Depending on who you believe – the “source” who spoke to UK tabloid The Sun, or UFC boss Dana White – a lucrative return bout between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will or will not take place later this year. According to the unknown source (and aren’t they all of the anonymous kind?) Mayweather and McGregor are “close” to agreeing to a fight that, fanciful reports suggest could rake in $1 billion.
The sticking point, according to the source, is McGregor is insisting the fight be a real fight, not a mere exhibition. “Conor will only take the fight providing Floyd is willing to put his professional record on the line,” the source said. “So the fight will not be an exhibition, it will be an official fight, it will be at 155 pounds. That’s what we know so far.”
White, however, has poured some serious cold water on a Mayweather-McGregor II, telling TMZ Sports that any and all talk of a return fight, in any form, is “bulls**t!”
“It’s total bulls**t. That story came from a tabloid paper in Europe,” White said. “It’s total bulls**t. These guys are just talking on social media like they do.”
So, unless White has been left out of the loop – this hugely unlikely – there will be no return bout. ‘Phew,’ I hear you sigh with relief. Yes, the Mayweather-McGregor fight from August of 2017 was both fun and entertaining, the build-up in particular, but there was always only going to be one winner and it would be the same in a rematch, despite “Money” now being 45 years of age.
There would not be anywhere near as much fan interest or curiosity in a sequel, so who on earth knows where that $1 billion talk came from?
Mayweather WILL box more exhibitions, and he has spoken of the possibility of coming back for one more “real” fight (if he’s paid “at least $200 million), but it would come as a shock to many if Mayweather fought McGregor again. Dana White in particular would be shocked.