Undefeated boxing champion Floyd Mayweather announced on Saturday that he has come out of retirement to fight UFC light heavyweight champion Conor McGregor. A date for the mega fight has yet to be announced.
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“Today, I’m officially out of retirement for Conor McGregor,” Mayweather said according to FightHype. “We don’t need to waste no time. We need to make this s—- happen quickly. Let’s get it on in June.”
The 40-year-old Mayweather’s remarks come after unrelenting negotiations between both he and McGregor’s camps. The payout for both sides had been the biggest sticking point in those talks.
Mayweather detailed McGregor as the “B side” of the fight. The Irish UFC fighter would need to defeat Mayweather in order to become the “A side.”
“When I faced Oscar De La Hoya, he was the A side, I was the B side. I didn’t cry, I didn’t complain, I beat him and I became the A side,” he said. “I don’t want to hear no more excuses about the money, about the UFC. Sign the paper with the UFC so you can fight me in June. Simple and plain.
“You’re the B side, I’m the A side. We’re not here to cry about money. I’m tired of all this crying about money and talking about you want to fight. You blowing smoke up everybody’s ass. If you want to fight, sign the paperwork, let’s do it.”
Mayweather, 40, last fought Andre Berto in September 2015 to extend his record to 49-0. He has won 15 titles in four different weight classes, including twice as a welterweight, and is lauded as pound-for-pound one of the greatest fighters in boxing history.
McGregor last knocked out Eddie Alvarez to claim the light heavyweight title in November. The 28-year-old Irish striker became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two title belts at one time.
The two fighters have a history of wanting to fight each other.
In January, Mayweather declined UFC president Dana White’s offer of $25 million plus negotiated pay-per-view percentage. White called him dumb for dismissing the offer.
McGregor said he would fight Mayweather for $100 million guaranteed in January. Mayweather made a counter-offer of $15 million and a pay-per-view cut in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take, where he doubled down on being the A side of the fight.
White later responded, “I don’t know how you think you’re the A-side.”
In early March, Mayweather was uncertain about the prospect of fighting McGregor.
“The Conor McGregor fight, I don’t know if it’s going to happen,” the undefeated boxing superstar said, according to MMAFighting.com. “If it do, it do, if it don’t, it don’t. They ask me about this fight always.”
Now that he’s officially come out of retirement, it seems an earth-shattering fight could be well on its way to coming to fruition.
