By: Sean Crose
At that point it all made a bit of sense. Floyd Mayweather, although in his forties and retired, was still considered the most dominant force in boxing. No one, not even former foe Canelo Alvarez, had taken a stand on the throne that Mayweather had vacated. Conor McGregor, on the other hand, was without a doubt the face of the UFC. Both men were brash, flashy, and super-talented. Although it seemed like he didn’t have much of a chance of beating Mayweather in a boxing ring, it made sense (or rather, dollars and cents) for McGregor to give him a chance. The highly publicized Mayweather-McGregor fight, which took place during the summer of 2017, ended quite predictably, with Mayweather stopping the Irish superstar in the 10th round of one of the most lucrative fights in history.
Now Mayweather, and it’s not the first time, talks about facing McGregor again. “I want to go out this weekend and have fun, then I have another exhibition in Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023,” Sportsmail reports Mayweather said. “We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition or a real fight. But there have been talks of both. I don’t like fights where I’m going to take real punishment. So guys like Conor McGregor and guys who don’t really hit hard, like YouTubers or guys from the UFC, I don’t really mind clashing with those types of guys, but nothing that’s going to put me in a position where I’m going. harm or hurt myself.”
While it’s true that Mayweather has thrown some shadow in the way of the UFC, it’s also true that it’s not 2017 anymore. They’re both rich and incredibly famous, but neither Mayweather nor McGregor is anywhere near their prime. Mayweather is set for an exhibition fight with Japanese MMA star Mikura Asakora this weekend. After that, it is said that he will fight in another exhibition, this time with a YouTube influencer. Neither opponent is known as a high-level boxer, because neither is. However, they are helping Mayweather fill his bank account. That’s good for them and for Mayweather. However, another Mayweather-McGregor fight clearly won’t bring in the untold millions that the original fight did.
Still, there’s no question that Mayweather-McGregor 2 would be a lucrative endeavor. It wouldn’t be a serious business, but it would still be lucrative. With Mayweather understandably retired from top-level boxing and McGregor understandably not the UFC force he was, maybe a rematch between these two actually makes some sense, just like the first one.
