You cannot be serious

Jessica Ennis-Hill was the 2012 Olympic champion in the Heptathlon

To win that title, she had to compete in seven events - 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, Long Jump, Javelin, and 800 meters.

She excelled in them and deserves to be recognised as one of the greatest athletes of all time.

But good as she was, if she'd competed against the champion in any of these sports individually (e.g., the gold medallist in the 100 meter hurdles), she would have lost, probably by a wide margin.

And by the same token, if the 100 meter hurdles champion had gone up against Jess in the Heptathlon, she'd have been slaughtered in every single event. (Except the 100 meters hurdles) and would've suffered a humiliating loss.

But this is all theoretical.

No-one in their right minds would ever put a 100 meter hurdle specialist up against a heptathlete because it'd be a nonsense contest. The result would be a foregone conclusion. The heptathlete would win if they competed in the heptathlon; and the 100 meter hurdler would win if they competed in the 100 meter hurdles.

So what's my point?

It's that Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor is like the 100 meter hurdle specialist up against the heptathlete.

Mayweather is a great boxer - an ATG.

McGregor is a terrific cagefighter. He can box, clinch, grapple, kick, and when he's on the ground he has an abundance of ground-fighting techniques - chokes, armlocks, leglocks etc.

I don't doubt that if these two amazing combat athletes were fighting under UFC rules, McGregor would win very quickly, probably inside a round.

But they're not.

They're competing in a boxing match.

It's just as if Jessica Ennis-Hill were to compete against the 100 meter hurdle gold medallist in the 100 meter hurdles. She'd lose.

Similarly, the result of the Mayweather match, for all of McGregor's undoubted talents, has to be a foregone conclusion.

Mayweather will win convincingly, in one of the early rounds.

I doubt that McGregor will even lay a glove on him.

It's a match that should never have been made.

But money talks, and so it's going to happen.

And I have to admit that, somewhat hypocritically, I'm interested in seeing it.

I shouldn't be, but I am.

See: Boxing and me

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