This is the fight that really needs to happen. It would blow the roof off all previous bouts when it came to revenue. Everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, would pony up whatever bucks were necessary to watch such a spectacle.
Back in the day a certain network once hyped a "Battle of the Sexes". Such programming typically featured a woman competing against a man in a sporting competition, but the man was always put at a disadvantage. Basically, the matches were handicapped to supposedly "level the playing field".
The best known of these events was likely when Billie Jean King took on Bobby Riggs in a tennis match. After King narrowly defeated Riggs, it was a "huge" victory for women, many crowed. But was it really? At the time, BJK was one of the best female tennis players in the world. BR was in his mid-50s and had never been remotely close to being a top player on the circuit even when much younger. He was old, out of shape, and slow. No doubt the pressure was on King. Had she lost to such an opponent -- and it was a close match -- the women's lib movement would have been dealt an embarrassing blow. Their best player in the world can't beat some old dude? Oh my. But it worked out for the fairer sex at the time, despite the obvious mismatch to begin with. This was the classic example of hype over substance.
Few would think Serena Williams, far and away the best female tennis player in the world, would have a prayer if she faced off against a top male player. Williams herself has admitted she'd be lucky to win a single point if she faced Novak Djokovic in a serious match. Nobody wants to see that, because it would be brutally one-sided. Bigger, stronger, faster, to the max. And the Serb is younger, to boot.
But consider Ronda Rousey squaring off against Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd is 38 years old, sports a 49-0 record, and has generally been regarded as the best pound for pound boxer in the world in recent years. Though not known as a big puncher, Floyd can go the distance in a 12 round bout.
Ronda is 28 years old, sports a 12-0 mixed martial arts record, and only one opponent has made it out of the first round against her. Her last three fights consisted of 34 seconds, 14 seconds, and 16 seconds. Once the bell goes ding, the formidable Ms. R isn't fooling around. She gets right down to business.
Floyd generally fights somewhere between 140 and 147 pounds. A junior or full -welterweight.
Ronda has been fighting at 135 pounds, considered a bantamweight in the UFC.
So here's the proposition. Have them meet in the middle at 140 pounds. Call it whatever weight class you want.
As the man, Floyd would be spotting his lady opponent 10 years in age. A reasonable handicap.
And no, this cannot be just a pure boxing match. Mayweather would carve Rousey up every which way in such a contest.
This has to be in the Octagon where many things besides just punches come into play. The above-mentioned handicap has now been negated.
None of those 8 ounce boxing gloves, but rather just the knuckle-covering pads that mixed martial artists use.
Could Mayweather still prevail? Maybe, if it remained basically a boxing match. But Floyd's probably never been kicked in the head before either. That would be something new. And God help him if Ronda got him on the ground. He's likely never experienced an armbar in his career as well. Once locked into place, it's tap out time for the opponent. Either that or get one's elbow dislocated. If that's not painful enough, the joint can be broken entirely. It's all a matter of how much pressure is put on. But it's the end of the fight.
So why not attempt to arrange such a super-bout? Rousey would likely jump at the chance. Compared to the peanuts she's been making in the UFC, she'd likely take home over $100 million for such an event against Mayweather.
And if Floyd is looking for one last great super mega-fight to top off his career before retiring, it couldn't possibly get any bigger than this.
All he has to do is beat a girl.
But it will never happen because one of them is scared to death of jumping in with the other.
Guess which one?
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