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Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor: Lennox Lewis calls fight a 'farce'

Last updated on .From the section Boxingcomments349

Mayweather-McGregor trash talk has been memorable

Floyd Mayweather's fight against Conor McGregor is a farce, says former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

Irish UFC lightweight champion McGregor, 29, will make his boxing debut when he faces undefeated American Mayweather on 26 August in Las Vegas.

"There is tremendous build-up and hype but I don't really take it as a serious fight," Briton Lewis told Sportsweek.

He added that "nothing is ever obvious when it comes to gimmicks and hype" but "Mayweather should win it".

'Is McGregor going to throw a kick?'

Mayweather, 40, will surpass fellow American Rocky Marciano's perfect record of 49 fights without defeat should he overcome McGregor.

But Lewis told BBC Radio 5 live: "I wouldn't count a fight like this as a 'fight'. He's basically boxing a guy that is a UFC fighter and not a boxer.

He added: "Everybody wants to know what's going to happen.

"Is McGregor going to throw a kick because, obviously when he resorts to boxing and realises he is no match for Mayweather, what will he do? How will he get around that?

"No other boxers from 49 fights have figured out how to beat Mayweather - now a UFC fighter that doesn't even have a boxing career is trying to beat him at boxing - I think it's a farce to a certain degree.

"I don't think it is a fight that I am going to jump on a plane and go to see unless they pay me to commentate on it."

Analysis - 'Mayweather moves in the mirror?'

BBC Radio 5 live boxing analyst Steve Bunce:

It's going to be a relentless week. Too many people are treating it like a comedy carnival. On the night I think it will be a lot more serious than people think. I think the laughter will stop in Las Vegas, probably around Wednesday.

McGregor is a guy who was nowhere four years ago. Now he can earn hundreds of millions of dollars. He got there because he is absolutely driven. I've seen his fights, I think he likes hurting people. So there will be dark undertones next week. Anyone who thinks Mayweather doesn't have a nasty, dark side has been living in a cave for 30 years.

I believe McGregor has picked up a lot from Mayweather. If you are skint like he was five or six years ago and you are seeing a guy like Mayweather who has been making it rain throwing dollar bills in the air, of course he is copying that. He has wanted a bit of that. I can imagine McGregor before he goes to bed at night doing a few Mayweather moves in the mirror.

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349 comments

  • Comment posted by the peoples poet, at 12:25 20 Aug 2017

    their GREED matched only by the publics STUPIDITY. ABSOLUTE FARCE.

  • Comment posted by Killingholme_Clay , at 12:18 20 Aug 2017

    Please BBC!
    Stop with all of the HYS's on this absolute tripe.
    This is a money making circus for two self obsessed thugs.
    Why are you constantly promoting this??

  • Comment posted by U14398633, at 12:17 20 Aug 2017

    After this fight Mayweather is going to take on Lionel Messi and Mo Farah. Both big stars with no experience in boxing and small enough to fit Mayweathers weight class.

    After that Mayweather will be getting on a bit so he will next face Simon Cowell and Jeremy Corbyn.

  • Comment posted by Sup, at 12:16 20 Aug 2017

    This is just a circus & with obscene amounts of money flying around for everyone involved

    Everything that's wrong with the world really

  • Comment posted by Bilbo Baggins, at 12:13 20 Aug 2017

    This fight is taking "milking" the public to a new level.....I'll look out for the result in the morning, but I refuse to pay anything for a fight between a boxer with a 49-0 record and a "boxer" with a 0-0 record.

  • Comment posted by U16705365, at 13:06 20 Aug 2017

    these two clowns are just taking advantage of the bigger fools that pay to watch this rubbish. who cares about any of them.

  • Comment posted by ngm, at 13:10 20 Aug 2017

    So sick of hearing about this rubbish.
    I wish there was a way both idiots could lose.

  • Comment posted by the peoples poet, at 12:17 20 Aug 2017

    200 million each for this?
    i would fight them both, any time or place for a fraction of that.
    can't believe their luck, can they?

  • Comment posted by U16576184, at 12:21 20 Aug 2017

    its ROCKY V HULK HOGAN isnt it? and ALL the mugs will be queueing up to buy the fight on pay-per-view.

  • Comment posted by Random Guy, at 12:14 20 Aug 2017

    This is essentially the WWE of boxing, its pure pantomime and very little else

  • Comment posted by veekay1, at 12:11 20 Aug 2017

    At first I just thought of this as a bit of a sideshow. Nothing to be too offended by.

    However, when one of them said "This is the greatest sporting spectacle of our lifetime" I became, at first bewildered and then downright angry.

    I know they have to sell it but show some attachment to reality.

  • Comment posted by Noshaq, at 12:28 20 Aug 2017

    It is a farce. A money making farce which I won't be contributing to. Sky's attempts to hype it up are laughable. McGregor will probably get DQed (after they've made it last a few rounds).

  • Comment posted by Auld Reekie , at 13:07 20 Aug 2017

    To term an Irish phrase, two "gobshites" providing so-called entertainment with their circus of abuse.

    It's a load of nonsense and done purely for money.

  • Comment posted by Jamboree, at 13:49 20 Aug 2017

    I'm a fan of both boxing and MMA, but I wouldn't pay 50p to watch this farce. Mayweather loses easily in the octagon, McGregor loses easily in a boxing ring. I doubt McGregor himself even truly believes he can win; it's just a disgustingly big pay day funded by mugs willing to pay for a sham of a fight

  • Comment posted by Zed The Red, at 12:28 20 Aug 2017

    It's a joke that this "fight" is pay per view. I certainly won't be wasting my money.

    If FM wins then that is expected and he just wants that 50-0 record (looks good on paper). CM has nothing to lose but doesn't really stand a chance. Both men stand to make a fortune. I wouldn't be surprised if they've already "rehearsed" the fight...

    FM isn't even entertaining...

  • Comment posted by Alan, at 12:20 20 Aug 2017

    If you buy this fight you have no right to complain it was a waste of money after the event when it's a one sided beatdown and McGregor barely lands a punch, you know what you're getting you're getting a guy who isn't even a competent boxer against one of the best boxers of all time.

    You're buying an event not a real fight, the real fight is Alvarez vs Golovkin coming up.

  • Comment posted by Penelope Poopsalot, at 13:15 20 Aug 2017

    Spot on Lennox - putting the local loud mouth bouncer in against a former world class boxer is money driven and a stain on the noble art

  • Comment posted by TheTroll, at 13:42 20 Aug 2017

    Don’t let this man distract you from the fact that in 1998, The Undertaker threw Mankind off Hell In A Cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer’s table.

  • Comment posted by Finkelstein, at 12:43 20 Aug 2017

    Lennox Lewis is right this so-called fight is a farce. It is nothing more than pantomime. Mayweather the so-called pound for pound greatest should be ashamed of himself for getting involved with the like McGregor. Boxing has lost its way and is looking for any gimmick to make a dollar. Gone are the great days of Hagler, Hearns, Leonard, Duran et al...proper fighters and real boxers.

  • Comment posted by Taxi Driver, at 19:48 20 Aug 2017

    Boxing itself is a farce. It can only blame itself for the way it has evolved into a PPV freak show. We all know how this will pan out. Mayweather will take control from the bell, and take MacGregor to boxing school. He'll win. Boxing is no longer a sport. Take away the 4 mickey mouse belts. Have one champion. Stop the PPV. Then it will be a sport again.

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