Mayweather: ‘If McGregor is smart he’ll let me kick his ass’
Mayweather says McGregor should fight him and make tens of millions in a boxing match before the Irishman loses in the UFC.
The difference between me and him is this: He has to fight. If I was him and I was smart, before I lose again in the UFC I’d let Floyd Mayweather kick my ass for a lot of money. It makes business sense.
Mayweather also notes that McGregor is an employee:
There’s a difference between being an employee and an employer. If someone says ‘I want to fight Floyd Mayweather’, I can simply say ‘yes, let’s make it happen’. But when you’ve got a guy like Conor McGregor he has to talk to Dana White (the UFC president). Dana has to talk to Dana’s bosses. Conor’s not a shot caller. When they said ‘Why is Floyd Mayweather not fighting Manny Pacquiao?’, it was because Manny Pacquiao had a boss. I don’t have a boss. We could have easily made the fight happen years ago. Everything happens for a reason. The first time I was going to fight Manny Pacquiao I was guaranteed $50 million but I had patience. And when I had patience that fight became a $300 million fight. This guy said I’m a pussy, I’m scared, I’m a chicken. All 49 said the same thing and all the results were the same. So with that being said, if Conor McGregor really wants to fight me, we can make it happen. But is he blowing smoke up everybody’s ass? We need to know.
Muhammad Ali’s ex-wife: ‘He’d be a McGregor fan’
Khalila Ali says her ex-husband would have supported McGregor.
Ali don’t like anybody dull, he likes everybody exciting. He’d be a Conor McGregor [fan]. Conor McGregor’s the guy.
De La Hoya: McGregor should fight amateurs first
De La Hoya says boxing will be a “joke” if McGregor takes on Mayweather without having warm-up fights.
It would be a joke, it would be an embarrassment for boxing, if an MMA fighter were to go into the ring. It would be a no-contest. It would be the same thing if a fighter went into the Octagon, it would be an embarrassment for MMA. If McGregor gets inside a boxing ring, he’ll get outclassed easy. McGregor has never fought a boxer, ever in his life. In all seriousness, he should start off by fighting an amateur boxer, win a few amateur fights, maybe go on to win the Golden Gloves or something, and then when you turn pro he should fight a four-rounder, [in] which maybe he’ll get beat. But he should get experience in boxing and then call out the best. You cannot be calling out a top fighter in boxing right off the bat.
Lobov: Mayweather won’t last six rounds against McGregor
Lobov, McGregor’s training partner, says Mayweather cannot beat McGregor.
Being honest, and I know I’m going to get a lot of hate from it, but I don’t see Mayweather making it past the sixth round. And if it was Pacquiao, I don’t see Pacquiao making it past two rounds. And look, I was the one that predicted the one minute against Aldo. There is an interview of me, I can’t find it now, but there is a video of me where Conor keeps talking about four minutes, saying around the four-minute mark he was going to stop Aldo, and me saying, ‘no, forget the four minutes. It doesn’t get out of the first minute,’ and sure enough it was. I’m sure I got a lot of hate for that too, but trust me I know something. I’ve sparred this man for a very long time and I’ve watched this game for a many, many years and I understand a thing or two. I certainly hope it will happen. I mean, we’re ready, we’re getting ready for that fight, make no mistake about it, Conor is ready to go, he’s a loaded weapon.
White: Nothing set on Mayweather, McGregor to fight in UFC next
White says negotiations with Mayweather are not progressing, and that McGregor will fight in UFC next.
I don’t know where we are with it. We are nowhere. Conor wouldn’t train with [Roach]. Conor’s got his own team and his own crew. I expect Conor’s next fight to be in the UFC in mixed martial arts and to be with the winner of Khabib and Ferguson…[Conor wants the Mayweather fight because it’s] gonna be millions of dollars. The guy’s gonna make anywhere between $30 and $40. [Khabib vs McGregor] is gonna be good. Two nasty guys, number one and number two in the world.
Mayweather: ‘Conor McGregor got power’
On his 40th birthday, Mayweather says he is ready and willing to accept the bout.
They keep throwing the Conor McGregor name out there. Conor McGregor, you know like I said before. I’m here, let’s make it happen…Every time Conor McGregor goes out there and compete and win, he do it standing up. When Conor McGregor did lose, he lost on the ground, he didn’t lose standing up. So he’s a hell of a fighter and he’s a very tough competitor, and he has the will to win. The UFC gloves is no different from boxing gloves, they’re just a little bit smaller, but if a guy got power, he got power and Conor McGregor got power…Let’s make the fight happen, let’s give the fans what they want to see. There’s only one fight out there that’s important. That’s Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
One of @FloydMayweather's birthday wishes? A possible matchup with @TheNotoriousMMA. pic.twitter.com/qRjHmUyBtY
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 25, 2017
Thompson: McGregor and Mayweather have reached agreement
Thompson, who is also managed by Audie Attar, confirms that McGregor and Mayweather have agreed terms.
Those guys are still making multi millions of dollars. I think that [$100 million] is what Mayweather originally wanted. But I know they kind of negotiated down. But yeah I think it is going to happen man – from the talk of it anyway. I mean, my manager is Conor McGregor’s manager, and it looks like the deal is almost done. It is getting closer and closer.
He also says that he thinks Mayweather will win.
Well you have a guy who trains mixed martial arts [Conor] – I am not really sure how long he has been training. And he is going up against [Mayweather] in what literally is a different sport, and [Mayweather] has been boxing since he was three years old…It is really comparable to putting Mayweather out there in a mixed martial arts fight. I mean how do you think that is going to go? I think Mayweather is going to dominate.
Conlan: McGregor not fighting Mayweather for money
Conlan talks about talking to McGregor about the Mayweather fight.
I was doing some strength and conditioning, and Conor was out here having talks with the (Floyd) Mayweather team about their possible fight. He came to LA to do some training. He ended up in the gym so it was good to catch up with him. I watched him do some training and he looked great. He looked in shape and he is confident the fight is going to be made. I think it will happen, and I am delighted for him. It is a massive fight, and I hope it happens. I won’t speak on who will win, or if Conor can pose Mayweather problems. I don’t want to get involved in that debate. But Conor believes 100 per cent in his ability, and he believes 100 per cent in himself. He isn’t doing it just for the money. He is doing it to win the fight. He can’t see himself losing. You can’t write someone off who 100 per cent believes in himself. When you have that belief, things happen…People will go crazy for it. But you see the people who complain about it, they will watch it. Boxing fans will watch it. MMA fans will watch it. Everyone will watch it, whether they agree with it or not. Simple as that. Every single person will watch this fight.
Glazer: McGregor and Mayweather should hook up on Tinder
Glazer says there will be trouble if Mayweather and McGregor meeting outside the ring while both fighters are in Los Angeles.
There’s a good chance [they will run into each other]. If I’m Floyd I only want to run into him in a boxing ring. I don’t want to run into him anywhere else…Although Floyd has a bunch of big dudes around him…I respect the hell out of Floyd as a fighter. He’s a great boxer. I’d love to see [McGregor] happen I’d like to see anything competitive. They can’t fight each other on Instagram, that doesn’t work. They should fight each other on Tinder.
The Only Fight I Want fan video
JoeMMA releases The Only Fight I Want, a promo for a potential Mayweather-McGregor matchup.
Cowherd: McGregor should ‘tackle’ Mayweather to win
Cowherd says that, while under normal boxing rules, McGregor cannot beat Mayweather, the Irishman should try to rattle the boxing champ.
If I was Conor McGregor, my game plan would be to be a disruptor. I would tackle him, I would rattle him, I would go after him. I would headbutt him. I would get penalized. I would get points taken off. I would get into his head. I would do anything I could to ramp up Mayweather and induce him to make a mistake and get close…What Mayweather wants is to control the environment; punch, jab, punch, jab, land, punch, jab, hook, punch, score. Don’t get touched. If I’m McGregor? I wanna wrestle. I want it to be a bar room brawl. So I would go right after him and I’d border on inappropriate.
How Conor McGregor could beat Floyd Mayweather pic.twitter.com/1ULq09UqZE
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 17, 2017
Bayless: Mayweather wants no part of McGregor
On his Undisputed show, Bayless says to co-host Sharpe that Mayweather is simply toying with McGregor.
He’s doing it again. He’s dropping hints. He’s telling Freddie Roach, ‘Get ready to train him,’ because he knows Freddie will spread this news like it’s fertiliser. And he knows, Floyd does, that he can now lead people to believe this fight is this close to happening. And when it gets that close, in the end Floyd will bow out and he will make the excuse that Conor McGregor is making ‘outrageous, unrealistic demands.’ He does it every time, because he wants no part of Conor McGregor…[Mayweather] cannot risk this. He cannot risk losing to some MMA fighter and going 49-1 and having his legacy tarnished and tainted, with the disgrace of losing to Conor McGregor. Can you imagine what it would be to Floyd’s career? He doesn’t need this. Do you realise Floyd May-or-May-not-weather is about to turn 40 on Friday and Conor McGregor is still 28 years of age? Because he sees Conor McGregor, as Freddie Roach will be the first to tell you, has punching power. I think he has punching power that Floyd hasn’t seen before.
Sharpe:
There’s a simple creed in professional sports or any business: If it makes dollars, it makes sense. This makes plenty of dollars, and it makes a lot of sense. Because let’s just say when Floyd Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao, it did 4.4 million buys. Over $400 million in pay-per-view dollars, and the gate was $72 million. A lot of people are going to watch (because) ‘I want to see Floyd get his butt kicked.’ A lot of people are going to watch (because), ‘I want to see Conor get his butt kicked.’ Now let’s see what these styles are going to do stylistically, because they’re totally different.
Alvarez: McGregor-Mayweather fight ‘a joke for boxing’
During a press conference for the May 6 fight between Alvarez and Chavez, Alvarez says that the Mayweather-McGregor fight is a joke:
It would be offensive to my fans if I fought McGregor. I wouldn’t do it. It’s a joke for boxing if that happens.
Chavez:
It is a businessman fight. I like to fight a serious fight.julio
The Negotiation fan-made video
McGregor and Mayweather appear in a fan-made animation called The Negotiation.
Roach: Mayweather-McGregor ‘looks like it’s gonna happen’
Roach says a boxing match between Mayweather and McGregor will actually happen.
We’re in a different era now. It looks like it’s gonna happen. Everything is pointing in the right direction. I think Conor will have his hands full with a boxer like Floyd. But he’s sellable, he’s making some noise…According to Mayweather, yes [the fight is going to happen]. He told me [three months ago] he would fight him. Everything is pointing in that direction right now. At one point, I didn’t think it was possible.
As for McGregor’s skills:
He is a pretty good striker. The thing is Floyd is a great boxer. He’s really good at hitting and not getting hit and so forth. I think it would take a long time for Conor to get ready for a boxing match, a pure boxing match. But ya know, one punch can change everything. It’s the sport we’re in. I’m not gonna count him out completely. I think Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I wouldn’t count anyone out. Because he throws, he throws hard and he’s not afraid to throw…I would like to try to help him to get ready. That would be an honor for me, yes. Right now, Georges [St-Pierre] is my main concern. Georges has first priority at this point.
McGregor: ‘Floyd’s a bitch and he’s petrified’
In Las Vegas, McGregor says Mayweather has been avoiding him.
Floyd’s a bitch, and he’s petrified. I flew to Las Vegas and he didn’t show his face, I touched down in Las Vegas and he retired twice.
Atlas: McGregor should break rules to beat Mayweather
Atlas says that McGregor could have an advantage in not playing by the rules in a fight with Mayweather.
If McGregor really can’t win the fight standing up, under (boxing) rules — and those would be the rules — then why would he take it? Because he would break the rules. He would come in there, he would break the rules, he would pin pin him, and then he would proclaim himself as the ‘king of the ring’. Even though he might lose the purse money, his brand would go through the roof. He’s a promotional genius, just like Floyd is, just like Muhammad Ali was. Nobody is thinking of that part of it. Floyd, before he puts his John Hancock on any contract, he better think that part of it.
Aldo: McGregor-Mayweather fight cannot happen without UFC permission
Aldo says McGregor cannot fight Mayweather without the permission of the UFC.
It will never happen. This will only happen if the UFC wants to. It could be against Mayweather or anyone else, if a fighter has a contract with the UFC, nobody can go over the UFC.
He also says McGregor is not as well liked as he thinks.
McGregor’s reputation is already bruised. The only ones who like him are the Irish people, no-one else. If you ask in Brazil or in any other country, nobody cheers for him, no one considers him a champion, they always consider him a piece of shit.
Attar: ‘It feels more real now than it ever has’
McGregor’s manager says the McGregor-Mayweather fight is becoming more real.
It started with Floyd talking, right? And now it’s evolved to the UFC making offers. So it feels more real now than it ever has. That then makes it a very, very intriguing and interesting business opportunity, and athletic opportunity for Conor. So we’re excited. Hopefully it comes to fruition…I think people are sleeping on Conor’s power. Again, Floyd is super experienced, you’re going into his domain. But Conor’s counter-striking, his timing, and his power…Floyd’s never faced anyone with his reach. So as a fan, I’m excited to see that. With the bigger gloves, I don’t think Conor is going to get knocked out. But I do believe he has a chance of knocking Floyd out.
GQ interview: My fist is bigger than Mayweather’s head
In an interview with GQ, McGregor talks about Mayweather.
You use the term ‘fighting’ differently, because he’s not been fighting for 40 years. He’s been boxing for 40 years. There’s a big difference between boxing and fighting. Boxing is limited fighting with a specific rule set. Fighting is true, where you can do anything.“Yeah, of course we are [talking about his rule set]. We’re talking about boxing. That’s it. But again, age waits for no man. He’s 40 years of age. He’s a little…he’s got a little head on him. Honestly, my fist is bigger than his head. I sleep people. I put people unconscious. I’m stating facts. If I hit that man, his head is gonna go into the bleachers. You understand that? If I crack that little head of his, it’s gonna go clean off his shoulders and up into the bleachers.