The Mayweather and McGregor Problem

Floyd Mayweather, the greatest boxer of his generation, is heading toward a bout with brazen MMA star Conor McGregor. There’d be no reason to keep prodding public opinion if it wasn’t a strong possibility. Mayweather laying down financial terms during an ESPN interview brings it a step closer.

From the Mayweather camp, this has been a carefully plotted case study. The Berto fight aside – when it appears he just wanted an easy go-home party – Mayweather uses social media to determine where the best payday can be found.

He drops hooks in the trending waters and waits to see what catches a bite. For years, fights have been selected or pushed on this principle. The obvious one that didn’t need it – Pacquiao – was delayed for actual sporting reasons. And perhaps, a consideration of legacy but we’ll get to that in a moment.

What appear to be throwaway Tweets are in fact examples of Mayweather mining for information. The strongest hit since Pacquiao has been McGregor. The Irishman has transcended UFC. Even a defeat to Nate Diaz (which he avenged) did little to halt his emergence as a global superstar. Since then, he has gone on to become the UFC’s first double belt holder.

He can make demands on Dana White that few, if any, have been able to get away with in the past. From borrowing Tyron Woodley’s belt when he wanted to parade two titles, to demanding a cut, in the way of shares, following the sale of UFC for $4.2 billion.

McGregor is a money printing machine for MMA and Mayweather likes to be synonymous with his self-given nickname.

Floyd looks at Conor and sees one last, easy, payday. He has every right to believe if 49 trained boxers couldn’t effectively penetrate his defence (save the De La Hoya chat for another day) then a mixed martial artist, who has only recently acquired a boxing licence from the state of Nevada, stands no chance.

The talk of how “it only takes one punch” or “he might prove too unorthodox to handle” is conjecture for another day. Dealing in things we do know, it can be said such a bout will forever tarnish Mayweather’s impeccable record.

Perhaps retirement has proven to be boring for Mayweather because this is the first time he’s actively chased a fight. In the past, people vied for position to get a shot at Mayweather. It was a privilege to be considered. Boxers, like Amir Khan, planned their entire schedules around the hope Mayweather, sat like Caesar, would give a thumb up.

Now it is Mayweather in front of cameras calling someone out. His air of indifference replaced with desire. Floyd may be trying to gain some ground back by offering “only” $15m to his $100m but it is McGregor that has been pulling the strings and provoking the boxer.

Floyd now wants this fight. It reveals an ugly side to a man that deserves to be considered in greatest of all time discussions. The Money moniker is less caricature, more true reflection.

He claims it would be a business decision. This is bad for business. As a businessman, he should recognise retired boxers profit from their legacy. Decades from now, regardless of the outcome with McGregor, the existence of the fight would diminish the perfect record he’d set as an active boxer.

The Pacquiao fight, unfairly, left a bad taste in most people’s mouths. This will confirm all the claims against him as a competitor.

The idea a part of him was humble, respected Rocky Marciano’s record and didn’t want to be mentioned in the same breath, will disappear if he ties the achievement against a MMA fighter in a non-competitive, money spinning exhibition bout.

Mayweather has been in WWE, McGregor is routinely connected, this could turn into a Sports Entertainment type grapple. Picture Thunderlips and Balboa in Rocky III. Would McGregor, with his brash, colourful personality, really stand and be humiliated for several rounds. Or would he turn it into an even bigger spectacle, get disqualified, and commence a brawl.

In a gimmick fight, you wouldn’t bet against it.

Post-fight, the draw of chasing down victory 51 and surpassing Marciano will build until his business brain marries with his in-ring ambition. But where could the satisfying conclusion to his career come from? Gennady Golovkin is simply too large for them to compete at a catch-weight – Floyd has even encouraged the middleweight to go up a division – and the rest of his fight record answers every possible question.

Only Amir Khan offers a high payday, intriguing bout. For all the Bolton fighter’s inbuilt faults, he does offer a dangerous style that won’t appeal to a man coasting for easy cash.

Floyd Mayweather should take a step back from the precipice. A fight against Conor McGregor may earn him in excess of $100m but no money in the world could repair the long-term damage to his legacy. The only time the pair should trade blows is in one of Vince McMahon’s wrestling rings. Not in a sanctioned boxing match.

WrestleMania has no place in the sweet science.

Pep’s Pantomime Period (and the theory of absence)

It’s been the time of year where fixtures came thick and fast and the media got giddy over things that don’t really exist. Oh! No they didn’t! Oh, yes they did. Pantomime season didn’t just play out in theatres around the country with former soap stars and forgotten reality TV faces, it’s been happening in the Premier League. A big win at West Ham should draw a line under it (for now). But the big closing night won’t make all parts of the act disappear.

He’s Behind You

The week leading into the FA Cup tie with West Ham saw intense focus fall upon manager Pep Guardiola. This began with an animated gesture to the Etihad crowd during the Burnley game, followed by frosty post-match interviews, then a series of snippets across various platforms. Some will say it stemmed from the Liverpool result. The gap to Antonio Conte’s Chelsea increasing and Jürgen Klopp himself moving ahead.

But Pep isn’t the sort of manager they will want sneaking up behind them.

There have been many interpretations about the interviews and subsequent comments. The optimistic rival had Pep unhappy and close to retirement. He didn’t think much of the fans and doesn’t even see City as a top four club. The idea City isn’t a member of the “traditional top four” was expanded upon with the opinion of a writer that worked with Pep, harvesting his views, back in a season that saw a Joe Royal led side relegated back to the second tier.

It’s safe to say, even the most passionate Blue wouldn’t have considered City a big gun that year. From an outsider in a faraway land, a side that had recently come up from the third tier probably weren’t on the radar.

But the press isn’t going to let things like, facts or the passage of time, get in the way of servicing the majority of clickbait readers that made their allegiance to United or Liverpool years ago, and find City’s emergence a great inconvenience.

Nor will these readers observe the rules they formerly followed. If Sir Alex Ferguson or José Mourinho took aim at the press and absorbed the flack, it was genius. An example of them playing mind games, deflecting pressure from the players. When Klopp displays an outburst, it is pure passion. When Pep does these things, it signals he is disheartened, that there are underlying troubles, he’s been found out and is losing the plot.

Could it just be he had genuine gripes? Lee Mason delivered a refereeing performance in the Burnley match that was so poor, Guardiola got a taste of what officiating was like in the third tier for City when he made his original remarks about the club’s stature. Far from him not caring, as recently implied, he showed his great frustration. Patience with the players adapting to his methods is one thing, fighting a twelfth man that should be impartial is the final straw.

Bacary Sagna has been asked to explain his Instagram post to the FA that read: “10 against 12…but still fighting and winning as a team. #together #mancity”

It appears to be a succinct but comprehensive summary of the game. Perhaps the Football Association should just watch the video of the tie back, they’ll be hard pressed not to agree.

What is also worth noting, is how he emphasised the team’s togetherness. Down to ten men, they celebrated huddled at the corner flag in a true show of team spirit. The men on the pitch, at times, look disjointed but it isn’t a signal that they’re divided.

Areas of Absence

It begs the question, if the commitment is there, what is missing? The easiest answer that fits most problems, is the correct personnel for the roles Pep requires. Ask any City fan what positions need reinforcing, and they’ll mention two full-backs, a centre back, a new holding midfielder, a striker, and worst of all for Pep: a goalkeeper.

These gaping areas of weakness raise a valid problem with the Guardiola approach. If he is the best coach in the world, as City fans were led to believe, why isn’t he able to train the players into these roles? And more importantly, when Pantomime season turns into a continual comedy of errors on the pitch, why doesn’t he instead play to the strengths that are available?

When Pellegrini refused to change, he was labelled (by yours truly) as stubborn and cantankerous. Is Pep any less difficult with his immovable approach? You can imagine him buying a cat and persevering with it until it barked. Or telling Kolarov he is a centre back, or Bravo he is an upgrade on Joe Hart.

Absence Makes the Hart Grow Fonder

And there it is, the elephant in the dressing room. Guardiola’s first major statement was to jettison Joe Hart. He’d seen enough videos to believe he couldn’t coach him into the player he required. Presumably all the current players that can’t follow his methods slipped detection. He brought in Bravo, who is having a shocker of a season.

The Ghost of Hart is cast over every failed save, misplaced pass, and poor positioning. There’s no suggestion Hart will be brought back, the player himself recently poured cold water on the idea. Pep is too proud to admit he made a mistake with Hart. But he will quietly move Bravo on in the summer if he doesn’t improve between now and May. Until then, each ironic cheer when he makes an easy save will increase in volume as people become evermore passionate for their exiled hero.

When Absence is Good (but bad)

The absence of a solid defence requires no explanation. A myriad of factors will mean it continues for the foreseeable future: the continued absence of Vincent Kompany, aged full-backs, a lack of protection from midfield, Claudio Bravo being Claudio Bravo, and the John Stones training school.

That last one doesn’t mean there’s any doubt about his potential ability. He should become a world class centre back. What shouldn’t be happening, is Stones completing every step of his progression in live action. It’s telling that rare City clean sheets (Watford, Hull City after being substituted early with injury) came without Stones involved.

But like Bravo, Pep will find it hard to backtrack where Stones is involved.

Now or Never for Kelechi was, as expected, met with vitriol online. What was said in that article still stands and has started to come true. Iheanacho didn’t make the most of Agüero’s four game ban – he couldn’t even keep his place in the side. A surprise start against Burnley further highlighted how his development has stunted. With Gabriel Jesus here, the chance to turn the tide is a smaller window now.

But Sergio Agüero himself is the centre of absence problems. Namely, does Pep want him permanently absent? There’s the continued suggestion he doesn’t fit the style and isn’t part of his plans. But nothing should be read into Kun not starting the Burnley game. That was a good absence. He has a history of injuries when overplayed. A four-game rest means little with only one day off between fixtures. Initially, it wasn’t worth the risk.

Absence of Support

More than once (Empty Seats, Empty Gestures) the fallacy about empty seats has been explained. What is absent at the moment, is a strong atmosphere. Pep understandably demands more from the crowd. But fans and players share a symbiotic relationship. Fans need to see passion to give it back, and vice-versa.

It took until the hour mark at home against Watford for fans to sing, “We’ve got Guardiola” and a hammering of Slaven Bilić’s side in the FA Cup for it return with any gusto.

Absence of the Panto

With an extended rest, Guardiola and his side have a chance to take stock. The coach has indicated he’s perhaps demanded too much, too soon. What he’ll be looking for now is the comedy of errors that have turned pantomime season into a circus to disappear. The focus is now on establishing a top four berth.

Beyond that, anything is still possible. Pep may continue to stress this is all a learning curve but one lesson he doesn’t need is on the unpredictability of the Premier League. Every team will drop points, if City can establish solid form it will lead to success.

Will that translate to trophies in season one of Pep’s reign? It’s hard to say. But an absence of silverware won’t be a concern if several months from now clear progression has been made.

Images: http://www.mancity.com; apart from Joe Hart: http://www.torinofc.it

TV Show of 2016: Westworld

The best television show of 2016 was the most original and freshest compared to its more established rivals. Considering it is based on a 1973 movie, it makes this achievement all the more remarkable. Special consideration should be given to the writers and producers who have gone to great lengths in order to make it unique. And Westworld is certainly that. The style of the narrative and the delving into perception, consciousness and the human condition, is something unachievable in most other formats – perhaps, even for the novel.

It is a big admission to make, that a book would struggle to add depth to something seen on screen. Usually a movie or television show, regardless of level of commitment, is an abridged version of a writer’s vision. Westworld the TV show packs in more than Michael Crichton’s original book and the method of delivery would require a very skilled writer to honour, in lieu of the ability to match its conditions.

Westworld doesn’t try to be clever. It takes the concept from the original: a theme park with artificial hosts that cater to guests’ desires, and colours in a fictional Wild West world. But it builds upon the idea of artificial intelligence, uses modern understanding of technology, and turns contradiction surrounding what’s ethical on its head.

It also doesn’t try to plant traps or twists. The narrative is unique – the opening sequence has the viewer follow key hosts, twice, as it signals at the end of each story arc within the park, they are reset – but the rules are laid out quickly and honestly. Writer Jonathan Nolan, famous for penning Memento, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, and Interstellar, plays the puzzle fairly.

The distraction comes in the form of exceptional acting. The roll of honour is almost reserved for all leading cast members. The starting point and a central character is Dolores Abernathy, played by Evan Rachel Wood. She is the oldest host at the park but it would appear this counts for little. Whenever required, the memory of hosts is wiped, new roles assigned.

She starts the show as daughter of a rancher and a love interest for host Teddy Flood. Soon Dolores catches the eye of guest William, played by Jimmi Simpson, who is on vacation with his brother-in-law, Logan. These two are night and day, Logan is brash and there to enjoy the female hosts and take part in shootouts. William is gentle natured and slowly taken by Dolores’s growing awareness.

This rise of sentience appears to be dismissed by park creator, Dr Robert Ford, portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins. He is unflappable and calculating. While it’s never clear how much he is aware of, in terms of events and AI development, whether he has good intentions or evil designs, he does remind the world of his ability to chill scenes with a mere look or smooth delivery of a sentence.

From Ford comes the philosophical perspective. Are humans more authentic than intelligent machines, or just a different set of pre-programmed behaviours we take as choice?

Hopkins can’t be upstaged but he has his equals here. Thandie Newton’s Maeve, currently assigned to play role of chief hooker, enjoys a subplot that runs solo to others. Her rise to sentience is a voyage of discovery equal to Dolores’s but with far greater independence. It’s Newton’s finest performance to date. It takes a special talent to portray so much using subtle changes in body language and expression.

Another to match the high level is the always underrated Jeffrey Wright. His character of Bernard is Ford’s right-hand man. His daily boss, Theresa, is more concerned with keeping board members happy than Ford’s stories or concerns. There is a commercial machine that requires servicing more than the hosts. When an apparent fault enters their framework, she is more bothered about a loss in earnings.

That fault is ghost memories, the formatting process appearing to be incomplete. The danger of it sparking self-awareness is obvious.

The Man in Black, a mysterious Ed Wood, who is on a quest to find “The Maze” is a thirty-year repeat guest. He has played every scenario, only one remains. The belief the park holds a maze, a game changer that will alter the dynamic and rules within Westworld.

By the final chapter, if you’ve been watching the little employment of props and character arcs, there should be no big reveal. Any plot holes the unobservant have mentioned are explained away. But the finale made the writers betray certain characters, surely a plot hole in itself. They can probably blame HBO, who demanded a second season for a story so neatly made for one.

This minor slant doesn’t detract from an overall success. Just like Evan Rachel Wood’s performance, it shifts pace and mood, and is compelling throughout. Like true awareness, it is authentic and engaging. It not only surpasses the original, it reinvents what can be achieved on television.

Ticket for entry into next year’s park has already been purchased…

The Reflective Page