Is Conor McGregor safe fighting Floyd Mayweather? Ringside physicians say no

A group of more than 100 ringside doctors is arguing that McGregor, the mixed martial arts champion who will be fighting in his first professional boxing bout, is overmatched by Mayweather, long considered the best boxer of his generation.   The highly anticipated showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor may be a financial bonanza for its promoters, as well as for Nevada’s casinos and sports books, but there is an important constituency that does not believe Saturday’s bout should happen at all: the Association of Ringside Physicians.

The group of more than 100 ringside doctors, whose members have decades of experience and have worked hundreds of major bouts in New York, Nevada and other jurisdictions, is arguing that McGregor, the mixed martial arts champion who will be fighting in his first professional boxing bout, is overmatched by Mayweather, who is 49-0 and considered the best boxer of his generation.

“We were very surprised this bout was even sanctioned and was going to be permitted to carry on,” said Larry Lovelace, a doctor and the president of the organization, which is focused on preserving fighter safety. “The thing I really fear, truly fear, is that somebody’s going to get really hurt in this upcoming fight.”

In June, Tim Hague, 34, a mixed martial artist turned boxer, suffered fatal injuries during a bout against Adam Braidwood in Edmonton, Alberta. It was Hague’s fourth pro boxing match after competing in 34 MMA fights.