Mayweather back to face McGregor

LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC star Conor McGregor will meet Aug. 26 in a boxing match that will feature two of the top-selling fighters in theworld.

The two fighters both announced the fight Wednesday, after months of speculation about whether Mayweather would come out of retirement at the age of 40 to face a mixed martial arts fighter who has never had a pro boxing match.

Oddsmakers immediately made Mayweather a big 11-1 favorite in a fight that will take place in a boxing ring and be governed by boxing rules.

“It's official,” Mayweather said on Instagram next to a video poster of both fighters.

“THE FIGHT IS ON,” McGregor tweeted several minutes earlier, posting a picture of himself next to one of Mayweather's father, Floyd Sr.

Mayweather, who retired in September 2015 afterwinningall49of his pro fights, will face the Irish UFC superstar at the MGM Grand arena. He had tweeted a picture of himself sparring in recent days.

“This is really an unprecedented event,” said Stephen Espinoza, who heads Showtime Sports, which will handle the payper-view. “Really we haven't seen anything in modern history that resembles it, it's impossible to predict how many sales this will do.”

Espinoza said the fight came together quickly afterMcGregor and theUFC reached agreement last month on their end of the deal and Mayweather's team pushed for the fight in recent days.

“All parties were motivated and reasonable and thrilledwecouldgeteverything done,” he said. “The sky's the limit on this.”

Mayweather will fight at the relatively advanced age of 41 in a bout thatMcGregor has been pushing for months. It finally came together and Nevada boxing officials onWednesday approved the date for a Mayweather Promotions bout.

Though oddsmakers makeMayweather a big favorite, the thought of the fight has excited many in theMMAworld. Ithasalso intrigued some in boxing, though most dismiss McGregor's chances under boxing rules against one of the greatest defensive fighters in history.