I'm not sure exactly how we got here -- and it's pretty sad that we have -- but the topic of what would happen in a "ruleless" fight between Floyd Mayweather and Ronda Rousey has reached unprecedented levels.
It's everywhere. Your local sports radio is pumping the topic on the airwaves. It's scrolling across SportsCenter's Bottom Line. Google the athletes' names, and Mayweather versus Rousey is the first topic that comes up -- on reputable outlets, too.
And all of that might be fine (or at least halfway justifiable) if it was purely speculative. It’s Superman vs. Batman kind of talk. Forget for a second we're talking about the extremely inappropriate idea of a man fighting a woman, and just look at it stylistically. OK, a pure boxer versus a judo/submission specialist -- it's a fun thing to talk about. In fact, it's how mixed martial arts began. Getting an answer to who would win that matchup is what drove the creation of UFC 1, nearly 22 years ago.
But lately, the Mayweather versus Rousey talk has gotten way too serious.
I won't link to it, for the simple fact I hate to draw more attention to it, but just last week, someone argued the fight "must happen." The writer even attempted to crunch numbers on what each fighter could make and suggested a trilogy would be the best way to go. (I'm paraphrasing here, but the point essentially was this: Man, just think if Rousey armbarred Mayweather in the first fight, but Mayweather knocked her out in the second! Cha-ching on the third, am I right?)
Maybe, hopefully, it was an obvious trolling maneuver. Either way, whether the talks are serious or not, it's so old, you guys. It's so, so old. Rousey's latest quote, about beating Mayweather in a no-rules fight, came from an Ask Me Anything chat on Reddit. During that chat, Rousey spoke about winning an Olympic medal, overcoming a speech impediment during her youth, having little control over her own image and dealing with an eating disorder.
None of those made headlines, though. No, what made headlines is her belief she could beat Mayweather in a "no-rules" fight.
Usually, I don't like being a buzzkill, but this topic is deserving. A fight between Mayweather and Rousey will NEVER happen. Considering Mayweather's past issues with domestic violence, it should NEVER even be discussed. I'm going to state the obvious, in the hope that it somehow ends any further conversation about this topic.
1. A Mayweather vs. Rousey fight will NEVER happen because no sanctioning body would ever approve it.
Casual fight fans might be unaware that professional bouts must be sanctioned by a regulatory body. Even in an international jurisdiction where no regulatory body is present, a promotion like the UFC self-regulates its events and attempts to follow the same guidelines as the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Athletic commissions are known for being generous with fighters' licenses when it comes to generating large amounts of revenue for their respective states, but none of them are crazy enough to sanction a fight between a superstar male and female. Never going to happen.
2. A Mayweather vs. Rousey fight will NEVER happen because no promotion would promote it.
It's hard to even try to talk about this with a straight face, because it's so ... duh. Who's going to get involved in promoting a high-profile “athletic event” that would include opponents of opposite genders attacking one another.
3. A Mayweather vs. Rousey fight will NEVER happen because of Mayweather's history with domestic violence.
For those who somehow don't know, Mayweather served 60 days in jail for a misdemeanor domestic battery case -- just one instance of many Mayweather has dealt with involving accusations of violence toward women. It's for this reason I would say a fight between Mayweather and Rousey would never even happen in WWE, where each has made prior appearances. Maybe years from now, WWE might have looked into reviving this fantasy fight under make-believe circumstances, but with Mayweather's past, don't count on it.
4. A Mayweather vs. Rousey fight will NEVER happen because neither fighter would ever want it.
During a recent appearance on SportsCenter, Mayweather said Rousey should call him if she can ever make "over $300 million in 36 minutes." It doesn't matter if Rousey made $500 million in 36 minutes. Mayweather would never take her call, nor would Rousey make one. When Rousey says, “I can beat anyone in the world,” that's exactly what she's supposed to say. She doesn't limit herself. That's her message: Don't handcuff yourself. That's what she's really saying. Why must people take that so literally, turning it into, "Rousey says she could beat Floyd!"
If you're sitting there saying: "Yes, I know all this. No one really thinks the fight is going to happen. We just like talking about it," my take is still the same: Stop. It's dumb. There are better things to talk about. Combat sports are interesting without having to rely on the lowest-hanging fruit to drive interest.
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