Mayweather vs. McGregor a 99 Percent Done Deal Say U.K. Tabloids

‘MONEY MAY” VS. McGREGOR — The boxing and MMA worlds went gaga on social media on Tuesday morning with reports that the long-rumored mega-fight between UFC superstar Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was close to being finalized. A formal announcement, says the Daily Sun, will be forthcoming in the next two weeks. If true, a fair guess is that it will come on Feb. 24 which marks Mayweather’s 40^th birthday.

The news contradicts a statement last week by UFC spokesman Dana White that a Mayweather-McGregor fight was impossible because McGregor was contractually obligated for four more fights under the UFC banner. A fight with Mayweather would be contested under the rules of boxing. The larger-than-life McGregor started his career in combat sports as an amateur boxer. In the UFC sphere, it has been said that his main strength is punching people in the face.

The Sun, which is owned by controversial media mogul Rupert Murdoch, is published in London and Dublin and has the second-largest readership in the U.K. The paper was the first to reveal that McGregor cancelled a meet-and-greet in Dublin on Friday, Feb. 10, in order to fly to Las Vegas for meetings with Mayweather’s representatives and with the Nevada Athletic Commission. This suggests that the likely venue is the MGM Grand which has hosted Mayweather’s last 12 fights.

While in Las Vegas, McGregor reportedly filmed an anti-bullying video for schoolchildren. This was supposedly done to appease the Nevada Athletic Commission to which McGregor owes $60,000, a fine imposed upon him for a bottle throwing incident with Nate Diaz. He will need to satisfy that obligation to receive a Nevada boxing license. McGregor is already licensed to box in California.

McGregor was recently quoted as saying “I’ve got the reach. I’ve got the youth. I’ve got the confidence. I’ve got the unpredictable style. You can’t prepare for a style like me. A guy said to me, why conquer one world when you can conquer two? I’m going to conquer two worlds.”

Conor McGregor’s last showing came on Nov. 12 of last year when he TKOed Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden. The event produced a record-shattering $17.7 million dollar gate. Floyd Mayweather’s last outing was on Sept. 12 of 2015 when he outpointed Andre Berto. It was a typical Mayweather performance as he coasted to a 12-round decision. Each of his last seven fights went the full 12 rounds. The match with Berto was a PPV bust but elevated Mayweather to 49-0, tying Rocky Marciano’s famous record.

Paddy Power, the largest bookmaking firm in Ireland, was quoting odds of 5/1 against a Mayweather-McGregor fight happening this year. The odds were immediately slashed to 2/1. The firm opened Mayweather a 10/1 favorite with McGregor a 6/1 underdog. Predictably, the vast majority of bets that are already in the hopper are small wagers on the Irishman.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.