UFC star Conor McGregor has been issued a boxing license in the state of California, adding to speculation about a possible fight between him and Floyd Mayweather.
McGregor has been angling for a fight against Mayweather for quite some time. The retired, undefeated boxing champion has teased the fight against McGregor in the media as well, but in a recent interview, Mayweather said he’s comfortable retired and doesn’t need to fight anymore. A fight against McGregor, however, would command a huge purse which could possibly peak Mayweather’s interest. McGregor himself is demanding $100 million and said he would even fight Mayweather in a boxing ring rather than UFC style in the Octagon. Now that he has obtained an official license, he has the ability to make that happen.
Mayweather, however, is not moved by McGregor’s latest stunt. TMZ Sports spoke with Floyd who says he thinks McGregor is all talk and is piggybacking off his name to try and get even more famous. The bigger his name becomes, the more money he can demand in his fights.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe isn’t moved by the license either. Like Floyd, Leonard believes McGregor is just looking for more attention, and can’t make the fight actually happen.
“It’s all a game. It’s all a calculated effort to gain more fans,”Ellerbe told ESPN.com. “He got a boxing license. Congratulations to him. Conor McGregor can say anything he wants to but he has a boss and his name is [UFC president] Dana White. He is under contract to the UFC and if he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match he can’t because his bosses wouldn’t allow that to happen. The brass [from WME-IMG] who recently purchased the UFC [for $4 billion earlier this year] are very smart people and they would never — and put this in bold caps — let him step into a boxing ring with Floyd Mayweather because everyone knows what the outcome would be. He would get his ass beat from pillar to post.”
