Floyd Mayweather, the most loyal champion in boxing
For almost two decades, Floyd Mayweather was the most loyal champion that the World Boxing Council has ever had. Although Mauricio Sulaimán would have liked to see the American retire peacefully instead of facing a mixed martial arts fighter, Conor McGregor, he assured that they could consider participating in the fight only if the multi-champion asks for it.
"Mayweather has had a very special loyalty and relationship. What I can confirm is that there cannot be a championship at stake, no fees for the WBC if they decide to participate. If there is something, we will see if Mayweather is interested and if Mayweather asks for it, the WBC will support him, it will depend on him," said Sulaimán Saldívar, head of the organization, in an interview with La Afición.
For 17 years, Floyd Mayweather held the WBC championship uninterruptedly, establishing himself as one of the most solid champions.
"Talking about this topic is complicated because of the precedent of the UFC campaign, which has always been against boxing, where they tried to minimize and create a rivalry that does not exist, since they are very different sports. We cannot ignore that the UFC has challenged Mayweather on many occasions, even Ronda Rousey did it," Sulaimán said.
Without taking away McGregor's merit, Sulaimán stated that the duel they have scheduled for August 26th "is a show, a sports spectacle event, where boxing quality will shine", but motivation will not be to demonstrate who is better inside the ring, but rather economic reasons.
"When you have a fighter of Mayweather's quality against a mixed martial arts fighter in a boxing ring, under boxing rules, the difference that will exist during the fight will be evident, especially because he is the most intelligent and skilled boxer in many years. If Mayweather were to clash, it would be something very different," he said. Although Sulaimán ruled out any medical risk, he ensured that McGregor's 0-0 record against Mayweather's 49-0 will make a big difference in the ring.
"McGregor has taken very strong blows in his sport, he is a high-performance fighter and has shown endurance. The issue is technique and boxing skills," he concluded.
DISPUTED TITLE
Regarding the middleweight title, Sulaimán explained that although Saúl Álvarez refuses to hold the organization's belt, the championship will be at stake on September 16th, and they will also hold the second edition of the Huichol belt.
"It's very simple, the champion is Gennady Golovkin, and he will defend it," said the Mexican leader. "But if the other boxer doesn't want to dispute it, they will have to officially make it known. If he doesn't want to dispute it, he is within his rights." Regarding the second Huichol belt, Sulaimán commented that he will meet with the artists next week to see the design, as time is running out.