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Mayweather-McGregor Has Everyone's Attention, But Is It Good For Boxing, UFC?

The highly anticipated Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight Saturday night at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Center is the latest example that '17 has "marked a resurgence" for boxing, which has been "considered dead for decades," according to Greg Bishop of SI. The sport is "having a moment" this year, though boxing purists "don't believe McGregor fits into that story line." Despite that belief, Mayweather-McGregor will likely become the "most watched boxing match ever." Boxing fans who "see Mayweather-McGregor as a fake fight" will view the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin bout on Sept. 16 as the season's "legitimate, and overshadowed, centerpiece." Oscar De La Hoya, whose Golden Boy Promotions is putting on Alvarez-Golovkin, has been outspoken against Saturday's fight, but he said that he is "rooting for Mayweather-McGregor to succeed." Bishop notes De La Hoya has "no other choice," as boxing "desperately needs the additional eyeballs and mainstream attention produced by the extravaganza." It is "fair to question the merits of what Mayweather and McGregor are selling but impossible to ignore the interest" (SI, 8/28 issue). USA TODAY's Martin Rogers notes Alvarez-Golovkin will be a "battle between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet" and "should be a bout boxing has long sought." However, while there will be "interest and money aplenty, it will not scratch the surface" of Mayweather-McGregor (USA TODAY, 8/25). 

FIGHTING A LOSING FIGHT: In DC, Rick Maese reported the boxing world "hasn’t shown much enthusiasm for Saturday’s fight," as it "only detracts from advances the sport has made recently and steals the spotlight from fights and fighters that are more deserving." Top Rank Chair Bob Arum said, "You got to take Mayweather and McGregor for what it is: a spectacle. I don’t consider it part of boxing" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/20). TIME's Sean Gregory writes Mayweather-McGregor shows how far boxing has "fallen in American culture." Mayweather "hasn't fought in almost two years, yet he remains the sport's biggest U.S. draw." Gregory: "Consider this showdown boxing's desperate bid for eyes and wallets" (TIME, 8/28 issue). In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan writes, "For the sake of box­ing, May­weath­er needs to be both dom­i­nant and flam­boy­ant Sat­ur­day" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/25). ESPN's Teddy Atlas said a McGregor win "would really go a long way to destroying the credibility and the integrity" of boxing ("PTI," ESPN, 8/24). SPORTSNET.ca's Stephen Brunt wrote if McGregor could "somehow beat a boxer who is regarded by purists as a master technician," boxing fans would "never hear the end of it." That is the "dream of the MMA crowd." But it is a "possibility that boxing fans have barely even considered, so confident are they in Mayweather’s abilities" (SPORTSNET.ca, 8/24). 

VALIDATING UFC, MMA
: ESPN's Booger McFarland said UFC President Dana White with this fight is "trying to push" his promotion "to the forefront" of combat sports. White at one point was "trying to push boxing out of the way" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 8/25). In L.A., Lance Pugmire noted a "major selling point to Mayweather-McGregor is to label it boxing versus mixed martial arts, enlivening a fierce debate that crosses generations with ramifications balancing on the outcome." A Mayweather loss in the ring to McGregor would "leave boxing embarrassed, and threaten to widen the lead the UFC maintains as the favorite combat sport of younger audiences." The "more legitimate threat is another gut punch to the UFC brand." The UFC earlier this week confirmed Jon Jones "tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance that could result in a four-year suspension for the UFC’s former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter." Now McGregor, its "most popular fighter," could be "days from a knockout loss to 40-year-old Mayweather" (L.A. TIMES, 8/24).

TUNING IN FOR THE SHOW
: Mayweather is overwhelmingly favored in the fight, and the AFP's Rob Woollard wrote the millions of people who will "gladly part with their cash to watch the fight in the arena or on television do not appear to be bothered by the possibility that they may be taken for an expensive ride." Espinoza said that many viewers will "tune in on the off-chance of witnessing 'something incredible.'" He said, "We did some focus group testing, and the casual fans were absolutely adamant. Their response almost universally was 'We don't care if it's a mismatch. We don't care if it's non-competitive -- if there's a .01 chance that something incredible could happen, we need to watch it'" (AFP, 8/24). The GLOBE & MAIL's Cathal Kelly wrote the "point of Mayweather-McGregor is proving that boxing does not need to be the main attraction at a boxing match." This is about "turning sport into a circus, and creating outrage for its own sake" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/24). In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes this is the"sporting eclipse of common sense." Doyel: "This is a carnival, this fight. It's a freak show, a circus, but who doesn't love a circus?" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 8/25). ESPN's Atlas said, "It's not a fight. It's an event. It's the next 'Spider-Man' movie" ("PTI," ESPN, 8/24). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes everyone "agrees it’s a money-grabbing stunt," but there is "genuine public fascination with this fight" (WSJ.com, 8/24).

SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL
: In L.A., Dylan Hernandez wrote the fight's "subject of race is inescapable." It is the "main reason for why a boxing match between the greatest boxer of his generation and a cage fighter with no professional boxing experience is expected to become the most-watched pay-per-view event in history." More than a century after Jack Johnson "defended his heavyweight championship against a fighter who came to be known as 'The Great White Hope,' it’s back to a brilliant but reviled African American champion taking on a popular but overmatched white challenger." Hernandez: "The sport is often blamed for promoting humanity’s basest impulses, but what it’s really doing is holding up a mirror to society" (L.A. TIMES, 8/23). In N.Y., Carron Phillips writes there are many reasons "why this fight has been taken to another level," but "at the heart of this whole thing is race" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 8/25). In Sydney, Oliver Brown writes Mayweather-McGregor is a "lucrative pantomime that reflects the worst excesses of a materialistic age." The bout is an "extension of these Trumpian times, where it matters not what you say, or how reprehensible the underlying sentiment" but how "loudly you say it" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 8/26). USA TODAY's Nancy Armour writes Mayweather and McGregor are "reprehensible people, a fact they’ve been all too happy to prove with racist, sexist and homophobic rhetoric during their tiresome promotion of Saturday’s fight." Yet despite their "obvious comfort in the moral gutter, it has not diminished interest in their fight." If anything, it "might have helped fuel it." She writes people paying $100 for the PPV are "rewarding Mayweather and McGregor for their baseness" while "giving tacit approval to the kind of bigotry and hate that has roiled this country and shaken much of America to its core" (USA TODAY, 8/25).

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