The speculation surrounding a potential superfight that would feature retired boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC star Conor McGregor continues to build in 2017.
In a Showtime interview Saturday night (via Mike Cranston of the Associated Press), Mayweather said a fight “can happen,” noting it would ideally take place in the 147- to 150-pound range.
The 39-year-old was quick to point out that he would be on “the A-side” of the bout and that it would be carried by Showtime Sports if it does happen (via Jonathan Snowden of Bleacher Report).
His comments came just hours after McGregor told Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting (h/t ESPN.com) in front of a live audience in Manchester, England, that he’s focused on Mayweather: “That fight is being more than explored—that fight has been in the works for a while now. It’s a fight the people want; it’s the fight I want. … The next time I fight I will step through the ropes with…gloves on. I got my eyes on one thing, and that’s Floyd Mayweather.”
On Jan. 14, UFC President Dana White offered each fighter $25 million on top of pay-per-view splits when speaking with Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports (via Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com). That was a $10 million increase from Mayweather’s offer to McGregor, which was $15 million, plus pay-per-view splits, per Brian Campbell of ESPN.com.
But McGregor has a larger sum on his mind, as he told Helwani: “If [the] Manny [Pacquiao] and Floyd [fight] did half a billion, this is a $1 billion fight. People gotta pay for it.”
Mayweather retired from boxing with a 49-0 record after beating Andre Berto in September 2015. However, he’s been linked with a fight against McGregor for a majority of the time since.
McGregor is 11 years younger than Mayweather and has little boxing experience, though the UFC lightweight champion has a 21-3 career record in MMA.
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