4. Finding Mayweather
Despite never having set foot in a ring as a professional boxer, Conor McGregor leaned on his skills as a self-promoter and finagled his way into a multi-million-dollar showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. After months of posturing and back-and-forth social media salvos, the two men in June signed up for their historic crossover clash. An Aug. 26, 2017 date was booked at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A bronze medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Mayweather has established himself as arguably the best boxer of his generation as a five-division champion with a perfect 49-0 record. “Money” has not competed since he outpointed Andre Berto a little less than two years ago. Victories over Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Ricky Hatton, Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Diego Corrales, Genaro Hernandez, Marcos Maidana (twice), Miguel Cotto, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Shane Mosley highlight Mayweather’s spotless resume. If McGregor can crack the code in his pro debut, it will go down as one of the greatest feats in combat sports history.
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