The major critics of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.–Conor McGregor boxing match set for Aug. 26 are boxing purists, those who scoff at the idea that someone making his pro debut can even land a punch on the great, 49-0 Mayweather.
Yet, one of those purists is UFC President Dana White, who has watched his Irish fighter McGregor stand, strike and talk his way to two UFC belts and this novelty one-off match against the world’s richest athlete.
White, who has trained boxers, long hung an imposing portrait of the back of Mike Tyson’s head in his office and has railed at veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum for “sucking the life out of” the sport by not reinvesting in it as White has sought to do.
So, when asked Tuesday at Staples Center whether McGregor is stepping in the ring is making a mockery of pugilism, White answered from his viewpoint as a fan of boxing and the head of the UFC.
“This kid believes in himself like no one we’ve seen before. It’s almost like what he thinks about him manifests into reality. The confidence is incredible,” White said. “The boxing people will see what kind of person Conor is … he will go in there trying to knock Floyd Mayweather out.”
McGregor said so on stage, that he’ll finish the “small, frail” Mayweather inside four rounds.
It might be laughable now. But White recalled when it was similarly unbelievable when McGregor predicted he would end the 10-year unbeaten run of then-UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in 2015 before finishing him with one left-handed blast to the jaw.
That, said White, was the moment he forever resolved not to dismiss a McGregor prediction, even one that comes in the face of 7-1 underdog odds and a community of boxing sages who laugh off his chances.
“That moment on the [promotional] tour for Jose Aldo, and Conor said, ‘I will knock this guy out in the first round,’ was crazy. And Conor knocked him out in 13 seconds,” White said.
Finding out if Mayweather-McGregor will be a mismatch is one of its greatest selling points, and White said he expects worldwide MMA interest in places like Canada, Europe, Brazil and Australia to drive the fight to record sales, with a $99.95 pay-per-view price and $10,000 ringside seats.
“The UFC is so big, Floyd Mayweather is undefeated and people have rallied about this with the boxing people saying this is a match between a professional boxer and an amateur. But I really believe this is a fight,” White said.
“The MMA guys have heard me say this forever: Don’t judge a fight until the fight is over. You don’t know what’s going to happen when two guys start throwing punches, especially a guy like Conor McGregor. He hits like a truck. When he hits people, he hurts them.”
McGregor vowed to do that to Mayweather as they jawed on stage Tuesday to open a three-nation, four-city tour that arrived Wednesday in Toronto.
“I haven’t seen a mental warfare game like his since Ali, and I know it’s crazy to compare a fighter to Ali,” White said. “He’s the Irish Ali.
“I’m open minded [about the fight] because of the MMA side of it. Floyd’s almost 41. Conor McGregor’s 28, [a] southpaw, hits like a truck. We’ll see how this thing plays out, but it’s crazy to think Conor won’t hit him in 12 rounds of fighting.”
Twitter: @latimespugmire
Ring sages can’t stand McGregor fighting Mayweather, but here’s what boxing purist Dana White thinks – Los Angeles Times