Outspoken boxing promoter Bob Arum has claimed in a new interview that it’s the UFC’s financial demands that are the biggest obstacle in the way of a potential mega-fight in the squared circle between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“I think the only impediment there is the UFC, because UFC doesn’t treat fighters the same way that boxing promoters do,” Arum told FightHub. “In other words, UFC fighters get so much less than boxers do. They proposed a deal to Conor that on his share of the purse, they take 50 percent. Now, give me a break.
“If the fight doesn’t happen…not that I think it’s going to be a great fight, because I think Conor fighting Mayweather is not really a fight, if it’s boxing. Conor (is a) great MMA fighter, but hasn’t shown anything in boxing. And Mayweather’s one of the great fighters. But if that fight doesn’t happen, the blame will only be on the UFC.”
There’s no love lost between Arum and UFC president Dana White, with the Top Rank promoter having repeatedly criticized the sport of MMA over the years, while the UFC president has made it clear he can’t stand his rival, once branding him, “The number one scumbag in boxing!”
That being said, it is highly likely that the UFC are going to have a big say in how this deal goes down – and rightly so. After all, the reality is that McGregor is under exclusive contract with them, and there is a lot of risk attached to allowing their biggest star by a country-mile to fight one of the best-of-all time in a different sport.
However, as Dana White has repeatedly said recently, all signs are that there’s just too much money involved now for this fight not to happen.
