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Floyd Mayweather will be going head to head against the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) with his scheduled bout against Mexican boxing sensation Juan Manuel Marquez on September the 19th. Mayweather looks to prove the point that Boxing is still the king of combat sports, fighting on a night that coincides with a UFC PPV event. This battle between boxing and the UFC was by design as Mayweather chose to have his fight on the night of UFC 103. Saturday night serves as a major indicator of whether boxing can compete against the UFC any longer. Mayweather is beyond confident it can.
Obviously shaken, and left with a feeling that UFC PPV buys will suffer – The President of the UFC Dana White released a video earlier this week in attempt to persuade Mixed Martial Arts fans to purchase UFC 103 rather than the Mayweather/Marquez ppv. Mayweather, never one to back down in a war of words, addressed the issue at a pre-fight press conference in L.A early this week, When asked how he feels about going head to head with ‘UFC 103 Franklin vs. Beflort’ Mayweather dismissed it as a threat:
“Who’s Rich Franklin? There’s 8 year old kids just starting out in my gym who punch better than that guy. I’ve seen that guy try to punch and felt sorry for him, embarrassed for him – I think Roger [Mayweather] still has some spaces left in the beginners class, might want to get the basics down before he goes head to head with me. I mean come on, until he generates a revenue of 2.5 million he don’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Floyd Mayweather let alone be trying to compete with me. What you’re getting here is two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it to determine who is number one, what they got there is two journeymen, bar room fighters who can’t tell a fish hook from a check hook.â€
Mayweather was also asked to give his thoughts on how he feels the striking abilities of some of the premier strikers in MMA, such as Mirko “Cro Cop†Filipovi?, might match up against the upper echelon heavyweight boxers.
“I think he forgot he has a right hand, give him a pair of 12 ounce gloves and Vlad Klitchko would tear up that ass in seconds. Look, I just watched an ex-UFC heavyweight champ, some overweight unathletic chump get one punched by an over the hill broken boxer, Mercer. Don’t get me wrong, I love Big Ray but his best days are behind him and he one punched an ex-champ, what more do I need to say? Just imagine what happens if a heavyweight contender lays hands on a MMA fighter. We both know wthat the aftermath will look like.â€
While this will be the first time a major boxing event clashes with a UFC event, Mayweather insists that this will not be the first time he has beaten the UFC in terms of ratings.
“Look, I already went head on with the UFC in my fight against[Ricky] Hatton, we all know how that turned out and the same is gonna happen again on September 19th. I’m gonna give the people at home something to talk about the next day; everyone is going to be talking about the Floyd Mayweather fight that was on last night. Ain’t gonna be no one talking about those two guys who rolled around on the floor for 3 rounds. That’s why I was and still am the PPV king. â€
Mayweather even went as far to discredit MMA as a real sport calling it a ‘sideshow act’ and detailed the disparity in terms of pay between the two combat sports.
“The main difference between Boxing and MMA is the fact that boxing is a real sport and requires skill to reach the top. When you watch boxing you know you ain’t [going to] see some WWE clown walk in and take the belt after a couple fights. It ai’nt happening. That’s because it takes years to perfect and master the sweet science, MMA is nothing more than a sideshow act that probably won’t even be around in 10 years time. Boxing ain’t going anywhere, write that down. If so many people want to watch those guys fight then why isn’t Dana White paying them like it?"
Obviously shaken, and left with a feeling that UFC PPV buys will suffer – The President of the UFC Dana White released a video earlier this week in attempt to persuade Mixed Martial Arts fans to purchase UFC 103 rather than the Mayweather/Marquez ppv. Mayweather, never one to back down in a war of words, addressed the issue at a pre-fight press conference in L.A early this week, When asked how he feels about going head to head with ‘UFC 103 Franklin vs. Beflort’ Mayweather dismissed it as a threat:
“Who’s Rich Franklin? There’s 8 year old kids just starting out in my gym who punch better than that guy. I’ve seen that guy try to punch and felt sorry for him, embarrassed for him – I think Roger [Mayweather] still has some spaces left in the beginners class, might want to get the basics down before he goes head to head with me. I mean come on, until he generates a revenue of 2.5 million he don’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as Floyd Mayweather let alone be trying to compete with me. What you’re getting here is two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world going at it to determine who is number one, what they got there is two journeymen, bar room fighters who can’t tell a fish hook from a check hook.â€
Mayweather was also asked to give his thoughts on how he feels the striking abilities of some of the premier strikers in MMA, such as Mirko “Cro Cop†Filipovi?, might match up against the upper echelon heavyweight boxers.
“I think he forgot he has a right hand, give him a pair of 12 ounce gloves and Vlad Klitchko would tear up that ass in seconds. Look, I just watched an ex-UFC heavyweight champ, some overweight unathletic chump get one punched by an over the hill broken boxer, Mercer. Don’t get me wrong, I love Big Ray but his best days are behind him and he one punched an ex-champ, what more do I need to say? Just imagine what happens if a heavyweight contender lays hands on a MMA fighter. We both know wthat the aftermath will look like.â€
While this will be the first time a major boxing event clashes with a UFC event, Mayweather insists that this will not be the first time he has beaten the UFC in terms of ratings.
“Look, I already went head on with the UFC in my fight against[Ricky] Hatton, we all know how that turned out and the same is gonna happen again on September 19th. I’m gonna give the people at home something to talk about the next day; everyone is going to be talking about the Floyd Mayweather fight that was on last night. Ain’t gonna be no one talking about those two guys who rolled around on the floor for 3 rounds. That’s why I was and still am the PPV king. â€
Mayweather even went as far to discredit MMA as a real sport calling it a ‘sideshow act’ and detailed the disparity in terms of pay between the two combat sports.
“The main difference between Boxing and MMA is the fact that boxing is a real sport and requires skill to reach the top. When you watch boxing you know you ain’t [going to] see some WWE clown walk in and take the belt after a couple fights. It ai’nt happening. That’s because it takes years to perfect and master the sweet science, MMA is nothing more than a sideshow act that probably won’t even be around in 10 years time. Boxing ain’t going anywhere, write that down. If so many people want to watch those guys fight then why isn’t Dana White paying them like it?"
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