Mauricio Sulaiman, President of the World Boxing Council, says it's possible that his sanctioning body would approve their Diamond belt for the recently finalized fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
Mayweather vs. McGregor was finalized on Wednesday, as a twelve round boxing match at the junior middleweight limit of 154-pounds.
The Showtime Pay-Per-View event takes place on August 26th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Mayweather retired from the sport in September 2015, with his unbeaten record of 49-0, after dominating Andre Berto over twelve rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The undefeated boxer has a very close relationship with the World Boxing Council, as he captured WBC world titles in five weight divisions.. The sanctioning rarely, if ever, ordered him to make a mandatory defense.
The WBC's Diamond belt is usually up for grabs in fights that ultimately become major events. Mayweather-McGregor, despite the controversy of the fight, is expected to generate huge revenue figures. The event has already become a crossover hit with major media outlets on a worldwide basis.
Sulaiman does not rule out the possibility of the Diamond belt being staked for this contest.
"Maybe, I don't know. I'm not against it. Of course this is a WBC board decision but we have to celebrate that boxing is having world attention regardless," Sulaiman said to scribe Nick Parkinson.
"We need to receive from the promoter if they want any intervention from a boxing organisation. We do medicals, we do drug testing, weigh-ins and specific boxing matters that helps the promoter with the organisation to conduct safely an event. We haven't received anything yet and we don't know what Mayweather wants to do."
McGregor, while one of the most gifted fighters in MMA, has never stepped foot in a professional boxing ring. He is a massive underdog with very few observers picking him to win.
Even though Mayweather is 40-years-old and returns from two years of inactivity, many experts believe the fight will be a mismatch.
For Sulaiman's part, the WBC Prez is not yet ready to call the fight a mismatch.
"When you have a Muay Thai fighter in Thailand, they make their career and then they jump into international boxing and many have been very successful. McGregor has been successful in MMA but in boxing rules it's going to be a very difficult challenge for him," Sulaiman said.
"It's hard to say if it's a mismatch. I personally don't see a way that Mayweather can lose to McGregor because it's in boxing and you are talking about Floyd Mayweather, the greatest tactical fighter who has intelligence and speed.
"If Mayweather was a confronting head to head fighter, it depends upon the strength and power, and McGregor brings strength and power. But I don't see him bringing boxing ability that counter acts Mayweather."