Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor
There
are strong fears that the highly publicized boxing match between Floyd
Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor might lead to fatalities due to the
different levels of professionalism of both sportsmen.
More than 100 doctors say Mayweather-McGregor fight should not have been allowed and fear somebody will get 'really hurt'
The Association of Ringside Physicians says Conor McGregor's lack
of in-ring experience makes his today's bout with Floyd Mayweather
dangerous.
Later today, Saturday, Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will
meet in the boxing ring for the biggest fighting spectacle of the year.
While experts don't give McGregor much of a chance against one of
the best-ever defensive boxers, the public seems to believe in him —
some sportsbooks report that 95% of their bettors have put their money
on McGregor.
But there's one group that thinks McGregor will be so overmatched
that the fight should never have been sanctioned in the first place: the
Association of Ringside Physicians.
According to a New York Times report, the group, which has more
than 100 members, was surprised the Nevada State Athletic Commission
approved the fight:
"'We were very surprised this bout was even sanctioned and was
going to be permitted to carry on,' said Larry Lovelace, a doctor and
the president of the organization, which is focused on preserving
fighter safety. 'The thing I really fear, truly fear, is that somebody's
going to get really hurt in this upcoming fight.'"
The group's concern is well-founded. Despite McGregor's skill as a
fighter, much of his learned skills are likely to be useless in the
boxing ring, as he won't be able to grapple, wrestle, throw elbows, or
use any other "mixed" aspect of mixed martial arts. At the same time,
Mayweather has 20 years' worth of boxing instincts, and he has defeated
every fighter he's ever faced, all of whom have boxing experience.
As the article notes, there's precedent for MMA fighters getting
injured in the boxing ring. In June, the UFC veteran Tim Hague died two
days after being knocked out in the second round of his fourth career
boxing match.
The Times article also acknowledged the inherent conflict of interest that commissions have when they set up fights:
"The Nevada commission has a particularly large financial stake
in the Mayweather-McGregor bout. The state receives 8 percent of the
gross revenue from every ticket sold at a boxing event in Nevada, and
the commission gets 25 percent of that amount.
"Leonard Ellerbe, the chief executive of Mayweather Promotions,
and Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
have told reporters that over $60 million in tickets have been sold for
the fight, which means Nevada stands to receive in excess of $4.8
million, with the athletic commission's cut topping $1.2 million."
Regardless of the concerns of the Association of Ringside
Physicians, there's no stopping Mayweather and McGregor from duking it
out in the ring this Saturday. The main card is set to kick off at 9
p.m. ET, with the headline fight expected about two hours after that.
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