Conor McGregor drops Mayweather hint
Speculation is heating up that boxing great Floyd Mayweather and his UFC counterpart Conor McGregor are working towards a rematch of their highly lucrative 2017 boxing match, which Mayweather won by late TKO stoppage.
Mayweather, who officially retired from boxing with a record of 50-0 after his 10th-round win against the Irishman in Las Vegas, recently told supporters of his mantra to “never stop getting it” amid rumors that representatives of both prizefighters have opened negotiations towards a potential rematch.
His declaration came just hours after McGregor posted to Instagram a photograph from their first meeting in the ring along with the caption “I accept”.
The bout remains McGregor's sole professional boxing outing to date. The former two-weight UFC champ was in negotiations for a boxing match with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao last year - but those plans fell by the wayside when McGregor was bested by rival Dustin Poirier inside the Octagon.
He subsequently lost a second time to Poirier several months later in a fight in which be broke his leg towards the end of the first round.
Mayweather, meanwhile, has remained relatively active in the years since his first fight with McGregor and has taken part in a handful of high profile exhibition fights against the likes of YouTube star Logan Paul and Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.
His latest exhibition bout came just weeks ago when he tangled with former sparring partner Don Moore, while he is also due to take on another MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura later this year in Japan.
However, according to FightHype - who are known to have a close relationship with Mayweather - talks are underway for the McGregor rematch which is speculated to potentially earn the boxer another gargantuan payday in the region of $100 million.
This comes after Mayweather told US media that he would welcome a second fight with McGregor.
“Absolutely. He easy,” he said to Showtime Sports. “The beef is all these guys look up to me, steal my blueprint and then get to hating on me.”
Mayweather's promoter Leonard Ellerbe also stoked speculation of a rematch between the two pay-per-view kings.
“When I say to Conor, if you're listening, you can get that too,” he said. “Most definitely. That right, this is very personal. After everything, where they left the ring, they hugged, but things are a little different now.”
McGregor remains in the final stages of his recovery from the broken leg he suffered in the cage last year and is tentatively linked to a late summer return to the UFC.
However, any deal to make a Mayweather rematch a reality would need to be signed off on by UFC boss Dana White who still holds McGregor's promotional rights - though if the first fight in 2017 proved anything, it is that White can be swayed by the prospect of a sizeable payday - even if it means delaying the return of his biggest star to a UFC cage.
