After trading barbs back-and-forth, mostly on social media, retired American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. admits a fight against mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor makes sense – at least to him.
Mayweather has been retired from boxing since September 2015, when he routed Andre Berto in a one-sided fight to retire with a perfect 49-0 win-loss record. However, that has not stopped him from openly contemplating a boxing match against McGregor, the biggest draw in MMA right now.
In an interview on Showtime, Mayweather explained why he is open to a fight against McGregor – but not against anybody else.
"I'm a businessman, when it's all said and done," Mayweather explained. "That's all about entertainment right there."
A fight against McGregor – the first MMA fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC titles – is something that fight fans want to see, according to Mayweather.
"I know we can do some crazy numbers, if we can make that fight happen," said the American, who retired as the highest-paid athlete in the world.
It remains to be seen if there will be serious negotiations between Mayweather and McGregor.
UFC president Dana White last week offered both fighters $25 million and a share of pay-per-view revenue to face off, which Mayweather laughed off. The American insisted that he will not fight unless given a guarantee of $100 million.
Mayweather had previously claimed that he offered McGregor $15 million to fight, as well as a share of the pay-per-view revenue.
The ongoing back-and-forth between the two camps have caught the ire of Top Rank chief executive Bob Arum, who promoted Mayweather early in his career.
"What you're hearing from Mayweather and McGregor is just talk. It's just chatter," Arum told Boxing Scene last week. "It keeps both of their names out there, and there's really nothing very serious to contemplate."
"We can enjoy the repartee between the two of them, but they are not getting into a boxing ring and fighting because the UFC would not allow it," he concluded.
For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.
0 comments :
Post a Comment