The dream matchup of UFC’s latest superstar Conor McGregor and boxing icon Floyd “Money” Mayweather is inking closer and closer to a reality this year.
On Friday, March 17, McGregor announced that a date in September will showcase the super fight between the two combatants.
“[September] is what I’m thinking. That’s that the word is. That’s what we’re close to doing,” McGregor said on when the boxing match is taking place. “I’ve tried to talk to Floyd. I flew to Las Vegas to have talks with Floyd and then he retired. He just doesn’t want to see me. He’s petrified. Wouldn’t you be? No one knows what to expect with me, and they shouldn’t. Because I don’t know what to expect either.”
McGregor first burst onto the UFC scene in 2013 as a 24-year-old established fighter from Dublin, Ireland. The Irishman posted a 15-match winning streak in his professional career before suffering his first career loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. It’s no doubt that McGregor’s antics and outlandish claims have made him larger than life within the sports world recently, and the pairing with an equally dominant fighter only has fans salivating for a tilt that’ll shake the very heavens itself.
However, the September date goes against Mayweather’s potential matchup in June after announcing he was ending his retirement for this special occasion.
“Today, I’m officially out of retirement for Conor McGregor,” Mayweather said. “We don’t need to waste no time. We need to make this s— happen quickly. Let’s get it on in June.”
Whenever and wherever the fight ends up, it’ll be interesting to see how the two styles will collide in the squared circle versus the octagon. McGregor has shown the ability to be a pure striker, but the reckless abandon that the UFC employs doesn’t mean it’ll transfer correctly into a boxing match. Anyone who has watched Mayweather box this decade knows that his style is more of a peekaboo style. Meaning Mayweather will let McGregor come to him instead of being the more aggressive one.
Will McGregor’s patience cost him the match against the forty-year-old who is 49-0 in his boxing career? Or can he shock the professional boxing world and score a victory? Whether it’s in June or September, the world will eventually find out which fighter will reign supreme after months of buildup.
