The combat sports world was flipped upside down last month when it was announced that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor would be making the transition over to the boxing world to take on, arguably, the greatest of all time – Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The pair are set to throw down in the middle of the squared circle on HBO pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 26th.
Former WWE Superstar and UFC fighter Ken Shamrock recently joined the Primo Nutmeg podcast to offer his thoughts on the match-up, and stated that the bout is great for the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), but doesn’t do much for boxing:
“I think it’s good for the fight world,” Shamrock said. “It’s given people a reason to complain or to be excited. As long as people are all talking, then you’ve got something.”
“I think it’s bad for boxing because it doesn’t do anything for them,” explained Shamrock. “You’re basically taking a guy like Conor McGregor, who’s never really been into boxing, and you’re gonna throw him in there with the world champion. Now, if Conor McGregor puts up a fight at all, then boxing is going to look bad.”
“The only way [it hurts McGregor] is if he gets knocked out in the first couple rounds. Then it’s not even like he really loses, it just brings up boxing higher,” said Shamrock. “It’s not like it’s the end of him. But if he goes the distance, or he goes deep into the fight, boxing is gonna be hard to recover from that.”
McGregor has accomplished a lot in his short run with the UFC, breaking records nearly every time he steps into the Octagon, prompting many to regard him as one of the greatest the sport has ever seen. Shamrock, on the other hand, believes that moniker is a little premature:
“I think that’s a little premature. I think Conor McGregor is a great fighter and I think he’s the best in his weight division right now,” said Shamrock. “And I think he’s arguably he’s on the Hall of Fame ballot. No question. But he got knocked out by Diaz.”
