By Vadim Pushkin
Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is willing to assist UFC world champion Conor McGregor prepare for a potential fight with former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26KOs).
Last week, Roach revealed to BoxingScene.com that he was contacted to discuss the possibility of training McGregor - but there was no mention on who McGregor would be facing.
Mayweather, who retired last September after winning a twelve round decision over Andre Berto, has been very vocal about returning to the ring for a cross-sport pay-per-view bout with McGregor.
UFC president Dana White has told numerous media outlets in recent week that a Mayweather-McGregor match won’t happen, but Mayweather has continued to push the possibility of facing the MMA star.
"The fight may happen. We really don’t know as of right now. But do I think the fight will happen? Absolutely," Mayweather stated during a recent Showtime televised interview. “We’re the A side. Of course it has to be a boxing match, because most fights that Conor McGregor won inside the octagon, he was a stand-up guy. So I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be a tough fight for me. So we don’t really know as of right now. But it’s been a lot of talk, and hopefully we can make the fight happen.”
McGregor has been out of the cage since being submitted by Nate Diaz at UFC 196 on March 5 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That fight took place at 170, which is far above McGregor's usual fighting weight of 145.
According to Roach, if the Mayweather fight actually happens, he would be on board to assist the MMA fighter in any way possible.
Roach recently spoke to Mayweather when the two of them were dining at the same restaurant. During their chance meeting, Mayweather told Roach that he was looking to fight McGregor.
"[My role] will depend on who he wants to fight. I've heard that he wants to meet Mayweather, but Mayweather is a boxer and McGregor fights in the UFC. To be honest, I don't even know how they could do that fight. I don't know if the UFC will allow him to do a fight like that. I don't know if they'd let him take a fight with a boxer," Roach said.
"But if all of a sudden it happens, I'll help [McGregor]. I love to help people. I've worked with a fighter UFC [Andrei Arlovski]. I would definitely help McGregor. I don't know if the fight is gonna happen or not, but last week Mayweather told me that this fight was being planned, so I had to believe it since Mayweather himself told me about it."