Last week, Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza claimed that negotiations between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are largely at a standstill due to the UFC’s concerns over McGregor not returning to MMA.
“I think part of the fear on the UFC’s side is that they’ll never see Conor again,” Espinoza said. “If he makes 50, 60, 70 and then you never see him in the ring and he retires in Ireland and so much for their megastar.”
UFC head promoter Dana White shut down those claims in a recent interview with TMZ but said getting Mayweather-McGregor booked is a ‘tough deal’.
“I saw a quote the other day from a guy from Showtime who said that I’m stalling the thing [Mayweather vs. McGregor] because I’m worried that McGregor will retire after this fight, which is completely false and not even close to being true,” White affirmed.
“To get a deal like this done, this doesn’t happen in a couple months. It’s gonna be a tough deal to get done, if it gets done at all.”
McGregor is the fastest rising star in combat sports and became the UFC’s first ever concurrent two-division champion when he outclassed and TKO’d Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.
Mayweather, 40, is one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time and is undefeated throughout his professional career with a spectacular record of 49-0.
Although negotiations may have stalled between McGregor and Mayweather, Las Vegas oddsmakers are already taking big bets for the bout and have ‘The Notorious’ listed as a +700 underdog.
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