Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/792945
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 MARCH 2017 23 OSCAR De La Hoya says a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor would be an em- barrassment for boxing and mixed martial arts. Rumblings of a bout between multiple weight world champion Mayweather and UFC champion McGregor continue, with both sides having talked up a cross-code showdown for a number of months. But De La Hoya feels McGregor's lack of professional boxing experi- ence would make for serious safety concerns and believes it would be better if each man stuck to their re- spective discipline. Mayweather, now 40, has not fought since beating Andre Berto in September 2015 to make it 49 wins from 49. De La Hoya said: "Boxing is box- ing and MMA is MMA. They're two separate sports. It would be a joke, it would be an embarrassment for boxing if an MMA fighter were to go into the ring, it would be a no contest. "It would be the same thing if a fighter went into the octagon. It would be an embarrassment for MMA. "I just feel that these are two sepa- rate sports and you have McGregor who is the best at what he does, and you have Mayweather who is the best at what he does. I don't see this fight taking place, not in a million years. "Not only are there safety issues, but if McGregor gets in a box- ing ring he'll get outclassed easily. McGregor has never fought a boxer ever in his life. It's a whole different sport. "When you cannot kick, when you cannot clinch, when you can- not do the armbar, when you can- not choke somebody out and you can only punch, it's a whole dif- ferent sport, it's a whole different discipline. "What McGregor should do, in all seriousness, is he should start off by fighting an amateur boxer, win a few amateur fights, maybe go on to win the Golden Gloves. "And then when he turns pro he should fight a four-rounder, maybe he'll get beat, but he should get ex- perience in boxing. Then call out the best. You cannot be calling out a top fighter in boxing right off the bat." Sport Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine or partly cloudy VISIBILITY: Good WIND: West to Southwest force 4 to 5 veering Northwest force 4 to 5, locally force 5 to 6 SEA: Slight becoming moderate SWELL: Low East Southeast becoming low West Northwest overnight SEA TEMP: 15 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. MAINLY SUNNY 19 º C / 12 º C UV INDEX: 2 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 1. Cloth bag filled with beans (7) 5. Readable (7) 9. Lockjaw (7) 10. Collection of maps (5) 11. Walk (5) 12. One circuit (3) 13. Filter (6) 14. Device for holding up a stocking (6) 15. Engage in espionage (3) 17. Organisations (9) 21. Large (3) 23. Ski lodge (6) 24. Move back and forth (6) 27. Father (3) 28. Units (5) 29. Position (5) 30. Not friendly (7) 31. Enter again (2-5) 32. Own (7) Down 1. Glass containers (7) 2. Postmortem examination (7) 3. Flag (6) 4. Inflammation of the stomach (9) 5. Person sentenced to life in prison (5) 6. Receive an academic degree (8) 7. Dramatic dances (7) 8. Entrap (7) 16. Steamer (9) 18. Submissive to authority (8) 19. Flee (7) 20. Made by humans (3-4) 21. The time a person goes to bed (7) 22. Female deity (7) 25. Hotel patrons (6) 26. Male voice (5) Qc8+ Kxc8 Re8# BOXING Oscar De La Hoya slams Mayweather v McGregor bout Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor