За: Багатий Бержерон
Флойд Мейвезер, Молодший. не робиться бойових дій. Гроші, які він заробив з Конором Макгрегором в односторонньому боксерському поєдинку, буде не дуже легко заробити поза небезпечним світом бойових видів спорту. Здається, пенсія завжди їсть у Флойда, і рано чи пізно він повертається до чергового блокбастеру, який шокує світ.
CM Punk потребує жеребкування, щоб зацікавити нас його кар'єрою. Навіть якщо він вибиває постійно живу лайно наступного хлопця, вони годують його в восьмикутнику UFC, Панку ще доведеться багато чого довести. Помістіть його проти Мейвезера у привітанні в поєдинку ММА за боксера світового класу, і зробіть це для мрії для Флойда, яка надає йому всі пільги та спонсорські поступки, які він хоче в контракті.
Флойд стане автоматичним аутсайдером, який негайно вийде проти Макгрегора в клітці. Такий претендент, як CM Punk, дає йому більше шансів на бій. Це дає CM панку шанс реально розпочати свою кар'єру, якщо він зможе перемогти Флойда.
Справа в тому,, Мейвезер може швидко вивчити спорт змішаних єдиноборств, і з його швидкістю та атлетичністю, враховуючи більш вражаючі варіанти, він насправді може шокувати нас у своєму першому бою з ММА… якщо він дійсно підкріплює свої розмови про боротьбу в клітці діями.
Під час туру на боксерський матч, Флойд неодноразово посилався на ідею битися з Макгрегором у клітці після того, як боксерський матч пройшов його шлях. Він не говорить уголос того, що насправді не вважає істинним або могло б бути істинним, якщо вклав у це свої зусилля.
Мені пощастило стати на краю кільця поруч із Леонардом Еллербе під час тренувань Мейвезера в Лас-Вегасі років тому.
Перш ніж він кидав удари по рукавицях, я запитав його, що йому найбільше подобається у боксі. Я не намагався наблизитися під час великої преси, тому я думаю, що він не сподівався на запитання.
Він сидів мовчки, і я не хотів, щоб воно висіло, як поганий пердеть на вітрі. Я ще раз запитав, ще голосніше. Він не дивився на мене, коли тінився з собою. “Все.” нарешті він поступився, а потім він приступив до роботи, щоб показати свою швидкість і вдарити, щоб усі ЗМІ побачили.
Включення ліктів, спинки, удари ногою та боротьба в його рутинному режимі можуть створити справжнього монстра з Мейвезера. Також, гроші від боксу, які стежать за ним до клітки, можуть бути величезними як для нього, так і для UFC. У його віці знадобиться маса роботи, щоб адаптуватися до нового виду спорту, але CM Punk як перший суперник ставить планку досить низько, оскільки обидва чоловіки отримують шанс показати свою належність. Give them both a serious training camp, make a reality show out of it, and it could happen.
“Гроші” is already preparing to train in mixed martial arts with UFC Champ Tyron Woodley, and he heaped some praise on both Woodley and McGregor as fighters recently:
“So we have to tweak a few things then, take things to that next level. You know I can’t overlook or knock any MMA guy. Tyron is unbelievable. Unbelievable fighter, tough competitor. Конор МакГрегор, he’s a tough competitor, helluva fighter. There’s a lot of tough, rugged guys out there in MMA and I can’t overlook or disrespect those guys.”
The MMA versus Boxing debate has been going on since long before I decided to do my own take on it with a series of radio shows pitting one expert against another. One of my favorites was “Альпініст” John Scully against Ken Shamrock.
Не дивно, the debate between these two fighter/trainer experts drifted into Mayweather making the crossover to MMA. This is not a new concept to Floyd. He’s been hearing the critics yap about him never making it in MMA for more than a decade now, always thinking about how he could one day prove his haters wrong.
Anyone who thinks the best MMA fighter in his weight class demolishes Floyd has never watched him train. What could this guy do with a couple of tune-up fights and a title tilt? How about 9 months of hard training in takedown and submission defense?
Everybody and their brother who knows anything about MMA decides to use the argument of all the past boxers who failed at MMA. They remind us all of the freakshow fight involving Randy Couture easily defeating James Toney. Флойд Мейвезер, Молодший. is not only on a different level than James Toney was when he got the chance to fight in the cage, he’s on a different planet.
Floyd can afford the best trainers, the best of everything really in preparing to enter the UFC Octagon. He will spare no expense in finances and sweat equity in cementing his legacy as the best crossover fighter in the history of the boxing and MMA rivalry. Who has the best true athletes? Mayweather is representing boxing’s best, and he doesn’t have much time left to prove that a world class boxer can dominate the MMA scene with the right approach and strategy.
McGregor did prove that he could give Floyd a few fits in the boxing ring, but on the third fight into a UFC contract that match could happen again in the cage. Floyd just has to show he belongs, but the first step is having the guts to back up his words with actions. He did say on the boxing press tour for the McGregor fight that when he beat McGregor in his own craft, he would go to the UFC and beat Conor in the cage, занадто.
I anticipate a “Shark Tank” type of negotiation between Mayweather and UFC President Dana White. Floyd will need to get a piece of the promotion itself, access to a wild amount of sponsorship cash, options to collect on media income, and at least $10 million per fight in just base pay. To get the billion dollar contract he envisions, the lawyers will be ironing out the details for as long as Floyd decides he needs to train for his first fight.
Floyd could easily rake in $90+ million in sponsorship and media income to make $100 million per fight with Showtime executives in his corner and a familiarity with being in front of the cameras. A five fight deal means there is a 1/2 billion dollar gap unless I am underestimating how much the UFC would give Floyd for base pay. Even if he makes $200 million per fight, the rest would have to come out of the overall corporation itself as equity, which is what Conor McGregor has been asking for.
Floyd just has a bigger upside to being an owner/partner and would be a huge asset when it comes to the UFC wanting to promote boxing at some point. He can also bring his fans and everyone who wants to see him get whipped and schooled in the new discipline. He brings eyeballs, extreme attention and money with him wherever he goes. At a $5 billion valuation, the UFC would likely be able to part with a ten percent chunk of the promotion to bring Mayweather officially on board and get him locked in for a long-term deal.
The other area that Floyd could have a huge impact on is in attracting more boxers to cross over to MMA. We’ve seen football players like Matt Mitrione and Greg Hardy experience virtually immediate success in MMA, so why not a world class boxer like Floyd? 19-0 Pro Boxer Gervonta Davis is already hinting at following his protege Floyd to MMA and says he’s just waiting for Dana White’s phone call. Then there are the heavyweight boxers to think about bringing into the cage, and Word Champion Anthony Joshua is keen on giving it a shot, занадто.
Так, the odds are high that Mayweather steps into the cage to compete by December of this year if you believe one of his most controversial videos to date on the subject:
Mayweather could be an incredible MMA fighter if given half the chance. He is not a man who takes a challenge like this lightly. He will have the best approach possible to get into cagefighting shape. He will bring all kinds of interest back to the boxing vs. MMA debate and actually might even inspire a whole new phase of that debate. The combat sports world as a whole will benefit if Floyd and the UFC can make this partnership work.
As for those who think Floyd will get eaten alive, they are certainly entitled to their opinion, but don’t use McGregor’s failure to adapt to boxing as your bar for Floyd. Mayweather will not take on a world class MMA fighter the first time he steps in the cage. He will not bring in the MMA equivalent of Paulie Malignaggi to get up to speed on the sport. He will spare no expense to get the best preparation possible. He’s already showing that to be true by bringing Tyron Woodley on as his official training partner. He will hand pick his first opponent and likely not get any crack at a title until two or three fights go his way.
Critics of people who think they can show up to an MMA gym and come out in six weeks at the UFC level will call me crazy, but Floyd truly is an amazing athlete who can quiet his doubters, and he’s not getting any younger. It’s now or never to solve that question of which sport is truly better at crafting the ideal fighter.