By Edward Chaykovsky

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is giving UFC superstar Conor McGregor a very slim chance to pull off a tremendous upset - if a deal comes together for a potential mega-fight with retired former five division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Last year, Mayweather visited Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood and told the veteran trainer that he planned to fight McGregor in a boxing match.

Mayweather has been retired since September 2015, but he continues to trade words with McGregor on a regular basis. In several recent interviews, Mayweather claimed that McGregor was the only fighter who would tempt him to unretire.

Speaking on “The MMA Hour” with host Ariel Helwani, Roach said that he believed the fight between Mayweather and McGregor was going to take place.

“We’re in a different era now,” Roach said. “It looks like it’s gonna happen. Everything is pointing in the right direction. I think Conor will have his hands full with a boxer like Floyd. But he’s sellable, he’s making some noise.”

"[McGregor] is a pretty good striker. The thing is, Floyd is a great boxer. He’s really good at hitting and not getting hit, and so forth. I think it would take a long time for Conor to get ready for a bo

“I think Mayweather is the favorite, yes, but I would never count anyone out. Because [McGregor] throws, he throws hard and he’s not afraid to throw.”

Last year, Roach claimed that he received a call from a third party to inquire if he was interested in training McGregor for a fight with Mayweather. And Mayweather himself asked Roach to accept the assignment.

Roach is still interested in getting involved and says it would be "an honor" to prepare McGregor for the fight.