Floyd Mayweather Jr. is intrigued by the possibility of a cross-sport mega-fight between him and MMA fighter Conor McGregor. The former 5-division boxing world champion says he is staying retired but admits a collision course with UFC's reigning featherweight champion is too lucrative to ignore.
Money's Terms
In a recent interview with ES News via Fox Sports, Mayweather claimed that he will only come out of retirement if his next fight is against the 27-year-old Irishman. He added that the record-breaking bout would have to be under boxing rules and would have to be played inside a boxing ring, as opposed to an octagon.
"If I do fight, it's only against Conor McGregor, not against nobody else," Mayweather declared. "You have (a boxer) against an MMA fighter, one of the best MMA fighters to ever stand up and do it. He's a strong fighter, and when I look at his fights, he's a little faster than I thought he was."
McGregor's Chances
Mayweather's comments may be nothing more than false praise to further hype up the fight. Boxing News 24 noted that McGregor is far from the best fighter in the UFC in terms of stand up game. While there's no denying McGregor's box-office draw, popularity doesn't mean long-lasting dominance in the world of MMA as much as in boxing.
UFC's marquee fighters often have a brief window of glory before they're beaten by younger foes with better skills. Despite McGregor's far from polished boxing acumen, his current marketability still reigns supreme. This is likely the reason why Mayweather is fixated in fighting him rather than Jose Aldo or Nate Diaz.
Talk Is Cheap
Mayweather also revealed that The Money Team has already been discussing on possible dates and venues for the McGregor fight. Meanwhile, UFC boss Dana White advised Mayweather to forego the hoopla and call him immediately if he really wants to make the fight happen, as per MMA Fighting.
