is 6-0 in a boxing ring, all by judges' decision. But that is comparing apples to oranges. Every comparison of the two heading into the fight has been. Height, reach, experience, age — they are all just irrelevant numbers, as is much of the commentary leading into the fight or the paychecks that will be written.
Mayweather and McGregor did everything they could to sell this fight. There was the multi-stop world tour, the remarks that were implied to be racist, the comments that were flat out homophobic and even subtle remarks about weight cutting issues that never really existed.
Every time there was bigger news, Mayweather or McGregor or even White found something, anything, to shift the attention of the sports world back to this fight.
Yet, there is little mention of actual compensation in the "money fight," and the actual boxing analysis has fallen flat because most people truly don't know what to expect out of a guy who hasn't fought in two years and a guy who has never had a traditional boxing match.
No, this fight is all about ego. McGregor's ego goes unmatched in sport today. If you haven't ever watched him speak, I suggest you do so. But know that this used to be Mayweather's claim to fame. Because even if he wasn't as good, Mayweather would have always stayed relevant.
He would have always drawn bigger fights on bigger cards because his mouth ran like Usain Bolt in an Olympic sprint. Now McGregor calls himself king because he stole that throne, he stole the swagger and stole the ego.
Mayweather versus McGregor is about that throne. Regaining versus retention. The money is just a perk.
This column is the commentary of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The News-Sentinel. Email Dan Vance at dvance@news-sentinel.com.
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