The long-touted fight between UFC star Conor McGregor and the former five-division boxing champion Floyd Mayweather appears to be edging closer. On Tuesday, the Nevada Athletic Commission approved a request from Mayweather Promotions to host a fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 26 August.
The card for the event has not been confirmed but the August date has been talked about as a fight between Mayweather and McGregor. If the two did meet it would be a boxing rather than mixed martial arts match-up. McGregor has already applied for a boxing license in Nevada, although he has never boxed professionally. Mayweather retired undefeated in 49 professional fights, and is widely recognized as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Mayweather-McGregor would be mismatch, so why is everyone talking about it? | Sean Ingle Read more
Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday that Mayweather Promotions had pulled out of a request for the fight before reapplying. “I got a call [on Tuesday night] from Mayweather Promotions that they wanted to be put back on the agenda, so I put them back on the agenda,” Bennett told the broadcaster. “They pulled the request but then decided to put it back on.”
McGregor and Mayweather have not yet agreed to a formal deal but both men would stand to make tens of millions of dollars from the bout. It would also prove a lucrative platform for Mayweather’s stable of fighters. The former champion has said he would like two of the fighters he promotes, Badou Jack and the talented junior lightweight world champion Gervonta Davis, to appear on the undercard.
There has been no shortage of critics of the potential fight between UFC’s biggest star and a 40-year-old who hasn’t fought since September 2015. Last month Mayweather’s former rival in the ring, Oscar De La Hoya, said the fight would harm boxing.
“With each passing day, it looks more and more likely that the circus known as Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor will be coming to town in the near future,” said De La Hoya. “As undercard fights start to take form, athletic commissions give their blessings in exchange for millions of dollars, and the fighters start counting even more cash, one group will eventually be left to make sure this farce doesn’t occur – we, the fans, who are the lifeblood of our sport ... Our sport might not ever recover.”