Boxing

Conor McGregor's Blunt Floyd Mayweather Comment Sparked $400 Million Boxing Megafight

This comment from Conor McGregor about Floyd Mayweather Jr. caused one of biggest fights in boxing history.
Grant Young|
July 11, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Conor McGregor yells at Floyd Mayweather during a world tour press conference to promote the upcoming Mayweather vs McGregor boxing fight at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
July 11, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Conor McGregor yells at Floyd Mayweather during a world tour press conference to promote the upcoming Mayweather vs McGregor boxing fight at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

On August 26, 2017, one of the most lucrative and unexpected fights in boxing history went down as the five-division boxing world champion and pound-for-pound great Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. (who entered the fight with a 49–0 professional boxing record with 26 KOs) faced UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who had zero professional boxing bouts on his record.

At the time, these were arguably the two biggest names in combat sports. And while it took years of back and forth between them for a deal to eventually get done, the combined reported $410 million that Mayweather and McGregor made (approximately $280 million for Mayweather and $130 million for McGregor) shows that the bout was worthwhile.

As for the fight itself, Mayweather proved victorious, stopping McGregor via TKO in the 10th round. However, McGregor won the first couple rounds and looked like the better overall boxer before Floyd's defensive expertise and experience tired McGregor out, which became apparent as the fight progressed.

But how did this boxing-MMA crossover megafight begin? Well, it all started with an appearance that McGregor had on the Conan O'Brian Show in July 2015.

At one point in their discussion, O'Brien asked McGregor what a potential fight with Mayweather would look like. "If you’re asking would I like to fight Floyd Mayweather, I mean, who would not like to dance around the ring for $180 million?” McGregor responded.

"I most certainly would step into his world, and I would most certainly box him if the opportunity arose," McGregor continued.

While it would be over two years until the eventual Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing fight took place, this blunt comment from McGregor is what started the rollercoaster of negotiations that led to one of the biggest bouts in boxing history.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.