What if Conor McGregor had actually beaten Floyd Mayweather?
By Ben Coate
How would the combat sports world be different if Conor McGregor had beaten Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in their 2017 boxing match?
Nearly three years ago, in August 2017, Conor McGregor met Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in a boxing match. It was undeniably one of the biggest, most-watched, and highest-grossing events in combat sports history (and still, arguably, not even the biggest fight of Mayweather’s career).
On May 15, 2020, Showtime will re-air the spectacle, also known as “The Money Fight,” which saw McGregor lose by 10th-round TKO to the much more skilled and experienced Mayweather. To those with any awareness of the realities of boxing and the combat sports landscape, the outcome was predictable. Although Mayweather hadn’t fought in two years, he was nonetheless the best boxer of his generation and had never tasted defeat in a professional bout. McGregor, on the other hand, had not once competed in professional boxing.
In light of Showtime’s re-airing of the event, a thought experiment: What if McGregor had pulled off the improbable and beaten Mayweather that night. What would be the fallout? How would the landscape of the combat sports world change if MMA’s biggest star beat boxing’s biggest star in an honest-to-God boxing match?
A McGregor vs. Mayweather trilogy
If on August 27, 2017, fans woke up to a world in which McGregor had bested Mayweather in boxing, it’s safe to assume that by August 28, they’d be inundated with talks of an immediate rematch. And although Mayweather has teased a potential MMA fight over the years, it’s wildly unlikely the 40-year old Mayweather, already one of the wealthiest athletes on the planet, would ever seriously consider stepping into an entirely new sport.
What would be very likely, though, is a pair of follow-up boxing matches between McGregor and Mayweather, each generating massive revenue for all involved. Shocked that an MMA fighter handed him his first loss, Mayweather would seek out an immediate rematch with McGregor, and McGregor would have no incentive to decline; he can make much more money in boxing than MMA, and his continued association with McGregor would bolster the Irishman’s worldwide star power.
Assuming Mayweather is able to avenge the defeat in a rematch (which is the most likely outcome by a mile, each and every time the pair boxes), there’s no reason to believe a rubber match wouldn’t follow. While trilogy fights are relatively rare in MMA, they factor prominently into the promotional model in boxing. If Mayweather and McGregor had split a pair of boxing matches, they’d essentially be burning money if they didn’t settle the score in a third fight.
In short, if McGregor had beaten Mayweather that night in 2017, the rivalry between the two would have no-doubt been extended to two more bouts and at least another year of around-the-clock promotion.
Endless crossover bouts
Even with McGregor losing, the bout sent shockwaves through the MMA world. As top MMA stars realized the earning potential of crossover boxing bouts, they began to clamour for the opportunity to compete against top boxers. To date, there haven’t been any major crossover fights since then.
However, a McGregor win would ostensibly show that elite MMA fighters can compete with elite boxers in boxing. When UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic called for a boxing match with Anthony Joshua, he was met with eye rolls. That call-out takes on an entirely different tone if McGregor beats Mayweather. A potential Miocic – Joshua boxing match and countless other crossover fights suddenly become much more realistic options as a mountain of MMA fighters see opportunities for bigger paydays and in fights they could actually win.
A McGregor win over Mayweather would have shaken the combat sports world to its core. It would have changed how fans of both boxing and MMA think about their sports. It would have piqued the public’s interest in these types of crossover fights and opened the floodgates of MMA fighters seeking massive paydays against boxing’s biggest stars — and some of those fights would have actually come to fruition.
McGregor Promotions
Finally, if McGregor had beaten Mayweather, it’s hard to see him quietly returning to the UFC negotiation table for anything other than a massive fight against an opponent of his choosing. McGregor would become an even bigger star worldwide, and in all likelihood, his very own McGregor Promotions would take off full-steam ahead.
If McGregor were able to present himself as a legitimate two-sport star and athlete, there would be little to stop him from promoting additional boxing events or even his own MMA events. His promotional power would swell even larger than it is now, allowing him to call the shots with the UFC. It’s unlikely we’d see McGregor face Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018, and it’s even less likely we’d see him fighting contenders like the relatively unheralded Donald Cerrone. Instead, McGregor would have the power to largely promote his own fights, whether it be in boxing or MMA. While that may not mean McGregor departs entirely from the UFC and MMA, it does mean the power dynamics and his ability to negotiate on his terms would shift in McGregor’s favor.
Next. 30 little known facts about Conor McGregor. dark