Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor: Latest News, Rumors on Potential Fight

Rumors are swirling about a potential fight between longtime boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC sensation Conor McGregor, with a final agreement potentially within reach.

Continue for updates.

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Mayweather Comments on Potential McGregor Fight

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Mayweather took to Twitter to clear up the recent rumors regarding a possible McGregor fight: 

"

There seems to be several rumors floating around media recently however, let the record show, there hasn’t been any deals made in regards to a fight between myself and any other fighters. I am happily retired and enjoying life at this time. If any changes are to come, be sure that I will be the first to let the world to know.

"

This contradicts Mayweather reportedly telling ESPN's Stephen A. Smith at last weekend's game between the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder that an agreement is "getting very, very close."

Nevada State Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell confirmed Mayweather's comments to Smith, per ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto, saying there have been "real discussions" with "the real players involved" about the fight. 

According to Smith, "Mayweather believes the fight will happen, but Mayweather said nothing is guaranteed until a deal is done."

On Jan. 28, Mayweather said a fight with McGregor can happen, and he'd want it at 147 to 150 pounds, per Mike Cranston of the Associated Press.

"It's all about entertainment," Mayweather added, per Cranston. "He's entertaining. He's very outspoken like myself, so let's give the fans what they want to see."

Mayweather took to Twitter on Jan. 19 to comment on UFC president Dana White's offer that would pay each competitor an initial $25 million:

On Jan. 14, Mayweather spoke with Jim Gray of Showtime about the potential fight:

On Jan. 11, Brian Campbell of ESPN.com passed along comments Mayweather made on ESPN's First Take about the possible cross-sport clash, and he made it clear he wants nine figures to come out of retirement.

"We tried to make the Conor McGregor fight," he said. "They know what my number is. My number is a guaranteed $100 million. That was my number."

In addition, he stated his camp offered McGregor a guaranteed $15 million before the pay-per-view discussions.

One thing Mayweather didn't do, however, was rule out the possibility, per Campbell: "You guys keep hearing all these different rumors about different fighters want to face Floyd Mayweather. Everybody keeps talking about Conor McGregor. He's blowing smoke up everybody's ass. Dana White, the UFC—let's make it happen. Bring him over to the boxing world, and I'll show him what it's like."

However, there's a $75 million gap in what White offered Mayweather and what the fighter is demanding. It's a massive chasm to bridge before the talks can even advance to a stage where they would discuss rules, both in terms of the fight itself and the drug-testing standards.

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White Comments on Potential Mayweather-McGregor Fight

Saturday, Jan. 28

UFC President Dana White said there's "as much of a chance of McGregor-Mayweather happening as Dana being the backup for Tom Brady," per MMA Fighting.

White added, "If McGregor wants to go down that road with us, it'll be an epic fall," per MMA Fighting.

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McGregor Comments on Mayweather

Saturday, Jan. 28

"I have my eyes on one thing, and that's Floyd Mayweather," McGregor said, per freelance MMA journalist Chamatkar Sandhu.

McGregor added the fight with Mayweather is "100 percent" what he wants next, noting his next bout will take place in a boxing ring, per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting.

McGregor said he expects the matchup to happen at the end of 2017 or the beginning of 2018, per Al-Shatti.

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Talks for Mayweather vs. McGregor in Early Stages

Friday, Jan. 13

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported Jan. 13 that discussions are in the "exploratory phase," but he added there are "many, many" hurdles to overcome before the idea would become a reality.

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White Makes Offer to Mayweather

Friday, Jan. 13

The Herd with Colin Cowherd noted White made a formal offer to Mayweather, which would see each fighter receive $25 million guaranteed. From there, they would negotiate how the pay-per-view money would be split:

Those figures aren't even close to the demands previously made by the undefeated, five-division world boxing champion, though, and Mayweather responded, via TMZ (warning: NSFW language):

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Mayweather, McGregor Fight Presents Unique Challenges

The mainstream sports audience will be hesitant to accept the hype about a marquee fight after the clunker between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. That was on the table for years and didn't come anywhere close to expectations when it finally came to fruition.

The same would likely hold true with McGregor involved. It's far-fetched to believe he could transition from the world of MMA to boxing and beat one of the greatest ever.

On the flip side, it's hard to imagine any plausible scenario in which Mayweather would even spend a second thinking about an MMA battle.

Former boxer Lennox Lewis tweeted his opinion on who would win: "Mayweather if they box. McGregor if MMA."

Sometimes, it's that simple.

While it's easy to understand the niche interest, trying to sell it to average fans to generate the necessary revenue to make both sides happy is an uphill battle. And that's just the first in a series of steps they would need to take to make a deal.

All told, Mayweather, McGregor and White are all terrific promoters. There's value in this kind of public verbal battle for everybody involved.