Column: Mystic Mac

I’m under the firm belief that there can never be too many articles about football in not only the Whitehall Ledger, but any other publication. If there was an article about the 3-4 defense in Cosmopolitan, you better bet I’d read it. However since there are already four articles about football in this issue, I best not get too crazy and write this column about the ole pigskin.

I also have probably written too much about my cats lately, so I best change things up for my weekly column.

This weekend millions of people across the country will be tuning in when the best boxer in the world will enter the ring with one of the best mixed martial artists on the planet. I’m still have a hard time believing that MMA star Conor McGregor will enter a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather, but they didn’t ask me for my opinion and the fight is going to happen Saturday night in Las Vegas.

This will be one of those events like the Super Bowl that draws in the casual viewer, and come Monday morning, Facebook and the office water cooler will be filled to the brim with talk about the fight.

I’m sure that people who have never seen either fight will be watching and the pay per views buys will come close to an all-time record for a prizefight.

I am going to be watching, but I’m really not as excited as I should be.

Ever since McGregor burst onto the UFC scene in April of 2013, I’ve been a huge fan. His combination of fighting style and personality were unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I can’t get enough of it. He’s a complete savage in and out of the ring. He’s a larger than life figure and when he fights it is like a holiday in our house.

We bring out or Irish flags to go with the one he signed that hangs in our living room.

I hate to spend too much money on a vacation, but in 2014 I made the decision to get ringside seats for one of his fights. It was one of those rare experiences that I’ll most likely never be able to afford again, but it was worth every penny. The MGM Garden Arena was full of Irish fans singing the entire fight card and I’ll never forget hours after his fight being draped in an Irish flag and singing with several Irishmen on top of a bar in the casino. I would go back to Vegas to see him last August, although this time I was far from the front row to see the man known as Mystic Mac.

I was nearly thrown out of a hotel in Kalispell when he captured the UFC lightweight title last November. I had stayed there after a Whitehall football playoff game and purchased the fight on PPV. I was so excited he won the belt and I jumped over and over and the calls from the front desk were less than nice.

So while this sounds like I should be excited, I have serious reservations about this fight. Conor will be stepping into the boxing ring against one of the most technical pugilists of all time. He will not be able to use his kicks or any submissions. He is going to have to box. If this was an MMA fight I would be threw the roof because Mayweather wouldn’t last a round. Instead they will meet in a boxing ring and that frightens me. Conor can hit harder than most people on the planet, but will he be able to land one against probably the best defensive boxer of all time?

I know that this fight may not end the way I want it, and the price of pay per view is scary knowing that he may very well lose.

Despite my reservations, I will be ordering the fight and it will be another event at my house. Hopefully he can shock the world, and I can go find a bar to dance on.