Despite a recent record of 1-4 with three first round losses to his name, Chael Sonnen is still getting top billing for his upcoming Bellator: "NYC" fight against Wanderlei Silva at Madison Square Garden on June 24th. But while his ability to perform in the cage may currently be in question, the man continues to provide us with some of the most entertaining hot takes in the sport.
During the Bellator press conference earlier this week, he floated the opinion that Conor McGregor could very well punk Floyd Mayweather and the sport of boxing even if he doesn't end up winning in their much anticipated superfight.
"The public dismisses boxing as a fringe, fake, and phony sport, and the public may just be right!" he told FightHubTV. "The fact that you can take a guy that has never lost in professional boxing and put him in there with a guy who has never done professional boxing and have a lot of people including people in the industry of boxing think that the guy who has never done it is going to beat your undefeated greatest of all time is an embarrassment for the sport."
"If Conor McGregor lasts 30 seconds with Floyd Mayweather it discredits boxing, and I think he will. If Conor McGregor makes it out of one round with Floyd Mayweather, the entire sport of boxing is a fake, phony myth. And that's the kind of pressure they're under."
Chael brings up an interesting point: any outcome outside of a fast knockout for Floyd Mayweather could end up turning into a symbolic victory for Conor McGregor and the sport of MMA. For years and years we've heard that any MMA fighter stepping into the ring with a boxer would get torn up. And while that's generally true, Mayweather isn't exactly known to tear up his opponents. And if he tries to switch things up and fight differently, who knows what could happen.
As usual, Chael is the master of hyperbole. Boxing won't become illegitimate and cease to exist if McGregor manages a half decent showing against Mayweather. But it certainly wouldn't be a good look for the sport, and would provide us MMA fans with a lot of trash talking material for years to come.
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