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The circus has come and gone.
The “Money Fight” is a thing of
the past. 40-year-old Floyd has
moved to 50-0, beating, possibly
having toyed with, a debutant in
Conor McGregor while praising
the former unemployed plumber as
a tough competitor.
What amazes me is that people
bought into this nonsense from
day one, turning it into the
biggest money event of all time.
Should I give credit to Floyd
and Conor? Indeed I should – two
of the craftiest businessmen in
the world today. Who else could
make a real mockery of boxing
into a payday of $400m and $100m
respectively? Here is the truth:
In a boxing ring with boxing
rules, Floyd could knock out
McGregor when he feels like it.
Similarly in a cage and under
MMA rules, McGregor annihilates
Floyd whenever he feels like it.
Boxing and MMA are completely
different disciplines with
different skills and different
strategies. The fight was a
farce in reality with the only
beneficiaries being Floyd, Conor
and, of course, Las Vegas.
Another farce was one of the
sanctioning bodies deciding that
the fight was worthy of a belt,
which according to a German
tabloid looked – bling, bling –
like a brothel door. Well, for
my taste, I don’t need to impose
myself in front of every camera
and prefer to stick to the WBF’s
motto “No fantasy titles with
fantasy names”, because the
World Boxing Federation is not
about making a mockery of
boxing.
So off into the sunset rides the
Money Man, now officially
retired. Perhaps a fight between
Floyd and Cristiano Ronaldo for
$500m is a possibility. Someone
will surely create a belt for
it, too. But, at least for now,
the circus is over.
Let the boxing fraternity return
to sanity with real boxing. Let
us respect MMA within its doors,
and let’s respect the greatest
sport on earth – boxing! Boxing
deserves respect, Floyd.
Contrary to what you believe,
the sport is and always will be
bigger than you!
Until next time, keep boxing.
Howard Goldberg
PRESIDENT: World Boxing
Federation
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