Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 12: Andre Berto (L) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. battle in the 11th round of their WBC/WBA welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather retained his titles with a unanimous-decision victory.
Floyd Mayweather has confirmed he will come out of retirement to fight UFC star Conor McGregor, but not on the financial pay terms McGregor initially offered.
The former boxing champion says he will only fight McGregor if he is paid $100 million, while the Irish MMA star takes $15 million and a cut of the pay-per-view revenue.
Mayweather, who turns 40 in February, was a guest Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take and pressured both McGregor and the UFC to close a deal.
“You guys keep hearing all these different rumors about different fighters want to face Floyd Mayweather,” he said. “Everybody keeps talking about Conor McGregor. He’s blowing smoke up everybody’s a–. 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.”
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McGregor, 28, the UFC’s lightweight champion, isn’t expected to return to the Octagon until at least May while taking a hiatus for the birth of his first child. In December, the Irishman obtained a license to box professionally in California.
Mayweather retired undefeated at 49-0 following his September 2015 victory over Andre Berto, and cited the importance of his health in re-stating that he won’t accept the fight unless he can earn nine figures.
“We tried to make the Conor McGregor fight,” Mayweather said. “They know what my number is. My number is a guaranteed $100 million. That was my number.
McGregor holds the UFC record for the wealthiest disclosed purse when he made $3 million (not counting pay-per-view bonuses) for his UFC 202 win over Nate Diaz in August in their rematch. Ronda Rousey matched McGregor’s UFC mark of $3 million for her Dec. 30 loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207.
Meanwhile, 38-year-old Manny Pacquiao, who had been hoping for a rematch with Mayweather, has agreed to defend his WBO welterweight title against a little-known Queensland schoolteacher, Jef Horn, in Brisbane, Australia in April, according to unconfirmed reports in Australia. Mayweather defeated Pacquiao in 2015 and made more than $300 million.
Caption:LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 12: Andre Berto (L) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. battle in the 11th round of their WBC/WBA welterweight title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 12, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather retained his titles with a unanimous-decision victory. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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