Mayweather vs McGregor has changed nothing for boxing and MMA fans

Conor McGregor’s crossover spectacle from MMA to boxing to face Floyd Mayweather is in the books, and to the surprise of precisely nobody the supposed game-changing event has changed nothing at all.

Those who were excited about such an experiment found plenty of excitement in Floyd’s 10-round stoppage victory over the pugilistic debutant, after Mayweather was forced to switch to an attacking style for the first time since around the time he ferociously blasted Arturo Gatti. Those who hated the entire concept continue to swear blind there was nothing exciting about it.

Those who made the choice to spend money on the PPV appear to feel as though the broadcast provided their money’s worth. Those who chose not to will probably never be convinced it was worth even a penny. And those who publicly declared it wasn’t worth their time or money, then watched it anyway? Well, they also remain the hilarious punchlines they were before Saturday night.

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The 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena ultimately could not sell 15,000 of those (14,623). Nobody running the event cared. Because those 20,000 seats were for big spenders and celebrities, who mostly did not arrive until the main event and spend their evening posing for photographs and swapping business cards. And the gate was still a combat sports record of nearly $80 million. Us regular folk always were supposed to just stay in our houses and bars and watch via (a very shaky) broadcast. So, nothing changed from the last handful of Mayweather fights, either.

Media and the minority of fight sport fans who appreciate MMA and boxing in equal measure were optimistic the showdown would bring the two sports closer together and open minds to the respective realm of the other. But as social media shows, many choose to remain the tribal moaners they always have been, proving that nothing will ever change there, either.

MMA fighters continued to show far more perspective than their boxing counterparts, generally declaring appreciation for the specific skills and physical attributes the sweet science requires and rarely crowing about the fact that any boxer who jumped sport into the cage would be lucky to last one round. Except Jose Aldo, that is, who mocked ‘The Notorious One’ for his inevitable defeat, even though McGregor lasted far more than 13 seconds unlike the Brazilian versus Conor.

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Boxers continue to struggle to give UFC’s brazen superstar any credit for even making the jump, mostly because of a false ‘fear’ that boxing’s credibility was on the line when boxing always has and always will be as strong or as weak as its next card. The ‘us vs them’ fantasy perpetrated by the likes of Carl Froch failed to cover up a seething jealousy that McGregor made more money in his first professional boxing contest than they could ever dream. It cannot be because of a genuine disdain for anyone being out of their depth in anything they do, or else Froch and many others wouldn’t have been in front of a microphone in the first place.

We know that Mayweather himself will never change. He claims he is well and truly retired after going 50-0 against McGregor. Of course, he ended ‘retirement’ after only two years to accept the lucrative proposal in the first place. Having retired and unretired twice now, Floyd is never above returning to the ring, and fights (and handpicks opponents) in a manner which would allow him to give Bernard Hopkins a run for his money, if he so desired. That desire, as always, would hinge on whether anyone can offer a deal that would be in the Pacquiao/McGregor fiscal territory. Oh, and it cannot be anyone like Gennady Golovkin or Terence Crawford, who’d actually have a chance of winning.

We know enough about McGregor to realise that he will do whatever he damn well pleases. He shifted up and down the weight classes in UFC to test himself, and shook off similar criticism for losing to Nate Diaz to avenge that defeat and continue to pursue increasingly-lucrative new frontiers. A third, deciding fight with Diaz will likely be next for Conor so as to fulfil his outstanding obligations to Dana White. After that, he’ll probably seek the next challenge that will polarise the planet, whilst still ensuring everybody is talking about him one way or another.

And, of course, boxers and MMA fighters continue to attempt to milk the buzz generated by the idea. Bobby Lashley and Stipe Miocic want to fight Anthony Joshua. David Haye and Jimi Manuwa have exchanged words. And many more have tailgated MayMac with crossover hypotheticals that will probably never become a reality.

Because while the sight of ‘lion fights polar bear’ will periodically attract an above-average number of spectators, the winner will almost always hinge on whether the fight takes place under savannah or arctic rules. MMA and boxing share a mutual requirement to be tough, disciplined and in fantastic shape. But that’s where the similarity ends. The nuances of each require specific conditioning that can leave a crossover fighter looking like they aren’t in great shape at all, after a few rounds. Just ask McGregor.

It can be done, if you take it seriously. Just ask Holly Holm. McGregor, meanwhile, takes the expansion of his brand more seriously than anything else. And, love him or hate him, it is paying off.

Boxing purists will now move on to Golovkin vs Canelo and the World Boxing Super Series. MMA diehards have a string of interesting UFC cards on the horizon, in particular England’s Michael Bisping vs the legendary Georges St-Pierre at Madison Square Garden in November. And those who dumped on Mayweather vs McGregor because they claim to be ‘real sports fans’ but watched on Saturday anyway will probably skip all of the above events because, as usual, they are hilarious.