Rumor: Conor McGregor Vs. Floyd Mayweather Happening In September
Several weeks ago, a rumor surfaced which suggested that boxing’s pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. would be taking on UFC mega-star Conor McGregor in a boxing match. It was a rumor that was quickly dismissed, but now, it’s looking like Floyd vs. Conor may actually end up happening.
Mayweather, who retired last September after defeating Andre Berto, has an unblemished record of 49-0, and it’s been reported that he’s looking to get to 50-0, which would be the best record in boxing history. Also, the aforementioned Andre Berto fight completely bombed on pay-per-view, which is probably why Mayweather is trying to set up a bout with the UFC’s pay-per-view king.
As for when the rumored fight will happen, well, according to Fox’s Colin Cowherd, it’s going to happen this coming September.
On Sunday, Conor McGregor commented on the possibility of him stepping into the ring with Floyd Mayweather, and he also shot down the rumor that Mayweather would make $100 million for the fight, while he would only make $7 million.
“I hear the boy talking… The leak came out, and it was him who leaked the rumor, and he said he gets $100 million while I get $7 million. That’s a pay-cut to me – I don’t take pay-cuts, I thought boxing was where the money was at. The $7 million is absolutely laughable, he’s talking $100 million and I’m also talking $100 million.”
McGregor also is confident that he’ll soundly defeat Mayweather, saying that he has the reach, height, and youth on his side.
Most believe that Mayweather would have absolutely no problem defeating McGregor if the two were to square off in a boxing ring, which is most likely where the fight would take place. McGregor says that he would prefer it to be a boxing match, because that would be a load off his back because he would be allowed to focus on just boxing, and not all of the different elements of mixed-martial-arts.
“I don’t really care about rules – he can make all the rules he wants. I know he would not want to fight in an MMA contest, in a true fight. If he wants to fight in a limited fight, that’s no problem, we can do that. I’m in the game of spinning plates, and if I were to put all of those other plates down to focus on spinning a boxing plate, it would be a load off my shoulders.”
McGregor won’t be allowed to fight Mayweather without the UFC’s blessing, as he is still under a long-term contract with the company. There’s a good chance that the UFC would want to co-promote the rumored mega-fight if it were to happen.
MMA Vs Boxing. pic.twitter.com/qgl8tKvT5s
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 8, 2016
"The single biggest fight in the world right now would be Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor."
– Greeny pic.twitter.com/eRTJMWdp2i— Keyshawn, JWill & Max (@KeyJayandMax) May 26, 2016
It’s also been reported that CBS / Showtime has been talking with the UFC’s television partner Fox about putting this fight together.
Mayweather has typically fought in both May and September over the last couple of years, so the rumor that the fight will take place in September makes sense.
The UFC is currently in the midst of trying to set up the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rematch, but they haven’t had any luck doing so thus far. But if that fight ends up getting made, it’ll likely take place this coming November at Madison Square Garden, which would mean, at least for the time being, that the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight won’t be happening.
As for who Mayweather would fight instead of McGregor, well, there’s a couple of options. One of them is Gennady Golovkin, who will probably be fighting Canelo Alvarez at some point in the near future. Another option is the undefeated Keith Thurman, who was rumored to be Mayweather’s retirement opponent before the bout with Andre Berto was made official.
[Photos by John Locher/AP Images]
