- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor were given an 8-ounce gift by the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Wednesday — gloves.

The Aug. 26 boxing match between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and “The Notorious” Conor McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas became even more exciting for fans with a unanimous vote by NSAC.

Officials agreed to a one-time exception to let Mayweather and the reigning UFC lightweight champion champion duke it out in 8-ounce gloves for their 154-pound bout, a weight where fights are normally contested in 10-ounce gloves.

“I am very pleased with the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s handling of my next bout today,” McGregor said on his official Instagram account. “Fair play was kept all the way through … This was handled very well and very fairly by the NSAC. I am very pleased and respect the Commissions ruling on this. 10 days until fight time.”

The decision comes two weeks after Mayweather issued the 8-ounce challenge on his Instagram account Aug. 1. Both fighters filed a request shortly afterward asking that the rule requiring them to use 10-ounce gloves be waived in this case.

Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe told ESPN after the announcement that “Floyd wanted Conor to be as comfortable as possible, so there wouldn’t be any excuses.”


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Mr. McGregor is considered one of the best punchers in the UFC, but he is accustomed to using that sport’s 4-ounce gloves. Heavier gloves tend to muffle the impact of punches and, for a man used to the smaller MMA gloves, they can also limit his power by slowing his hands and disrupting his timing.

“Conor has vowed he’ll knock out Floyd in four rounds. He recently corrected that and said if the commission approved 8-ounce gloves, he doesn’t give Floyd two rounds,” Mr. Ellerbe told the network. “I have no reason to believe he’s not feeling very confident, and I want him to continue to have that confident attitude.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

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