Promoter Kathy Duva said the Floyd Mayweather Jr-Conor McGregor fight is “bad for boxing” and the backlash from the exhibition spectacle will likely dog the sport for years to come.
“Of course it’s bad for boxing,” Duva said. “It’s going to suck up all the air in the room.”
Boxing legend Mayweather and mixed martial arts (MMA) superstar McGregor on Wednesday announced plans for a boxing showdown that could become one of the richest bouts in history. The fight is to take place on Aug. 26 in the US boxing capital of Las Vegas.
Photo: AP
“You’re all going to write about it. People will get all excited,” Duva said of the competition. “And the casual fans we always want to bring into the tent are going to be disappointed again.”
“It’s going to be years before they want to see another boxing event,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
Mayweather, who is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, is a heavy favorite against McGregor — who has not boxed competitively in the ring since he was a teenager.
“It’s not a boxing event, it’s a spectacle,” said Duva, promoter for Russian boxer Sergey Kovalev, who was yesterday to fight Andre Ward in a world title light heavyweight rematch.
“On the other hand, when this is over and this fight ends up the way I expect it will, the next time somebody asks me, ‘MMA or boxing, what’s the better sport?’ I’ll say: ‘We know who the bad asses are, because Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor just got their asses kicked by two boxers,’” Duva said. “We’ll have that to cling to.”
There are some who think that if McGregor starts losing he might resort to throwing elbows and kicks at Mayweather, but the promoters of the fight have said that will not happen.
“It is in the contract,” Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White said. “The fight is under the rules of boxing. There would be a lawsuit. If that ever happened, Conor would depart with a lot of money, and Conor likes money.”
White said plans are in the works to have the fighters go on a promotional tour of major US cities.
Since the fight was announced, Mayweather has mentioned it just once via social media — as he appears to be more concerned about showing off his extravagant lifestyle.
He has launched something he calls the “Mayweather Challenge,” because he is “tired of people on social media bragging they live a certain lifestyle when they don’t.”
Over the past few days, Mayweather has made a point of using his Twitter and Instagram accounts to show off his private jet.
That was followed by a video taken inside his Rolls-Royce Phantom, in which he boasts about his Patek Philippe gold watch while the camera pans down to show off his chinchilla fur floor mats.
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS