By: Sean Crose
The sun will rise in the east and set in the west, the tides will perpetually go in and out, and Floyd Mayweather will always be Floyd Mayweather. If there’s anything the all time great – and anyone who doesn’t think Mayweather is an all time great frankly doesn’t know much about boxing – has in common with current heavyweight king Tyson Fury it’s that both men have the unique ability to make fans and journalists alike scratch their heads on a regular basis.
For these are individuals who make proclamations that sometimes seem either straight off the tops of their heads or purposely designed to mislead. Take the recent headline from the Daily Mail:
“$600 MILLION: The incredible fee Floyd Mayweather wants to get in the boxing ring with Conor McGregor AND Khabib Nurmagomedov”
While it’s true Mayweather has found a way to earn more money than pretty much any fighter – or athlete – in the world for a single sporting event, six hundred million for two fights is pretty over the top, even by contemporary boxing standards. A rematch with McGregor, who Mayweather has already bested courtesy of a 2017 novelty bout, would do huge business, but would it do THAT much? As for Nurmagomedov, who also bested McGregor, a boxing match with Mayweather seems even more outlandish than a McGregor rematch. At least McGregor is primarily a striker in his home sport of MMA. Nurmagomadov’s strength is wrestling.
Still, Mayweather is playing it straight. “For myself,” the Mail quotes him as saying, “the number is $600m. If I’m going to go out there and risk it, it’d have to be worth it.” Without doubt, any fight is now a risk for Mayweather, who is currently a not so young 43 years old. Although he should be able to best both MMA stars in a ring, the sport of boxing takes it’s toll on fighters as the years roll on. What’s more, Mayweather hasn’t faced a boxer of note since he bested Andre Berto after his insanely lucrative match with Manny Pacquiao back in 2015.
“In the boxing world as of right now, it doesn’t make sense for me to fight any ordinary fighter,” he says, via the Mail. “I’m a business man.” Fair enough, but it’s worth wondering if jumping sports would be worth it for McGregor and Nurmagomedov. McGregor has just gotten back to his winning ways in the octagon after a rocky few years, and Nurmagomedov is essentially the sport’s resident badass. What could a likely loss to a considerably over the hill boxer – no matter how great – do to bolster each man’s career?
Millions upon millions of dollars can make up for a lot of embarrassment, however. As the Mail quotes Mayweather as saying:
“It’s an entertainment business.”
As if all this wasn’t wild enough, the Mail reports there’s rumors Mayweather may battle both MMA kings on the same night.