There’s no bigger money match up in MMA at the moment than a Conor McGregor fight. That’s why he can’t show up at a weigh-in or press conference these days without half the roster trying to pick a fight with him. And now that he’s gotten a boxing license in California, a ton of boxers are coming out of the woodwork to challenge the brash Irishman to a fight in the ring rather than the Octagon.
There’s Floyd Mayweather, who seems serious but keeps waffling whenever the fight starts to become real. Then there’s former world champion Paulie Malignaggi, who McGregor responded to with his now infamous “Who da f**k is that guy?” line. But now there’s someone in the wings who is both more willing than Floyd and a bigger name than Malignaggi. According to Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya, his fighter Canelo Alvarez would love to box Conor.
“If Conor is serious about fighting? First of all, I would love to talk to him and promote him. I mean, imagine Conor McGregor and Golden Boy coming together!” De La Hoya exclaimed in a video with FightHubTV. “But the only fight I would like to see, and this is the one that makes the most sense – as it would be the most exciting and would be a guaranteed knockout – is against Canelo Alvarez. And they’re in the same weight class. So it makes all the sense in the world. Imagine. 154. 160. It would be at 160 actually.”
It’s interesting that De La Hoya is pushing for the fight at 160 pounds when that’s the weight class he’s refused to allow Canelo to fight Gennady Golovkin at. Last we heard, Canelo will need another year before he’s bulked up enough to have a test fight at 160 pounds. Then maybe we can start discussing Canelo vs GGG at 160. But 160 is apparently great if we’re talking about Conor McGregor.
Of course, it’s all great for these boxing folk when they’re talking about Conor McGregor. Boxing folk have always been dismissive of MMA fighters, especially if you’re talking about an MMA fighter trying to compete against a boxer. And while we’d agree that it’s normally a crazy proposition, McGregor has been training as a boxer since he was a teenager and obviously has the hands to perform in a fight. They’re still vastly different sports in execution, but we aren’t ruling McGregor out in any match up – although we think he’d fare better against the elusive Mayweather than the killer Canelo.
But realistically, McGregor is flirting with boxing for the chance at a superfight, the kind only made possible with a name like Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao as an opponent. Even Canelo Alvarez probably wouldn’t be appealing to him. So sorry, Oscar. Looks like the only superfight at 160 for Canelo is Gennady Golovkin … if you’re willing to take it.