When Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor's boxing rules bout was first announced, McGregor was a huge underdog.
This is because on Saturday, August 26 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, McGregor makes his boxing debut and is tasked with toppling a ring king who has never been beaten in 21 years of prizefighting.
Business Insider spoke to 14 mixed martial arts and boxing experts over the last few months to discuss whether the fight was good or bad for boxing, good or bad for MMA, and whether McGregor has any real chance against Mayweather.
Here's what the experts say.
Sauerland Events boxing promoter Kalle Sauerland.
"It will be the best build-up ever for the worst fight ever. It just baffles me! Floyd Mayweather is the greatest defensive boxer ever. Oscar de la Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, and Canelo Alvarez… you can keep counting all the top boxers, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, the champions, the legends he's faced, he's beaten them all. He's done it.
"I like Conor McGregor. He's smashing. He's funny and he attracts the young generation. Ultimately, he's a WWE magnet. It's wonderful. But when the bell goes, there's no dollars, no x-rated suits, and no fur coats. What happens next when they're in the ring? Because McGregor cannot box. He cannot box. It's a bold move. And he has no chance. McGregor won't even be able to shake Mayweather's hand let alone punch him.
"I'm a 17 handicap but I'm not going around challenging Rory McIlroy. This is combat. What's next for McGregor. Fencing? It will smash records but the next morning you and I will text each other saying 'why did we buy that rubbish?'"
Former two-weight world champion boxer Ricky Hatton.
"If the fight was in my back garden, I'd shut the curtains. I can't believe it's going to happen, no disrespect to Conor intended. McGregor is very good for a UFC fighter so it might go a few rounds due to Conor's toughness but I think Floyd will stop him."
Daily Telegraph combat sports journalist Gareth A Davies.
"There's no loser apart from potentially, and this is in all honesty, if Conor McGregor does earn £75 million ($96 million), it's going to be hard to get him back in the Octagon again. When you get that amount of money you don't want to earn five times less next time you fight. That's a difficult conundrum.
"It's a huge event when boxing and MMA comes together. I think the fight will be disappointing because it is a huge mismatch. Fight sports always hunker down around hype and promotion and this is one of those things. The biggest name for boxing in the last ten years against the biggest name in MMA right now who sat a young generation on fire with his antics and briliance.
"I don't think its a great opportunity for Floyd Mayweather to prove anything more other than to make a huge amount of money, potentially 100m +. Mayweather is a huge winner in this. Conor McGregor is a huge winner in this. I don't think the fans will be huge winners. It may not deliver but if it delivers it'll be amazing.
"I'd love to be involved in it as an event, it would be extraordinary. I was involved in Mayweather v Pacquiao and the live blog I did got 40 million (hits), more than we've ever done for anything. It was extraordinary. Interest left right and centre. And this puts two diverse characters together.
"I don't think MMA loses because McGregor will make an account for himself in some way but we'll see that MMA and boxing are two totally different sports. They are both fight sports. They belong to the same genre but not the same species."
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