Floyd Mayweather Hopeful Fight with Conor McGregor Will Happen

In an interview set to air Saturday, Floyd Mayweather expressed hope that he can get a deal done to fight Conor McGregor.

According to Mike Dyce of Fansided.com, Mayweather told DJ Whoo Kid of Eminem's SiriusXM channel Shade 45 the following with regard to the potential bout: "I mean, once I get back to Las Vegas, to my hub, we'll find out how everything plays out. You know, I'll communicate with Al [Haymon]. I'll communicate with Leonard Ellerbe. We'll sit down and see what we can come up with and hopefully the McGregor fight can be made."

Mayweather also praised the UFC lightweight champion's striking ability in the interview: "This is a boxing match, he's a hell of a stand-up fighter, I can't take that away from him. Only time McGregor has been defeated was when he was on the ground. When he was standing up, he always was victorious. He's a power puncher, he's a tough competitor, I'm a tough competitor, and we have to go out there and give the world and the fans what they want to see: excitement."

UFC President Dana White recently revealed on TNT's Inside the NBA (h/t Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com) that McGregor's side of the deal is done and that he is now set to work on Mayweather's side.

McGregor also recently posted a photo on Twitter expressing his desire to become a crossover star in the boxing realm:

Mayweather has been retired since beating Andre Berto to improve to 49-0 in September 2015.

While he has yet to guarantee that he will return to the ring, Mayweather made it clear that a fight with McGregor is his top priority if he does, per Christopher Devine of Sporting News: "I never said that. I never said that, but if I do fight, it's a 90 percent chance it's against Conor McGregor. The only fight that makes sense to me is the McGregor fight. I have accomplished everything I want to accomplish. But I guess I have one more obstacle that I have to get over."

The 28-year-old McGregor has never boxed professionally, but he is 21-3 in his MMA career with 18 wins by way of knockout.

The undefeated Mayweather is arguably among the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time with victories over Manny Pacquiao, Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya on his resume.