Looks Like Mayweather-McGregor May Happen
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Usually when Floyd Mayweather opens his mouth and talks money, things tend to happen—like a matchup with Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor.
Would it be a joke? Of course.
Will mass amounts of people pay to see it? Definitely.
Will it break all pay-per-view box office records? Probably.
It's why it will likely happen.
Related: Mayweather-McGregor Would Be The Biggest Sports Event Of 2017
Mayweather just turned 40 last week. He last fought September 12, 2015, beating Andre Berto by an easy 12-round decision to move his record to 49-0 with 26 knockouts.
So when asked if he's ready to step back in the ring recently by Showtime's Steve Farhood, Mayweather said yes.
"I'm here, let's make it happen," Mayweather told Farhood. "Every time McGregor goes out there and competes and wins, he does it standing up. When Conor McGregor did lose, he lost on the ground. He didn't lose standing up so he's a hell of a fighter. He's a very, very tough competitor and he has a will to win. Also, the UFC gloves are no different to boxing gloves, they just a little bit smaller. But if a guy got power, he got power and Conor McGregor got power.
"We already know what my number is. My number is there and he has to get his thing in order with his team. Once Conor McGregor speaks to the UFC and his bosses, then we can make it happen because we all know that Floyd Mayweather is his own boss. We got Showtime PPV, Mayweather Promotions - which is the past, the present and the future of sports entertainment so let's make the fight happen."
Some highly respected people in both the boxing and MMA world feel the Mayweather-McGregor fight, which would be fought as a boxing match, is a joke.
"It is a joke," said boxing Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya, owner of Golden Boy Promotions. "These are two distinct and very different disciplines. Boxing is boxing and MMA is MMA. You can't mix the two. Mayweather would crush him. It would be an embarrassment for boxing if an MMA fighter were to go into the ring. It would be the same thing if a fighter went into the octagon.
"McGregor is the best at what he does. Mayweather is the best at what he does. I don't see this happening. Not in a million years. Not only are there safety issues, but if McGregor gets in a boxing ring he'll get pounded. When you can't kick, when you can't do an armbar, or choke someone and the only weapon you have is a punch, you're in real trouble. That's what McGregor will be in if he does this."
And if he survives, he'll have the biggest payday and be part of the largest combat sporting event in history.
