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.
Sharpe: McGregor can now demand $25 million for UFC fights
Sharpe says by telling McGregor what he’s worth in a fight against Mayweather, White has given the Irishman more negotiating power ahead of his next bout in the UFC.
If I’m Conor McGregor, I say I appreciate that Dana White because for the longest time you told me and you told everybody that would listen and every fight fan in the UFC, Ronda Rousey is the biggest draw. You just went on television or you went on radio and said ‘Conor McGregor is the ‘A’ side’. So whether I fight Floyd Mayweather or not, it’s going to cost you $25 million plus a back end part of the pay-per-view going forward. That’s all he’s done. Conor McGregor’s going to double down now. I want to talk to you about a piece, but going forward it’s $25 million for me to step into the ring and then we’ll negotiate the back end on pay-per-view buys. Because if I’m the ‘A’ guy, I don’t really need Floyd. Because I’m the ‘A’ guy. People are coming to see me.