Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor Set To Fight Aug. 26
LAS VEGAS (CBSNewYork/AP) -- All the speculation is over: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor will indeed fight.
Now cue the hype machine.
Mayweather announced Wednesday that he will come out of retirement to face McGregor, the UFC star, on Aug. 26 at T-Mobile Arena is Las Vegas.
Mayweather, who retired in September 2015 after winning all 49 of his pro fights, will face a mixed martial arts fighter who has never been in a scheduled 12-round fight. The fight that will take place in a boxing ring and be governed by boxing rules.
"It's official," Mayweather said on his Instagram account next to a video poster of both fighters.
"THE FIGHT IS ON," McGregor tweeted several minutes earlier, posting a picture of himself next to one of Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr.
Mayweather will fight at the relatively advanced age of 40 in a bout that McGregor has been pushing for months. It finally came together over the last few days, and Nevada boxing officials on Wednesday approved the date for a Mayweather Promotions bout.
Though Las Vegas oddsmakers have made Mayweather a heavy 10-1 favorite, the thought of the fight has excited many in the MMA world. It has also intrigued some in boxing, though most dismiss McGregor's chances under boxing rules against one of the greatest defensive fighters in history.
Even if the actual bout may not shape up as a great matchup, the run-up to the fight will. Both fighters are noted for their ability to sell their fights, and both have exchanged in trash talking and more to promote their bouts.
The fight will be televised on pay-per-view on Showtime and would likely gross tens of millions of dollars. It comes less than a month before Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez meet in a highly anticipated fight that could rival it for pay-per-view buys.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
