Translating the nonsense that is Oscar De La Hoya’s rant about McGregor vs. Mayweather

We're not going to sugarcoat it, Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor is a ridiculous circus sideshow.

It's a really silly fight that makes no sense, which is exactly why it makes complete sense that it would end up being booked. The biggest draw boxing has ever seen doesn't take on the most famous fighter in MMA history every day. This novelty means fans are going to tune into the bout regardless of whether it promises to be competitive or not. After all, most people who consume these types of prize fights are casual fans, and they certainly have their place in any sport. We're not going to try to belittle anyone who wants to spend their hard-earned cash on the McGregor vs Mayweather PPV. They have every right to want to see that fight. However, Golden Boy Promotions head believes these "poor souls" need to be shown the error of their ways, as he explained in a long-winded Facebook rant. Let's break down some of Oscar De La Hoya's bullshit.

 "We, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our sport."

Translation: "I'm just like all of you, I put on the solid gold trousers I bought using the money I made as a boxing promoter one leg at a time."

"2017 has started off as a banner year for boxing. Joshua vs. Klitschko; Thurman vs. Garcia; Golovkin vs. Jacobs; Canelo vs. Chavez. All four of these fights – and many more -- have brought the fight game back and reinvigorated interest from the ever-elusive casual fan."

Managed to sneak Canelo vs Chavez in there, despite the fact that the majority of casual fans hated the bout that wasn't the 'all-out Mexican war' the promotion promised it to be.

"Just wait until the best boxer of a generation dismantles someone who has never boxed competitively at any level – amateur or professional. Our sport might not ever recover."

McGregor competed at amateur level as a youth, albeit not against a particularly high standard of competition. The point about the sport never recovering is baffling. If it goes the way he expects it to, surely that can only benefit the sport.

"McGregor is almost certainly the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter."

Eh... Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones?

"To use a bit of an extreme analogy, I happen to be a pretty good golfer. Could I potentially hold my own on one of the second-tier tours? Maybe. But would I be able to compete with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Speith or Sergio Garcia? Of course not. Nor would I think to try."

Why even use that analogy at all? It makes zero sense. It's not like you're a double world champion at being a pretty good golfer. By your own logic, McGregor's an unknown quantity at boxing, you know you're not great at golf. This doesn't scan.

"Now, I know critics will say that I’m only writing this letter because my company is promoting what will be the culmination of an outstanding boxing year when Canelo Alvarez takes on Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in September, and I don’t want anything to distract attention away from that fight."

Well, it's impossible to ignore.

"But my interest is in the health of boxing as a whole. It always has been."

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.

"Think about it, beyond Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, what other athlete has successfully competed in two sports in the modern age?"

Don't try anything, kids. Trying is the first step towards failure.

"Floyd’s and Conor’s motivation is clear. It’s money. In fact, they don’t even pretend it’s not."

So if they pretended that wasn't their motivation, it would be ok?

"It’s a win-win for them. It’s a lose-lose for us. We’ll be $100 lighter and we will have squandered another opportunity to bring boxing back to its rightful place as the sport of kings."

That's horseracing, dummy.

"At this point, only we can shut the circus down by making it clear that we won’t pay to see a joke of a fight and telling our casual-fan friends that they shouldn’t either."

On what planet does that work? Do you think every hardcore MMA fan telling the masses that CM Punk's UFC debut was going to be a catastrophe prevented the casual fans from tuning in? People will do what they want to do and generally don't take too kindly to being called dumb for wanting to do it. Mayweather vs McGregor is happening because of money, which is the same reason why it took until now for 'Canelo' to take on GGG. It just seems like De La Hoya's worried about a bigger fight with more mainstream appeal stunting the potential return from the money fight he's involved in.