The UK’s tabloid newspapers have set the cat amongst the pigeons today by claiming that UFC superstar Conor McGregor and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr are on the verge of announcing they’ll fight in a boxing match this summer.
‘The Sun’ were the first to make the out-of-the-blue claim, which has since been reported by other UK media outlets such as ‘The Mirror’ and ‘The independent’.
According to ‘The Sun’, the plan is for the two to host the money-spinning encounter in Las Vegas, with Mayweather taking home the lines share of the purse with a whopping £100 million payday, while McGregor would earn £7 million.
The newspaper reports that the fight was first discussed after Mayweather became infuriated with claims by McGregor that he could knock the undefeated boxer out in 30 seconds.
As such, Mayweather began negotiations with ‘The Notorious’ irishman, indicating that he’d be willing to come out of retirement to make the fight happen, though he would be the one calling the shots – informing McGregor that he’d have to cut 25lbs and insisting that the bout would be boxing only.
“It was agreed in principle on May 2, but Floyd wouldn’t reveal the identity of his opponent until last night when he told friends he’ll be fighting Conor,” The Sun claims a source close the situation informed them.
‘The Sun’ doesn’t mention the enormous elephant in the room however – that McGregor is currently under contract with the UFC, and while there’s been a recent disagreement between the two parties that saw him being pulled from the UFC 200 card in July, there’s no way in hell that they’d allow their biggest star to go off and fight in the boxing ring under their watch.
The UK tabloids are no strangers to creating stories out of thin air, so it would be wise to take today’s news with a very large pinch of salt.
