McGregor has plenty of options for future
LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather is certain his days in a boxing ring are done, but Conor McGregor isn’t quite so sure.
Mayweather, 40, certainly sounds like he is calling it a career after scoring a 10th-round technical knockout over McGregor on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Mayweather improved to 50-0 after his 27th stoppage, and declared it would be his last fight despite two previous retirements.
“Anybody calling me out, forget it,” Mayweather said. “I had a great career; a tremendous career.”
McGregor, meanwhile, said he would take a break before deciding whether his next appearance would be in the boxing ring or an octagon. He is the reigning UFC lightweight champion and will have to defend that belt soon or be stripped. But he earned an estimated $75-$100 million for fighting Mayweather and didn’t absorb the kind of damage he might have in a mixed martial arts fight against someone like Nate Diaz. “I have many options in MMA and I’m sure there are options that will present themselves in the boxing game,” McGregor said.
Despite losing to Mayweather, boxing remains a viable option for McGregor. Considering it was his first as a professional, he was competitive early in the fight and landed enough blows to make a fight with a lesser talent marketable.
“I’ll see what’s next,” McGregor said. “I’m open. I love competing. I love a good fight. I can’t tell you exactly what’s next. But something will be next.”
McGregor is under contract to the UFC and its president Dana White made it clear he wants the Irishman back in mixed martial arts. Asked if he would support McGregor if he wished to box again, White said, “I would rather he did not. This isn’t what he does. He’s a mixed martial artist where he goes in and he fights and he uses all of his weapons and tonight he was only allowed to use his hands. I think he did great tonight. I don’t think there’s anything left to prove. I would rather he fight mixed martial arts.”
Problem is McGregor may have outgrown the traditional UFC template and his exposure to Mayweather will only serve to motivate McGregor to seek his independence and expand McGregor Sports and Entertainment, his newly created promotional company.
Mayweather-McGregor proved that McGregor carries with him a large international fan base that will pay to see him in the octagon or a boxing ring. He could opt to box someone like Paulie Malignaggi and earn a bigger purse than a return to the octagon might offer. McGregor made roughly $14-$17 million in his most recent UFC fights.
Considering the controversy created when Malignaggi sparred with McGregor in preparation for Mayweather and the two began a social media war. It could turn into a money maker for McGregor especially if the fight is in the U.K. Tickets for Saturday priced proved overpriced, limiting the crowd to 14,623 compared to 20,500 who attended Canelo-Chavez.
While McGregor weighs his options Mayweather leaves the sport with a milestone 50th victory and certain entry into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in five years. He is the best fighter of his generation and the “TBE” when it comes to making money in the ring. His take from the McGregor bout should elevate him near $1 billion in career earnings.
He won his first title in 1998 by beating Genaro Hernandez for the super featherweight title and his list of subsequent conquests includes Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Canelo Alvarez, Marcos Maidana, and Manny Pacquiao
“After 21 years in boxing, I had some great fights and I had some boring fights,” Mayweather said. “But at the end of the day, I will be always remembered as a winner. No matter how you win as long as you win.”
No one has done that better than Mayweather.