When the thought of a Mixed Martial Arts fighter like Conor McGregor taking on a legend like Floyd Maywheather in a boxing ring for 12 rounds came up, a lot of sport enthusiasts laughed it off as if it would never happen. This is, of course, an educated opinion. A discipline like boxing is different and highly specialized than MMA, which is exactly as its acronym suggests - a mixed bag of disciplines.
But as the saying goes - "If it makes money, it makes sense." (Southpaw). This event is the ultimate display that hype over substance is king in this day and age. Both Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather realize this fact and are ready to cash in on the gullible public. Because they can't convince the public that this is going to be a viable fight, they are resorting to building a culture of hate between each other in order to draw interest.
As if taken from the playbook of WWE's Vince McMahon, they have drummed up a blockbuster promotional tour in the biggest markets where they butt heads nightly in a vitriolic mudslinging contest and epic stair-downs. In order to convince the public to shell out $100 or more for an event that technically is almost guaranteed to be a snooze-fest, you have to try to convince the public that the fight is less predictable than it appears.
It all appears to be working, as interest in the fight has skyrocketed since the promotional tour took place. But the manner in which this has occurred, should remind us of the dangerous curve we have taken in our society as of late. The public is drawn into the dynamic between these two fighters with offensive homophobic, racist and misogynist screaming contests. Few are particularly concerned that it is wrong, because most of the public has dismissed it as part of entertainment.
Entertainment crosses over into everything. It has crossed over into the presidency and it has crossed over beyond the sport's basic definition and into an area of a freak show. It makes no sense that Donald Trump was able to successfully run for president, even less that he actually won. Much the same way, it makes no sense at all that McGregor-Maywheather is a viable fight. However, it will be promoted as such, simply because people want to be entertained and are in it for the shock value, regardless of the vile nature by which we get there...
