“We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition of a real fight. But there’s been talks of both.”
Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. has claimed that talks are underway for a rematch with Conor McGregor ahead of his exhibition with Japanese MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura at Saitama Super Arena on Saturday.
Mayweather, widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, defeated McGregor via 10th-round TKO in a 2017 boxing match that sold over 4.3 million PPV buys and saw both men earn a combined $410 million from the fight.
‘The Best Ever’ claims negotiations are underway for a rematch but that is undecided whether it will be an exhibition or a professional fight. Mayweather claims the fight will take place in 2023 after McGregor has recovered from injury.
“I want to go out there this weekend and have fun, then I have another exhibition in Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023. We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition of a real fight. But there’s been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition,” Mayweather told the Daily Mail.
?? Floyd Mayweather has now declared that a Conor McGregor rematch is in final negotiations to potentially take place in 2023. He said: “We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition or a real fight, but there’s been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition.” [@MailSport]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) September 21, 2022
“I am not into fights where I am going to take any real punishment,” he added. “So, guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don’t really hit hard such as YouTubers or UFC guys, I don’t really mind colliding with those kinds of individuals but nothing where I am going to put myself in a position where I am going to harm myself or hurt myself.”
Floyd’s comments come months after UFC president Dana White said he wants no part of a McGregor-Mayweather rematch and that Conor’s next fight would ‘be in the cage’.
McGregor hasn’t fought since he suffered a broken leg in his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264, with the Irishman looking to return to competition by early next year, possibly at welterweight.