By Keith Idec
Conor McGregor clearly knows how to generate interest in his career.
Espn.com reported Wednesday night that McGregor’s application for a boxing license in California has been approved by the California State Athletic Commission. Whether McGregor actually intends to participate in what would be his first professional boxing match is unknown, but his licensure certainly will increase speculation that the UFC lightweight champion intends to eventually fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match.
The 39-year-old Mayweather (49-0, 26 KOs) – who retired in September 2015 as the best boxer, pound-for-pound, in the world – said two weeks ago at a press conference in Brooklyn that he has no interest whatsoever in boxing McGregor.
Four days earlier, the 28-year-old McGregor called out Mayweather at an after-party in Manhattan following his second-round technical knockout of Eddie Alvarez, the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. Ireland’s McGregor said it would take $100 million for him to box Mayweather, but Mayweather claims McGregor is just using his name to draw attention to the UFC star’s mixed martial arts career.
“Totally false,” Mayweather said regarding a rumored fight against McGregor. “If you don’t hear it from my mouth, it’s not true. If you don’t hear it from my mouth, it’s not true. Once again, with different sports, as far as MMA and boxing, you have to realize this – Floyd Mayweather is the biggest name in MMA. Floyd Mayweather is the biggest name in the sport of boxing, and I’m not even competing anymore.
“I’m a fighter. I went out there and fought hard. I did record-breaking things and I moved on with my career. But you have guys that steady are using my last name, using Floyd Mayweather’s name, to piggyback off of my name. I think that fighters and people that compete in physical combat need to go out there and lay the groundwork and make their own name.”
Even if Mayweather and McGregor agreed to meet in a boxing match, it would be difficult for Mayweather-McGregor to be classified as anything more than an exhibition because of the disparity in their levels of boxing skill and experience.
Andy Foster, the CSAC’s executive director, told Espn.com that it would approve “appropriately matched up opponents” for McGregor in boxing matches.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
