Tag: Mayweather vs. McGregor Megafight

Floyd Mayweather Reportedly to Request August 26 for Fight with Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly eyeing Aug. 26 for his prospective fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.
ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather Promotions plans to make a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to final…

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly eyeing Aug. 26 for his prospective fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather Promotions plans to make a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to finalize the August date.

According to Rafael, Mayweather Promotions originally wanted to go before the commission Wednesday but shelved the motion for the time being—likely because Mayweather hasn’t finalized a fight date with McGregor.

In a May 17 appearance on TNT during the network’s NBA playoffs coverage, UFC President Dana White said McGregor’s side had completed negotiations for the event, with Mayweather the remaining holdout:

An August fight would make sense, even though promoters would have only two-and-a-half months to hype the bout. Excitement for Mayweather vs. McGregor has arguably been building for more than a year, considering Mayweather first created a mock poster for the fight in May 2016.

All parties involved would also likely prefer to get ahead of the Gennady Golovkin-Saul Alvarez fight, which has been confirmed for Sept. 16. White said he envisioned the same date for Mayweather-McGregor.

Golovkin-Alvarez is easily the biggest matchup in boxing right now, and by scheduling their fight after that highly anticipated pay-per-view, Mayweather and McGregor would risk losing fans who intend to buy only one of the shows.

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Floyd Mayweather’s Promotion Reserves Arena in August Amid Conor McGregor Rumors

Mayweather Promotions have booked the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for August 26, 2017, amid ongoing speculation that retired Floyd Mayweather and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor could meet in the ring.
As noted by Mo…

Mayweather Promotions have booked the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for August 26, 2017, amid ongoing speculation that retired Floyd Mayweather and UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor could meet in the ring.

As noted by Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com, the August 26 entry in the Nevada Athletic Commission’s event calendar reads: “Mayweather Promotions will promote a professional boxing event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. This event will be televised on Showtime.”

Mayweather, 40, hung up his gloves in 2015 after defeating Andre Berto to retire with an immaculate 49-0 professional record.

He exclusively fought at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the last eight years of his career, encompassing his final 12 bouts, which notably included defeats of Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao.

Were Money to come out of retirement, he would likely opt to fight again at the Las Vegas venue.

And talk of a crossover clash between Mayweather and Irishman McGregor has been ongoing for much of 2017.

As recently as Sunday the 28-year-old McGregor posted a cryptic message on Instagram that had the rumour mill rumbling again:

The former UFC featherweight champion revealed back in May that he had signed his part of the deal for the clash with Mayweather, per Themaclife.com (via Nick Lustig of Sky Sports).

The booking of the MGM Grand is potentially another hint that the huge bout could soon be made official. 

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Dana White Says He’s ‘Running’ Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor Fight Talks

Despite a report to the contrary, UFC President Dana White said Thursday he is heading fight talks between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that WME-IMG and Mayweather’s manager, Al Haymon, h…

Despite a report to the contrary, UFC President Dana White said Thursday he is heading fight talks between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that WME-IMG and Mayweather’s manager, Al Haymon, had taken center stage with White having no involvement.

According to TMZ Sports, White responded: “We live in a world right now where you can’t believe anything that you read. … Who else would be running the Mayweather-McGregor deal than me?”

White added: “What does WME know about making big fights? … Trust me, I’m running the Mayweather-McGregor deal.”

In May, White said during the TNT NBA postgame show (h/t MMAFighting.com) that he had completed McGregor’s side of the deal and was set to start working with Mayweather on his side.

Mayweather has yet to fully commit to boxing the UFC Lightweight champion, but he has acknowledged that a bout with McGregor is the best possible option for him, per ESPN.com’s Nick Parkinson:

“The only fight that makes sense to me is the McGregor fight. I’ve accomplished everything I want to accomplish [against other boxers]. Conor McGregor is professional and so am I. He’s a stand-up fighter, and I’m a stand-up fighter. He kicks ass in the Octagon, and I kick ass in the boxing ring. The fans demand that fight and you have to give the fans what they want to see.”

According to Pugmire, those involved in the Mayweather-McGregor talks are attempting to get a deal done in time for the fight to occur by “early fall.”

The fight would be a mismatch on paper since Mayweather is 49-0 as a boxer, while McGregor has never had a professional boxing match.

Even so, the star power and charisma of both fighters are enough to anchor what could be a record-breaking event in terms of pay-per-view buys.

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