Speculation had been rife about the contest being announced this week, only for Mayweather to firstly retract the date and then reverse his decision on Tuesday night.
Fast forward 24 hours and Mayweather has now confirmed he will indeed return for a 50th career contest against two-weight world champion McGregor – who makes his pro debut as a boxer.
McGregor has some boxing experience as an amateur, and is known for his heavy-handidness, although should be largely out of his depth against the best boxer of this generation.
All that’s left for the pair is to be licensed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, something Chief Executive Bob Bennett believes is just a formality.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bennett confirmed the date had been approved following some back and forth movement.
“Mayweather Promotions requested to be back on the agenda and was approved for August 26,” Bennett exclusively told World Boxing News.
“There’s no change in reference to licenses for Mayweather or McGregor,” he added.
Fans from boxing, MMA and the masses from Ireland will now descend on the sport’s capital in just ten weeks time for one of the most eagerly-anticipated and equally controversial encounters of the year.
Mayweather v McGregor is set to be televised on Showtime Pay-Per-View and is expected to rival the most lucrative fight of all time in terms of buys and revenue.
That honour currently stands with Mayweather and arch-rival Manny Pacquiao, who sold over 4.4 million PPV’s when they clashed on May 2, 2015 at the MGM Grand.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
