What’s the story?
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and one of boxing’s greatest legends, Floyd Mayweather Jr., have been at one another’s necks for the better part of a year, with rumors continuing to circulate that the two may eventually settle their differences inside the squared circle. Mayweather has already made his price tag of $100 million to come out of retirement and fight, but McGregor is asking for the exact same amount to make the jump over to the world of boxing.
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Although he is a mixed martial artist, McGregor is also a former amateur Irish boxing champion who’s stand-up capabilities have been on great display inside the Octagon, as the majority of his 20 wins in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) have come via knockout.
The heart of the matter
During a recent interview with ESPN (via LowKickMMA) Mayweather discussed the possibility of fighting McGregor in a boxing bout, and he had this to say:
“We tried to make the Conor McGregor fight. They know what my number is,” Mayweather said. “My number was a guaranteed $100 million, that was my number. We’re the ‘A’ side and I don’t really know how much money Conor McGregor has made. I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even made $10 million in a MMA bout.
“But we are willing to give him $15 million and then we can talk about splitting the percentage, the back end percentage on pay-per-view. But of course, we’re the ‘A’ side. How can a guy talk about $20 or $30 million if he’s never made $8 or $9 million?”
McGregor then responded with this post:
What’s next?
Before McGregor decides to make a career switch to the world of boxing, he has some unfinished business to attend to in his championship weight class of 155 pounds in the UFC. After winning the title from Eddie Alvarez via second round knockout at UFC 205 this past November, two perennial contenders in No. 1-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson await their respective shots at ‘The Notorious One’s’ title.
Sportskeeda’s take:
A bout between McGregor and Mayweather in the world of boxing is simply unlikely. Mayweather has accomplished an extraordinary feat during his run in the ring, while McGregor has accomplished quite a bit in his sport as well and is still in the prime of his fighting career. Although the anticipation for the superfight is massive, the bout will most likely never see the light of day.
