Conor McGregor seems to have conceded for the first time that his fight with Floyd Mayweather may not actually happen.
People are still working hard behind the scenes to bring us the fight between UFC two-weight champion and one of the greatest boxers of all time, but in an Instagram post McGregor seemed to indicate it wasn’t that important to him.
Alongside a video of him giving a boxing tutorial to a fan, the Notorious wrote: “Floyd may crap his jocks after all and if so I will go back to true fighting or just pick another boxer like manny (Pacquiao) or something. But whatever that’s another conversation.”
The comments will be music to UFC chief Dana White’s ears, and also fans of the UFC in general – while the idea of McGregor fighting Manny Pacquiao might actually be more appealing to some boxing fans than watching him against Mayweather.
The 28-year-old hasn’t fought in the octagon since winning the lightweight belt against Eddie Alvarez in November, and other than stating he wanted the trilogy fight with Nate Diaz to happen has pretty much only been speaking about the potential bout with Mayweather. It appears he might be ready to return.
It’s not all bad news for those who hoped to see the cross-discipline fight take place though, with White revealing to Fox Sports that work is still being done to get McGregor the fight he’s spent so long hyping – and that the money might be good enough to get Mayweather to sign.
“If the fight sells as well as I think it can, Floyd makes a little north of 100 and Conor makes 75,” he said.
The commercial split seems to have been the biggest barrier in a deal being struck, but with the $100 million Mayweather wants for the fight now seemingly on the table that may no longer be an issue.
But McGregor, who White previously estimated would make $25 million, thinks the number his boss estimated for him might be a little light.
The Irishman said: “How’s that 75milli make your stomach feel? It’s actually 100+ milli if we go by the non conservative numbers the fight will actually do and that’s not including my endorsements and business ventures. 28 years of age. Fresh c***. Doubt me now”.
One thing seems certain: McGregor won’t be done with the fight game any time soon.
