Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Gets Major Sanctioning Boost From NSAC

With a string of obstacles and potential pitfalls to overcome before the money-spinning boxing bout between McGregor and Mayweather can be announced, Bennett’s words will serve as encouragement for those willing the fight to happen.

One of the more complex aspects of planning the fight involves who would be willing to sanction a contest between a boxer with minimal amateur experience (McGregor), and one of the greatest men to ever enter the ring (Mayweather).

One of the key points up for consideration in sanctioning the bout would be the safety of both men. Given Mayweather’s illustrious career in the ring, and a 49 fight professional record, logic dictates that there would be no worries regarding his safety. McGregor, however, is a fighter with no professional bouts and, as previously mentioned, minimal amateur boxing experience. While anyone accustomed to the sport of MMA will understand the level of punishment McGregor could potentially endure every time he enters the octagon, this may not be credible enough for a sanctioning body to sign off a fight off on, exclusively.

However, NSAC chief Bob Bennett told BoxingNewsOnline that he would be “honored” to accommodate the fight in Las Vegas:

“It’s definitely an approvable fight,” Bennett said. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, it is a bit of an anomaly, it’s unusual because both fighters are phenomenal fighters."

“But back in August of 1957 Floyd Patterson fought Pede Rademacher, Rademacher was making his pro debut, and they fought for the world heavyweight title. Patterson won by KO in the sixth round. So even though this would be Conor’s pro debut as a boxer, there is some precedence, but this would be the first time we see two fighters at this level, one from the MMA world and one from boxing, having a fight.”

While the example cited by Bennett fails to recognize that Rademacher was an Olympic gold medalist in boxing, he does go on further to stress that McGregor’s successes in the UFC prove “that he can fight as a stand-up fighter”:

“One of the critical things you have to take into account; Conor’s a phenomenal athlete,” he continued.

“When you go back, he took up kickboxing at the age of 12. As a youth he became an All-Ireland boxing champion. He goes to the UFC, of course he had several [MMA] fights before that, and while he’s with the UFC he’s 21-3 with 17 of those wins coming via knockout or TKO."

Bennett’s insistence that “The Notorious” can compete against Mayweather is based upon what he feels is the success he has found with his striking in the UFC. Furthermore, the NSAC chief says that he has been impressed with footage of McGregor sparring:

“He’s a stand-up fighter, he’s a southpaw, he hits like a tonne of bricks, he’s got a great jaw, he’s 5’ 9’’ and he’s got a reach of 74 inches. If you take a look at his wins in the UFC, they’re predominantly from striking [punching] and if you take a look at the fact he was able to move from 145[lbs] to 155 to 170, he’s displayed some awesome unarmed combat skills."

“He’s proven that he can fight as a stand-up fighter. I’ve seen some tape of him boxing, I’m sure I’ll get an updated version of his skill-set as a fighter. I certainly think he’s worthy of being approved to fight Floyd Mayweather. His UFC background is critical in approving this fight.”

The NSAC’s chief’s words are undeniably encouraging for those hoping that the “Billion-Dollar Fight” comes to fruition. With many more potential hindrances to be met along the road of arranging what will certainly be the highest-grossing combat sports event of all time, however, there is still some way to go before an announcement on the particulars of the event will be made.