Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather has said that he is ready to fight UFC star Conor McGregor, but only if he is guaranteed to get paid $100 million and if McGregor is prepared to take $15 million, which will be the highest pay he has ever received till date. Along with that McGregor would also receive a minor part of the pay-per-view revenue.
Also read: Look who challenged Conor McGregor to a fight
Mayweather who is currently 49-0 in his professional boxing career just needs to win one more fight to equal the record of boxing legend Rocky Marciano that stands at 50-0. In a recent interview he said he is determined to make the fight happen.
"I'm saying right here: Conor McGregor keeps telling everybody he wants the fight – let's make it happen. We tried to make the fight. They know what my number is. My number was a guaranteed $100m. We're the A-side and I don't know how much money he has made? I'm pretty sure he hasn't even made $10m from an MMA bout.
But we are willing to give him $15m and then we can talk about splitting the percentage, the back-end percentage on pay-per view. But of course we're the A-side. How can a guy talk about $20m or $30m if he's never even made $8m or $9m [for one fight]? The only thing I'm probably interested in is the Conor McGregor fight. I'm a businessman, and it makes more business sense," ESPN quoted Mayweather as saying.
Conor McGregor who got his boxing license last year from the state of California has not yet responded to these claims made by Floyd Mayweather.
Despite these talks, Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum does not believe that this fight will actually happen. Arum, who worked as Mayweather's promoter for over ten years said that the two fighters were just looking for media attention.
"It's preposterous. Conor McGregor is probably the leading mixed martial arts professional, that's a different sport from the sport of boxing. If Floyd fought McGregor under MMA rules, he would get wiped out by McGregor. McGregor in the ring with Floyd Mayweather or any other reasonably good professional would get destroyed in a boxing match" boxingscene.com quoted Arum as saying.
He also went on to say that with McGregor being under contract with the UFC, any fight between the two would need their approval and that they would also have to be part of the promotion for that fight.
"As I understand it, McGregor is under contract to the UFC and therefore any kind of arrangement he makes for a boxing match has to be subject to the approval of UFC and they have to be part of the promotion".
"What you're hearing from Mayweather and McGregor is just talk, it's just chatter. 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 UFC would not allow it" Bob Arum was quoted as saying.
