MAYWEATHER vs McGregor II on course

FLOYD MAYWEATHER vs Conor McGregor II is on course for Saudi Arabia — on a mega-money cruise ship.

McGregor, 32, had plenty of irons in the fire before the weekend but his shock second-round KO loss to Dustin Poirier on Saturday’s UFC show in Abu Dhabi wrecked his plans for a boxing bout with Manny Pacquiao.

And Mayweather wasted no time before steaming in and insulting The Notorious, in the perfect way to kick-off the hype around their potential second blockbuster.

Before the ice pack on McGregor’s battered right leg had even melted, the 50-0 boxing legend called him ‘Conman Artist McLoser’ and panned his bid to face eight-weight icon Pacquiao, who Mayweather beat in 2015.

Money Man said: “Just know, that bum will never be me or be on my level.

“I’m just built different, my mindset is on another planet, my skills are second to none, I’m a natural born winner and yes I talk a lot of trash, but every time I back it up.

“Connor cannot even win in his own sport, but talking about coming back to boxing to fight Pacquiao.

“Nobody wants to see that, it’s like my leftovers eating leftovers.”

The first MayMac fight in 2017 almost sold out the 16,000 seater T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, raking in around £50million in VIP ticket sales.

But with the pandemic flooring the idea of packed arenas or stadiums, the idea of a luxury liner with only a few super-rich fans buying megamoney tickets has been floated.

McGregor sailed into Yas Island for the weekend’s bout on a 300ft yacht and a huge secluded bubble would minimise Covid-19 risks, while adding a James-Bond level of intrigue.

Anthony Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn revealed last year that he had been pitched the idea of a boat hosting AJ’s December win over Kubrat Pulev, that eventually happened at Wembley Arena.

So there is definitely a floating boxing ring somewhere that is being offered to the world’s biggest matchmakers.