Truth be told, the only real way of selling Mayweather-McGregor as a legitimate contest is to throw out all the “what ifs” and hope some of it sticks. And given the general response to the fight so far, it appears that it’s all pretty much sticking.
In this video interview with FightHub, Marcos Villegas talks to Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe about the fight, Conor’s chances, and the prospects of Floyd fighting beyond this event. Here’s some excerpts of what he had to say.
Ellerbe on how the Mayweather-McGregor promotional tour compares to Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo, and Mayweather-De La Hoya:
“Not even close. I think that if you combine them — all three — not even close...”
On the fight itself:
“In boxing it comes down to timing and inches, timing and inches, we always have to remember that. And again, there’s not one single media member in here that picked Jeff Horn to beat Manny Pacquiao. Regardless of whether they say ‘oh, it was this and that,’ how’s he even competitive with Manny Pacquiao for 12 rounds and it goes to the judges? How is that possible when not one of you guys in this room and all over the world was picking this guy...
“Like I said, any-damn-thing can happen. Obviously I’ve been with Floyd, so I can recall [the Carlos Hernandez fight], Floyd hurt both of his hands in the fight where he fractured [his hands and had to take a knee]. What happens if Floyd comes out in the first and second round and he cracks him upside his head with a right hand and he fractures his right hand? And then in the next round he comes out and does the same thing with his left hand. What happens?!
“That would be a nightmare scenario. Ok, but guess what, that’s the reality — anything can happen so that’s why you just have to train, train as hard as you can and it’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. But we’re very confident in Floyd’s abilities, like why shouldn’t we be?! You know, but you gotta watch Conor McGregor, you really gotta keep your eye on him.”
On where Floyd is at mentally compared to his last training camp for Andre Berto:
“I think that he’s a guy that’s trying to get to where he wants to get to. I think that, you know, it’s taken him a minute to kinda get back in the groove. Any time you haven’t done anything in two years, you know, I just think that it just takes a minute to kinda get back in the the groove - ‘cause your body’s sore a lot and your timings definitely gonna be off, and you know Floyd is such a perfectionist.
“If he considers himself having a ‘bad day in the gym’ it’s just maybe he might’ve got caught with a shot. That has elevated him to be the superstar that he is because he’s a perfectionist...and all it takes in boxing is one shot and you get a guy outta there.”
On if he thinks Floyd would come back for another fight that has a massive payday:
“I’m 100% confident that this is his definitely his last...”
I, myself, am starting to like all these ‘what if’ scenarios. I’ve heard them from about just about every person interested in this event, so I might as well just join in on the action...
What if Floyd punches Conor in the gut, causing Conor to puke in his face, temporarily blinding Floyd for Conor’s monster left hand? What if Floyd trips walking up to the ring and falls onto the announcers table, ending the fight before it even begins? What if Conor really knows he has no shot to win in a boxing match, but doesn’t care because he’s walking away with a ridiculous payday?! Oh the possibilities!