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In case you've been living under a rock, mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor will fight boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. this Saturday in Las Vegas in a bout that VICE Sports called "a victory for the forces of money." Vegas casinos, bookies, and the fight promoters all stand to make enormous amounts of money, but the New York Times reported today that a fighter safety group wishes the bout wasn't happening at all. The Association of Ringside Physicians, a group of more than 100 doctors, says that McGregor fighting his first professional boxing match against the undefeated Mayweather is an unfair matchup that could be unsafe.Larry Lovelace, president of the ARP and an emergency medicine physician in Oklahoma, told the Times, "We were very surprised this bout was even sanctioned and was going to be permitted to carry on. The thing I really fear, truly fear, is that somebody's going to get really hurt in this upcoming fight." In June, former MMA fighter Tim Hague died two days after being knocked out in his fourth professional boxing match; he was 34.The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) is responsible for determining what constitutes a fair fight. While NSAC did refuse to sanction a light heavyweight bout in 2015, the lawyer behind the blog Combat Sports Law told the Times that athletic commissions have an inherent conflict of interest in sanctioning fights because they are meant to consider the safety of the fighters while also relying on a percentage of ticket sales.The state of Nevada receives 8 percent of the revenue from every ticket for a boxing event in the state and the Nevada State Athletic Commission gets 25 percent of that amount. With ticket sales for the match totaling $60 million so far, the state will make at least $4.8 million and the NSAC will receive a minimum of $1.2 million, according the the Times.Bob Bennett, the executive director of the commission, told the Times that the commission decided McGregor was a premier athlete who belonged in the ring with Mayweather. "If you're going to take the position that Conor has never had an amateur or professional [boxing] fight, then I'm not going to change your mind," Bennett said. "If you look at him today versus Floyd Mayweather, Conor is the taller, longer, stronger, more powerful opponent. He's also a southpaw, which makes it a little more difficult for a conventional fighter. He's 12 years younger than Floyd."
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As of July 14, the fighters are only 11 years apart. McGregor is 5'9", weighs 155 pounds, has a 74-inch reach, and is 29 years old. Mayweather is 5'8", last fought at 147 pounds (he retired in 2015), has a 72-inch reach, and is 40 years old.But they come from vastly different athletic backgrounds. In MMA fights like those put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), competitors are allowed to use their feet and wrestle their opponents to the ground.Former hall of fame boxing referee Richard Steele, whose career spanned nearly four decades, told the Times that McGregor is at a disadvantage despite his youth and size: "He can't kick. He can't elbow. He can't do nothing. Nothing that he's used to doing that makes him a great MMA fighter."Steele said he might be inclined to stop the fight earlier than usual if McGregor is suffering. "I would definitely have it in mind about protecting this kid," Steele said, adding, "The safety of the fighter is always going to be there. But it might be a little bit more in this fight because this guy's never been in a boxing ring before."Lovelace is also concerned about the NSAC's approval of the use of lighter gloves in the fight, even though the men jointly made this request. McGregor and Mayweather will wear 8-ounce gloves in the fight, not the 10-ounce gloves that are specified for the 154-pound weight class. In theory, lighter gloves make for more powerful punches. On August 15, ARP sent a letter to the commission saying it "strongly caution[ed] against" approving this request unless there was scientific evidence that lighter gloves would improve the safety of the match. The NSAC voted unanimously to approve the gloves one day later.Mayweather told ESPN yesterday that he wanted the lighter gloves for "more excitement, the fans want to see more blood." He agreed that it would also make McGregor feel comfortable since he usually fights in 4-ounce MMA gloves.In response to criticism that the NSAC was putting revenue over fighter safety, Bennett told the Times: "As a regulator, I take offense to the fact that we're approving this fight for fiduciary reasons. That's totally unfair, and it's simply not true." The commission did not respond to Tonic's request for comment by phone before this story was published.Read This Next: Tom Brady Is Having Concussions Nobody Knows About, Gisele Says
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As of July 14, the fighters are only 11 years apart. McGregor is 5'9", weighs 155 pounds, has a 74-inch reach, and is 29 years old. Mayweather is 5'8", last fought at 147 pounds (he retired in 2015), has a 72-inch reach, and is 40 years old.But they come from vastly different athletic backgrounds. In MMA fights like those put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), competitors are allowed to use their feet and wrestle their opponents to the ground.Former hall of fame boxing referee Richard Steele, whose career spanned nearly four decades, told the Times that McGregor is at a disadvantage despite his youth and size: "He can't kick. He can't elbow. He can't do nothing. Nothing that he's used to doing that makes him a great MMA fighter."Steele said he might be inclined to stop the fight earlier than usual if McGregor is suffering. "I would definitely have it in mind about protecting this kid," Steele said, adding, "The safety of the fighter is always going to be there. But it might be a little bit more in this fight because this guy's never been in a boxing ring before."Lovelace is also concerned about the NSAC's approval of the use of lighter gloves in the fight, even though the men jointly made this request. McGregor and Mayweather will wear 8-ounce gloves in the fight, not the 10-ounce gloves that are specified for the 154-pound weight class. In theory, lighter gloves make for more powerful punches. On August 15, ARP sent a letter to the commission saying it "strongly caution[ed] against" approving this request unless there was scientific evidence that lighter gloves would improve the safety of the match. The NSAC voted unanimously to approve the gloves one day later.Mayweather told ESPN yesterday that he wanted the lighter gloves for "more excitement, the fans want to see more blood." He agreed that it would also make McGregor feel comfortable since he usually fights in 4-ounce MMA gloves.In response to criticism that the NSAC was putting revenue over fighter safety, Bennett told the Times: "As a regulator, I take offense to the fact that we're approving this fight for fiduciary reasons. That's totally unfair, and it's simply not true." The commission did not respond to Tonic's request for comment by phone before this story was published.Read This Next: Tom Brady Is Having Concussions Nobody Knows About, Gisele Says