Few people see the proposed Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight as anything other than a money-making sideshow. But just in case anyone is on the fence, Mayweather’s former rival in the ring, Oscar De La Hoya, has written an open letter attacking the putative bout as a “farce” that will hurt boxing.

“To my fellow boxing fans, I write in the hopes that together we can protect the sport of boxing,” De La Hoya, who is now a promoter, wrote. “With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the circus known as Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor will be coming to town in the near future. As undercard fights start to take form, athletic commissions give their blessings in exchange for millions of dollars, and the fighters start counting even more cash, one group will eventually be left to make sure this farce doesn’t occur – we, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our sport ... Our sport might not ever recover.”

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De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy, is promoting a fight between two of boxing’s biggest stars, Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez, in September and some believe if the Mayweather-McGregor fight does happen it could overshadow that bout.

“Now, I know critics will say that I’m only writing this letter because my company is promoting what will be the culmination of an outstanding boxing year when Canelo Alvarez takes on Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin in September, and I don’t want anything to distract attention away from that fight,” De La Hoya wrote. “But my interest is in the health of boxing as a whole. It always has been. And if Floyd were to come out of retirement to take on someone like Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, Errol Spence or some other top welterweight, not only would I applaud the fight, I’d be the first one on line for a ticket. That kind of fight is what the fans – and I am a fan first – deserve. Which brings me back to the circus.”

De La Hoya’s continued that McGregor’s lack of any professional boxing experience would severely compromise the contest.

“I fully understand the initial attraction from any fan of combat sports. McGregor is almost certainly the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter. Floyd is Floyd – the most dominant boxer of his time. But success in one sport does not guarantee success in another. Far from it. And let’s be clear, these are two different sports – from the size of the gloves fighters wear, to the size and shape of the ring, to the fact the one sport allows combatants to use their legs to strike.

“Think about it, beyond Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders [in NFL and MLB], what other athlete has successfully competed in two sports in the modern age? And Jackson and Sanders both played both baseball and football throughout their high school and college careers before going professional. Furthermore, it’s not like McGregor would be fighting a good fighter, let alone a mediocre one. He would be fighting the best. To use a bit of an extreme analogy, I happen to be a pretty good golfer. Could I potentially hold my own on one of the second-tier tours? Maybe. But would I be able to compete with Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth or Sergio Garcia? Of course not. Nor would I think to try.”

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McGregor claimed last week that he had agreed a deal to fight Mayweather and has applied for a boxing license in Nevada, where the fight would almost certainly take place. “The McGregor side is done,” UFC president Dana White told TNT. “I’m starting to work on the Mayweather side now.

The 40-year-old Mayweather last fought in September 2015 and was undefeated in 49 professional fights.