Khabib v Mayweather: Stranger Things Have Happened

Khabib v Mayweather: Stranger Things Have Happened

By Matthew Dean 

So Khabib Nurmagomedov (27-0 UFC but 0-0 Boxing) has challenged Floyd Mayweather (50-0. 27KOs) and apparently he has accepted.

This was inevitable one might suppose. They are after all the two men who beat Conor McGregor. And when I say beat, I mean outclassed.

Khabib is likely to receive a severe punishment for his involvement in the post McGregor fight fracas at UFC 229. He is still awaiting judgement on this and Mayweather is still retired after his 10th round stoppage of McGregor in 2017.

Khabib has threatened leaving UFC but has issued the challenge in the meantime :

“Because in the jungle, only one king.”

So could it happen? Yes realistically it could take place and according to some news reports Floyd Mayweather is prepared to come out of retirement for this event.

If Khabib does walk away without schooling McGregor a second time it would be a real shame that the absolute dominance of McGregor inside the octagon is remembered less than the post fight scenes afterwards.

There is no reason why this fight could not take place and I have previously commented that what makes Mayweather tick is crucial to this :

If Mayweather returns it has to be a spectacular event. This is nothing short of huge in fight terms and would easily overshadow many other boxing matches.

He has to be the big name draw. Let’s be realist this isn’t likely to happen until 2019 when Mayweather will be 42.

He has to earn a lot of money – more than we could ever imagine and this would obviously happen factoring in PPV buys.

Let’s be truthful this is a mega-fight which would generate a gargantuan level of interest from fans of both disciplines. Those who are dedicated combat sport fans would tune in for this because it’s another big fight, the media world would be watching because Mayweather would be back – again – and those less interested in boxing but who dislike Mayweather to see if someone else could dethrone him would be tempted too.

Even though I stand as a boxing fan I fall into the latter category and I would hope that Khabib would put in a decent showing against Floyd. What I suspect would happen is similar to the McGregor fight that Floyd’s greater boxing knowledge and experience would stand him in better stead to get W51. But please remember that a 30-year-old versus a 42 year could yet still shock the world