Rio Ferdinand, yes that Rio Ferdinand, the 38-year-old former Manchester United center back and current television presenter, is reportedly going to announce his intention to become a professional boxer. Ferdinand has been a boxing fan for a long time, so it makes sense for him to want to see what it's really like in the ring, provided he's in good enough shape.
Ferdinand is not the first athlete to attempt the transition from a regular sport to boxing. Team sport athletes make late-career attempts at fighting sports all the time. The results are generally not positive, which is why we think for his first fight Ferdinand should go after a fellow boxing convert: Conor McGregor.
Think about it: McGregor is a ham who will turn the spectacle dial all the way up to 11, the media could spin it as either an England vs. Ireland thing or a soccer vs. MMA thing (or both) and both are sufficiently famous that people would probably watch.
However, it feels like this matchup is missing something. The spectacle would be fine, but I feel like Rio should shoot for a huge payday here. After all, he's 38, his body is breaking down at a rate that has helped cause him to retire from one sport already and he's not getting any younger. Sure, fighting Conor McGregor would mean a nice payday but let's try to be a little more ambitious here: Conor McGregor AND Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr.
Take the purse McGregor and Mayweather just split for their fight, then add in Rio Ferdinand's (modest, but probably not as small as you think) fee, and you've got yourself a proper payday and a proper three-ring circus. Because it would be three boxers fighting each other. This will increase the possibility for vicious knockouts exponentially, and that's all anyone watches boxing for anyway.
Really, why hasn't this been tried before? It's not like boxing has any integrity left. A lot of people would buy this pay-per-view and that's all we're really looking for here. The marketing people can give it a stupid name like "The Triple Threat" and everyone will be (even more) rich.
There are four corners in a boxing ring. Each fighter would have a corner, and we'd even have a corner left over for the next famous person who wants to try his or her hands at the sweet science. Or they could make a custom triangle ring. That would be pretty cool.
Prediction: Floyd would carry Ferdinand and McGregor for however long it takes for people to feel like they got their money's worth then get bored and knock them both out, while leaving room for a lucrative rematch.
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