The rare occasion where the sizzle can be far greater than the steak.

Mayweather vs. McGregor.

Floyd “Money” Mayweather – the best boxer of this generation. 49-0. Absorb that – the man has never lost a professional boxing match.

“The Notorious” Conor McGregor – the MMA sensation who is 21-3 and on a tear. He was the first champion in UFC history to hold titles in two divisions at once.

Last month, they came to an agreement to meet in a traditional boxing ring in a boxing match. Surely these two will face each other in the first major cross-promotional match in the history of combat sports and it will be an epic match with no way of predicting the winner, right?

Not really. For the most part, pundits are in almost unanimous agreement that McGregor has no chance. How can an MMA fighter possibly stand a chance in a boxing ring against a boxer?

I’ll keep the fight analysis to a minimum, because that’s not what this blog is about. Mayweather is the best defensive boxer on the planet. He knows how not to get punched. However, his entire career has been avoiding getting punched… by boxers. So perhaps McGregor will bring an unpredictable, unorthodox style to their match that Mayweather has never seen, and McGregor might land a lucky haymaker. And maybe the 12 years of youth McGregor has on Mayweather will work to his advantage. But these are very low-odd maybes in a match that will likely result in Mayweather doing his defensive magic and winning on points, or simply knocking out an overmatched Mystic Mac.

But nobody will care.

It’s the two months of hype, trash talking and promotion that everyone is buying into.

The whole spectacle has a WWE feel to it – the match itself may not be good, but everything leading up to it will be entertaining and tell a story.

15,000 fans surrounded the Budweiser Stage at Ontario Place to watch these two talk. They all paid – $20-50 on average. To watch these two trash talk each other.

And in that regard, McGregor is untouchable. His lightning quick wit is probably faster than his punches will be, and that’s all the world wants to see.

Mayweather: I’m 40 and I look 20…
McGregor: Yeah, and you act 10!
Crowd: Massive laughs and cheers – money’s worth already.

The aftermath of this Toronto event is that everyone loved it. The crowd loved it. The media loved it. Toronto’s homegrown rap superstar Drake made an appearance in no official capacity. The hype is there. The promotion is there. And that’s all anybody cares about, because virtually everybody knows the fight itself is going to be awful. And yet – it’s going to break sales and viewership records. And that’s all that matters in the end.

So congratulations to everybody involved for creating a rare occasion in which the sizzle is far greater than the steak… and everybody is ok with it. With our clients especially, we’re used to giving them the sizzle, but also working with them to ensure that the steak is just as satisfying. With products outside the entertainment industry, there’s no other choice.

But we’re ok with that, because everyone at Impact North loves a delicious steak.