A LITTLE MAN’S TAKE ON A BIG SPORTS WORLD
The Circus Is Coming
to Your Town (Or TV)
By Jim Biery
O
n May 21, the Ringling Bros.
and Barnum & Bailey circus
performed for the last time,
ending a tradition of thrilling
and exciting (and, sometimes, enraging)
people of all ages since 1919. Fortunately, for
those of us willing to pony up money to order
the Pay-per-view spectacle known as the
Mayweather vs. McGregor fight, a new circus
will take center stage Aug. 26.
I won’t dance around the truth like Mayweather
will dance around the ring that night. A three-
ring circus has been replaced by a four-corner
boxing ring. The only thing missing is high-flying
acrobats and an endless supply of clowns, some
of which were pretty scary if you were like me
as a child. There is absolutely nothing that will
resemble a real fight other than two men half-
naked dressed in colorful shorts.
was in 2011. His last fight was in 2015. Oh yeah, he
is 40 years old compared to McGregor, who is 29.
Now, before the boxing purists think I am
just another modern-day MMA fan, I grew up
a huge boxing fan. Ever heard of Ray “Boom
Boom” Mancini? Danny “Little Red “ Lopez?
How about “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler? Thomas
“The Hitman” Hearns?
Unfortunately, boxing has really faded away
with the rapid growth of the UFC. That being
said, I must divulge that I have trained in the
very discipline that kicked started that growth.
Thanks to Royce Gracie who introduced us to
the power of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu at UFC 1, MMA has
developed into what most consider to be the real
measure of who is the best fighter in the world
at each weight class.
Thanks to the general public that cries out
for anything in combat sports that can be
entertaining, this so-called fight will again make
muti-millionaires out of the two 154-pound
adversaries stepping into the ring that night.
They come from different backgrounds as far as
fighting, but both know what it takes to sell a fight.
If you have watched the pre-fight press
conferences, both fighters are masters at building
interest into nothing more than a Pay-per-view
staged event. It may sound like a harsh point of
view, but I have some facts and personal history
to back this up.
First of all, Mayweather has demanded and
dictated that the fight will be judged strictly by
boxing rules. No kicks, submission chokes, or
elbows. Also, the fight will be with 10-ounce
gloves, not the 4-ounce gloves that most MMA
matches use. The amount of dancing Mayweather
will do will rival Saturday Night Fever with John
Travolta. Think about this, McGregor is used to
getting hit with the lighter MMA gloves. Hitting
him with 10-ounce gloves might feel like a pillow
fight to him. The last knockout Mayweather had
38 EXTOL SPORTS / AUGUST 2017
fight out of anger or ignorance, you only put
yourself, and possibly others at great risk given
the situation you’re in.
I have been honored to have trained with
many Jiu-Jitsu instructors that trained directly
under a Gracie family member themselves. I
was thrilled to be able to attend a seminar with
Rickson Gracie that he was teaching himself.
Anybody who knows or trains in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
understands what a presence Rickson is to the
world of martial arts.
This is why I feel like this upcoming bout is such
a circus. Half the people hope Mayweather will
knockout a loud, arrogant, obnoxious MMA guy
who can’t go two sentences without dropping F
bombs among other vulgar obscenities. The other
half would like McGregor to possibly pull off the
upset of the century and beat what many say is
the best pound-for-pound boxer that ever lived.
The hype will continue to build just like the two
fighters want. The more interest, the more money
they will make from Pay-per-view audiences,
those attending the fight and advertisers.
This isn’t about a fight to see who’s the better
man. This is a tug-of-war to reap the financial
benefits of a world looking to find a real fighter
who isn’t a real clown outside the ring.
With so many boxing matches going the 12- or
15-round distance, then followed by controversial
judging results, the modern-day fight fan wants
more action and more definite results inside the
ring. No one can argue who won or lost when
somebody is face down in the middle of the ring.
I don’t condone violence or aggression of any
kind outside of a sanctioned boxing match or any
officiated martial art contest. The submission
tournaments I did fight in had clear rules and
sportsmanship was clear and obvious for all
competitors and fans to observe. When you
I am not saying this won’t be must-see TV. The
crowd in attendance, the build-up and excitement
of what could possibly happen and what the
outcome will be? Will McGregor snap and high
kick Mayweather’s head right off his shoulders?
Will Mayweather school McGregor in the sweet
science of boxing and humiliate him in the ring?
All of this is yet to be seen. But remember, if
at the end of the night you all feel like you have
really been let down by the “The Greatest Show
On Earth,” all I can say is: “Send in the clowns.”
Because there are going to be clowns.