Mixed messages on big fight
SHOWDOWN BETWEEN MAYWEATHER AND MCGREGOR IS EDGING EVER CLOSER
Aone-off collision of combat sport kings – or a pointless circus sideshow with little or no intrinsic value as a spectacle? Whatever your viewpoint, headlines linking retired former welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather to a showdown with mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor suggests a money-spinning fight is edging closer.
This week the Irish Sun, citing an anonymous source reported that the two camps had agreed terms for a multi-million-dollar deal.
The only final hurdle to the deal being an unidentified “third-party holdup,” the paper added.
Soon, however, Mayweather appeared to distance himself from the reported deal.
“I am happily retired and enjoying life. If any changes are to come, be sure I will be the first to let the world know.”
But later Mayweather then indicated that a deal was ready to be done – provided McGregor could reach an agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), who own the Irish fighter’s contract, reported to be worth around $16 to 20 million per fight before pay per view earnings.
“Listen Conor McGregor, if you really want to get this fight done ... take care of your business with the UFC and then have your people get in touch with my people,” Mayweather stated.
UFC President Dana White separately told Britain’s Daily Telegraph that no fight would happen without the organisation’s involvement.
“McGregor’s under contract with me,” White told the paper. “How would I let somebody take this guy that I built and do it without me? That would be the stupidest move in history.”
ESPN mixed martial arts correspondent Brett Okamoto says McGregor’s contract with the UFC – who the fighter has criticised in the past – was the key obstacle to a Mayweather fight.
“There’s a lot of steps these two need to take in order for us to ever see this fight,” Okamoto said on ESPN. “The most crucial is getting the sign-off of the UFC. Conor McGregor remains under an exclusive contract with the UFC so they need to be involved in something like this, or he would potentially need to challenge them in court to get out of that contract. “I don’t think it’s at that point yet.” Kevin Iole, boxing correspondent for Yahoo Sports, told ESPN radio that it would be hard to sanction the bout on boxing grounds.
“You’re talking about a guy who is one of the best boxers of all time, who is 49-0, an Olympic medallist, a multi-division world champion, against a person who has never had a boxing match, neither an amateur fight or a pro fight,” Iole said. “Conor would have a puncher’s chance, yes ... but the odds are overwhelmingly with Mayweather, and he would make McGregor look silly, because McGregor’s not a boxer.” –