Until now, Mayweather had dismissed the chance of a boxing match with the current UFC champion despite previously instigating rumors of a possible cross-codes battle between the pair.
UFC boss Dana White has largely been against the idea but revealed to Fox Sports’ Dan and Jay that Mayweather wants the fight to happen as McGregor gears up for a debut in the sport next year.
“I was at dinner in New York for [UFC] 205, and we bumped into each other at dinner,” White explained on the show.
“So we were hanging out, we were talking for a while, and then I went over and sat back at my table and I ate. And then when we were leaving, he said to me, ‘When’s your boy gonna fight Floyd?’ And I said, ‘My boy? Who are you talking about, Conor?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’
“I said: ‘Floyd don’t want to fight Conor.’ And he goes, ‘He does, Dana. He’s dead serious about it.’ And I said, ‘I don’t know, man. Call Floyd and see what’s going on’,” he added.
A clash with McGregor is one of only two fights open to Mayweather for a potential return from retirement in 2015, the other being a rematch with old rival Manny Pacquiao.
Both contests can net Mayweather the nine-figure check he persistently desires and it’s now just a matter of the 39 year-old making his choice before the inevitable happens in 2017.
