When British tabloid The Sun released a story reporting Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were on the verge of agreeing to a billion dollar mega-fight, it was met with virtually unanimous scepticism.
While it’s extremely unlikely this fight will ever become a reality (read: there’s absolutely zero chance it happens while McGregor is under contract with the UFC), the MMA superstar hasn’t done anything to dispel the rumours.
In fact, McGregor added fuel to the speculative fire in the form of this tweet Sunday morning.
Conor McGregor on Twitter
MMA Vs Boxing.pic.twitter.com/qgl8tKvT5s
All this poster really proves is that McGregor, or someone he knows, has access to Photoshop.
However, McGregor, the UFC’s biggest star, did tell Gareth A. Davies of BT Sport back in March he’d be interested in a “billion-dollar” boxing match with Mayweather.
“I’m open to discussions, come at me. But I hold the key and it’s me who holds the key to the fight game.” McGregor said. “I am open-minded, I am open to discussion, I love competition, I love fighting. It would be nice to make that fight if the fans were interested and wanted to see it.”
Mayweather addressed the reports Saturday in Las Vegas at the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Amir Khan fight.
“It’s possible. It’s possible. There was a name that was shot at me,” Mayweather told reporters. “The rumours that you all have been hearing are the rumours that I started. It may not be rumours, so keep your fingers crossed. It may be a boxer versus an MMA fighter. We just don’t know.
“Every time I go out there and compete at the highest level my number is of course $100 million or better. I feel that I can demand that because I’ve broken all records in the sport of boxing.”
The boxing legend announced his retirement last year following wins over Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto. The 39-year-old left the sport with an unblemished 49-0 record yet many fans and those in the boxing community believe Mayweather would return for another fight under the right circumstances. Mayweather recently confirmed in an interview with Showtime that a comeback is within the realm of possibility but it would come at a steep, nine-figure price.
The Sun’s report suggested Mayweather would earn £100 million in a boxing bout with McGregor while the loquacious Irishman would earn a fight purse of £7 million.
Again, take all this with a giant grain of salt.
“It’s not true. It’s just a tabloid story,” UFC president Dana White told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports. “And as far as I knew, Floyd is retired and he’s been on a world-wide vacation and hasn’t even been thinking of fighting.”
McGregor and UFC brass haven’t seen eye-to-eye in recent weeks. The featherweight champion was pulled from the main event of UFC 200 after refusing to fly to Las Vegas to promote the July 9 event.
It’s expected the 27-year-old will return to competition in a rematch with Nate Diaz in August though nothing has been confirmed by the UFC.
Jeremy Botter on Twitter
Besides, McGregor/Diaz is 99% done for the UFC 202 main event on August 20, anyway.
