2 solid lessons Muslims can get from this famous boxing match

The fight was Floyd ‘Pretty Boy’ Mayweather Jr. up against Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor. Mayweather (age 40), a previously retired welterweight champion of the world came out of retirement to bout with 29- year old McGregor, a UFC lightweight champion and martial arts superstar. The match was viewed by millions of people around the world, surpassing all previous viewing records and was easily one of the sporting and entertainment highlights of the year.

The match only lasted 10 rounds instead of the planned 12, but Mayweather and McGregor managed to guarantee themselves 100 million dollars and 30 million dollars respectively. 35.5 billion and 10.65 billion Naira in just a night’s work!

Characteristically, Mayweather is known as one of the smartest fighters of all time. It is no surprise then, that his record-breaking win was filled with lessons to help us grow intellectually, socially and emotionally. What was interesting for me, however, was how lessons from a boxing match could be applied to the practice of the religion of Islam.

LESSON 1: BE PATIENT

Mayweather is an excellent strategist. He studied Conor McGregor’s fights in the UFC and formulated a plan to beat him. McGregor has years of experience in 25-minute bouts, being able to beat almost any opponent within that time. However, a 12 round boxing match lasts about 50 minutes in total, inclusive of resting times. It thus became clear that the easiest way to defeat McGregor was to be patient and let him go at you, to tire him out.

And that was exactly what Mayweather did. Rather than evade punches, he came up close to McGregor and gave him opportunities to throw as many punches as he could, blocking most of them of course. After the first three rounds, Mayweather then began his tirade. It became evident why he was undefeated in his professional boxing career, and that Rocky Marciano’s record was soon to become a thing of the past.

As Muslims, we do not need to learn the importance of patience from ‘Sheikh’ Floyd Mayweather (ahem!), Allah says in verse 200 of Suratul Al Imran: “Oh, you who believe! Be patient in adversity, and vie in patience with one another, be ever ready to do what is right, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful. ”

Life on this earth is a struggle. We face daily challenges in our homes, offices, schools and other places of interaction. The best way to solve our problems is to be true to this verse. Be patient. Be ready to do what is right. And Fear Allah. You will never find a better recipe for success when facing trials and tribulations.

ALSO READ: Why every Muslim must be patient at all times

LESSON 2: SMALL ACTIONS

What is the easiest, most direct way to win a boxing match? Power punches leading to eventual Knockout of course! Power punches are punches that land solidly with force. There is a limit to how many of these punches a human being can take before being knocked to the ground, and unable to stand even after a 10-second count.

However, Mayweather decided to be consistent with body punches instead. Body punches, while seeming to have a little immediate effect are the surest way to win a match long-term. These small punches to the opponent’s body torso build up over time and drain all energy in the opponent after a few rounds of fighting. This is the ‘little drops make an ocean’ approach to fighting. In the end, it was the consistency of Mayweather’s small body punches that made all the difference.

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him said, “Take up good deeds only as much as you are able, for the best deeds are those done regularly even if they are few.”

In the same vein, as we plan to give charity, read the noble Qur’an, pray voluntary prayers and fast in the worship of Allah, let us remember that the hard and fast way to achieve it is not always the best way. It is time that we begin to embark upon small consistent deeds done in the proper Islamic methods and trust in Allah that he may accept them from us and grant us paradise.

I do hope you have been able to take away the two solid lessons from this article, and even more so that you apply them in future endeavours. As for me, perhaps the next stage is to put on boxing gloves. 100 million dollars no be small thing!

Written by Ola Salih, your brother in faith!