Reasons for this would certainly be Mayweather’s unwillingness to bend the Queensberry Rules, coupled with McGregor’s lack of world class boxing ability, leaving any crossover bout at a stalemate.
McGregor was a former boxer in his youth with training under his belt with some talented and well-known pugilists, but was filmed over the summer in a sparring session with South African Chris Van Heerden, leaked footage of which didn’t impress the sport’s purists.
The clip left no doubting that a boxing match with Mayweather would be a wholly one-sided affair and not worth a pay-per-view fee approaching or upwards of a hundred dollars.
UFC boss Dana White threw in that he’d expect elbows and kicks to be involved if McGregor was to be allowed to trade blows with Mayweather, although talks between the pair soon died down as Floyd reiterated his retirement.
Punching power only gets you so far in ‘The Sweet Science’ and its up for debate whether McGregor could go straight into boxing at the very top level and beat the likes of Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman or Kell Brook, let alone Mayweather himself.
Being labelled ‘The Mayweather of UFC’ must rankle with the Irishman in some form, whilst their earnings couldn’t be much further apart and are only on par with the ‘Money’ man’s top opponents.
Winning a belt in two separate weight divisions over the weekend with a knockout win over Eddie Alvarez has placed McGregor in a UFC category all on his own, something the featherweight and lightweight title holder knows only too well after naming his demands to fight again.
As purses are probably not going to get much higher, McGregor wants a stake in White’s company but could be waiting a long time for that to happen as he takes an extended break to become a father for the first time.
‘The Notorious’ facing frustration if he is serious in wanting to earn super cash in the ilk of Mayweather’s and doesn’t have the clout as a boxer to make a move into the mix with the best operators at the welterweight limit.
As it stands, McGregor is stuck between a rock and a hard place, and unlike Mayweather, has to answer to a boss that wants his slice of the pie – something which could become a major tug-of-war in the coming weeks and months.
