Fight Time From 4am-McGregor vs Mayweather**MOD Warning in 1st Post**

ScumLord wrote:

Has there been any talk of the under card yet? Could be an opportunity for the real Irish boxers to get themselves noticed on the world stage. Katie Taylor would be an obvious choice if we want to show Irish boxing at it's best, but is she more of a main card type fighter these days?

Given the main event, I reckon Phelps vs Shark II would be right at home on the undercard.

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Given the main event, I reckon Phelps vs Shark II would be right at home on the undercard.

That's over. Shark won.

Edit: missed the II

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman wrote: »

I wonder. Why would he bother going back? €75million in the bank. He'd have to fight 20 times in the UFC to even come close to that amount.

That's all incorrect.

For his most recent fight at UFC 205, his pay was (roughly) as follows:

Disclosed: $3.5 million
PPV: $6.85 million (1.37 million PPV's sold @ $5 top-tier cut)
Sponsorship: $800,000 (incl. individual deals with Reebok and Budweiser)
Reebok Outfitting: $40,000

That's $11,175,000 (roughly) but in reality for various reasons I won't get into that figure probably was closer to $12.5 million. Put it this way, Lorenzo Fertitta said they underwrote a $10 million guarantee for his fights after the Diaz 1 fight.

Sweet Science wrote: »

He is contracted to the UFC so he cant even if he wanted to . Plus there is no other boxing fight that would come close to this commercially

If he wanted to, he most certainly can walk away from his contract.

He can take the UFC to court to seek declaratory relief under the Ali Act and every sports lawyer I've read thinks he would win the case, especially because the UFC have given the go-ahead for this fight meaning he's now a professional boxer (the Ali Act hasn't been tested in the judiciary when it comes to MMA). As a professional boxer, Conor can argue in court that his UFC contract is prohibitive etc.

Doing that would effectively void his existing contract. It would be a messy process fighting the might of the UFC's legal team, be held up on appeals for 18-24 months but, anyway, it's something Conor would never do because he's grateful and loyal to what Dana and Lorenzo did for him.

But he could get out of it if he truly wanted to...

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman wrote: »

he could just retire. I'm not talking about him boxing. I'm talking about just hanging up the gloves and mouthguard. Why would he bother to fight?

He loves fighting.

Forbes have his 2016 income at $34 million before tax. He doesn't need the Floyd fight. He didn't need the Alvarez fight. He doesn't need future fights.

I know people love to say he only fights for money but he drags himself into the gym to teach boxing classes on pissy evenings when it's lashing rain. Why bother? He's worth a fortune already, yet he keeps showing up the gym every day.

It's kinda like when a Euromillions winner suddenly has $100 million and they keep turning up for work and people think they are nuts... If they love what they do, why not?

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Maybe he enjoys it? Maybe he likes having fights to train for, having lots of attention, and competing in a sport that he undoubtedly loves.

It's easy for fans to say people should retire now that they've made enough money, or if they're past it and in danger of tainting their legacy - maybe they just want to keep playing the sport they enjoy playing.

Yeah this ^

He lives for fighting. Owen Roddy was saying if Conor retired he thinks he would be getting into random scraps and wars in the gym every week because he loves it.

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman wrote: »

Maybe it will be interesting to see what happens. Its a lot of money for a guy who likes to live it large, we'll see how motivated he is afterwards.

Dana White last week hinted very strongly that "they're going to make Conor really happy" by giving him a part-ownership stake in the UFC. If money was his sole motivation, which it isn't, that'll help.

As for his future, GGG is a great boxer but he's not a draw. The few PPV's he's headlined have tanked and he's virtually anonymous in America outside the hardcore boxing community.

Canelo, on the other hand, is a draw but he has to get past GGG first. Assuming he doesn't, then the biggest money fights left for Conor are in MMA - IMO both the GSP and Nate trilogy fights would sell more.

walshb wrote: »

I know enough about MMA to not put him in the top ten ever in UFC...

He could become a contender if he does more in the Octagon...

Are you talking athletic achievement or overall career achievement? As in there's a certain amount you can do inside a cage and there's what the person did for their sport. E.g. Usain Bolt is faster than Carl Lewis but Lewis almost single-handedly made track-and-field a mainstream sport in the 1980's.

In pure athletic terms, Conor's 100% in the top 10 of all-time already. He's the first man to simultaneously hold titles in 2-weight-classes. No serious list would leave Conor out of the top-10 of all-time.

As it stands, it probably goes like this:

1. Jon Jones
2. Anderson Silva
3. GSP
4. Royce Gracie
5. Mighty Mouse
6. BJ Penn
7. Matt Hughes
8. Conor
9. Jose Aldo
10. Ronda Rousey

People are free to throw in whoever... Chuck Liddell, Big Nog, Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, Sakuraba, Wanderlei Silva...whoever....

Conor has to make the list in my view because of his ground-breaking athletic achievements. If he adds the welterweight title and/or 3 or 4 defences of his Lightweight title and/or a win over GSP, he has every chance of ending his career in the top 3 of all-time.

In terms of transforming the sport, my top 5 would be:

1. Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonnar
2. Ronda Rousey
3. Conor McGregor
4. Royce Gracie
5. Anderson Silva

I'll argue all day in favour of the TUF 1 finale being the single most important event in UFC history so they share the top spot for me but Ronda and Conor have shattered so many ceilings for what mixed martial artists can achieve.

TL;DR - Conor is deserving of a top 10 spot even now. He has the historic double-gold achievement and has beaten 4 guys who are 100% in the top-5 of all time in their respective weight classes (Aldo, Holloway, Mendes, Alvarez).

wonderfullife wrote: »

He loves fighting.

Forbes have his 2016 income at $34 million before tax. He doesn't need the Floyd fight. He didn't need the Alvarez fight. He doesn't need future fights.

I know people love to say he only fights for money but he drags himself into the gym to teach boxing classes on pissy evenings when it's lashing rain. Why bother? He's worth a fortune already, yet he keeps showing up the gym every day.

It's kinda like when a Euromillions winner suddenly has $100 million and they keep turning up for work and people think they are nuts... If they love what they do, why not?

Don't be naive... :rolleyes:

The man has said himself, that prize fighting is different to martial arts. (which any intelligent person knows it certainly is)

He has said, that his prize fighting career will be a short career... but that he will always practice martial arts!!

No sane person (especially one that now has a young child) would embrace the idea of having a long career fighting in a cage. If they didn't need to, to pay the bills.

I'm sure Conor gets a buzz from fighting... but he is no fool either... unlike some of his fanboys. He will make his pot of gold, and then walk away from cage fighting, as a young millionaire while he is still healthy!!

I can see him going into entertainment, movies etc etc in the very near future... if you believe he will have a very long cage fighting career, you are extremely naive!! (but that's not exactly a surprising revelation with some of you guys tbh) :pac:

Yeah this ^

He lives for fighting. Owen Roddy was saying if Conor retired he thinks he would be getting into random scraps and wars in the gym every week because he loves it.

lol....

Owen Roddy... the salmon of knowledge!!

Conor is currently a fighter... so obviously, that's where his mind is. And he is a very professional individual. No doubt about that...

But he will hang up the gloves... in the very near future... If you believe anything else, again read what I said above.

Nobody loves getting punched in the face for a living!!

Dana White last week hinted very strongly that "they're going to make Conor really happy" by giving him a part-ownership stake in the UFC. If money was his sole motivation, which it isn't, that'll help.

As for his future, GGG is a great boxer but he's not a draw. The few PPV's he's headlined have tanked and he's virtually anonymous in America outside the hardcore boxing community.

Canelo, on the other hand, is a draw but he has to get past GGG first. Assuming he doesn't, then the biggest money fights left for Conor are in MMA - IMO both the GSP and Nate trilogy fights would sell more.

The UFC and boxing world will of course keep dangling carrots in front of him to continue fighting.... but unlike some of his fans, I consider Conor to be a shrewd individual... there's no way he is planning a long fighting career!

Sorry to disappoint you, if you were hoping to watch him fighting for the next 10 years!

TL;DR - Conor is deserving of a top 10 spot even now. He has the historic double-gold achievement and has beaten 4 guys who are 100% in the top-5 of all time in their respective weight classes (Aldo, Holloway, Mendes, Alvarez).

Kind of a mute point really... MMA and the UFC are relatively young, as a sport and a promotion.

I think the idea of Conor being placed alongside some of the top sportsmen and women of history... that's the part I would strongly object to.

The UFC is young enough, for Conor to be considered one of the best... if not now, then certainly in the near future!

But he has a huge amount of more work to do, as a sportsman, to put his name alongside the sporting greats in the wider context of worldwide sport.

Fame does not = greatness!! (in this x-factor generation, this point gets lost on a great many people sadly)

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman wrote: »

So Tyson thinks McGregor might get himself killed against Mayweather,

are they paying him for promoting?

Its a possibility. Didn't Joao Carvalho pass away after an accumulation of punches in a Dublin MMA event? Happens in boxing every year or two too, or probably more often that you just don't hear about because they aren't high profile. Does't have to be a monster punch that seriously harms someone. Repeated blows to the head can be fatal.

The Reservoir Dubs Anchorman wrote: »

Agreed, I have asked that question already on the thread. What happens if McGregor ends up badly hurt. No body seems to want to answer it. Obviously it would be very bad for boxing and UFC simultaneously.

One thing is for sure, the NSAC will have blood on its hands if it does happen. There is already precedent with them turning down the inexperienced Rohan Murdock (18-1) for a fight against Andre Ward (28-0). This fight/circus was sanctioned for the money and nothing else.