In the 2001 movie “Ocean's Eleven,” George Clooney and company planned to simultaneously rob the Bellagio, Mirage and MGM Grand casinos in Las Vegas for a combined haul of $160 million, just as Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko fictionally fought in the film’s backdrop.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. proclaims he pulled off somewhat of a similar Sin City burglary in reality when he fought Conor McGregor in 2017 at the MGM Grand and scored a 10th round knockout of the Irishman.
“I just came back [out of retirement for McGregor] for a quick bank robbery, a quick heist,” Mayweather Jr. told USA Today.
Billed as the “Money Fight,” Mayweather Jr. versus McGregor generated 4.3 million pay-per-view buys, a live gate over $55.4 million and more than $600 million in total revenue. Mayweather Jr. had a disclosed purse of $100 million but raked in nearly three times as much. McGregor had a disclosed purse of $30 million but reeled in nearly $100 million.
The Fighter of the Decade is declaring McGregor’s much-discussed bout against Manny Pacquiao won’t come close to the figures he tallied.
“[McGregor] is not going to get the money he got with me if he goes with Pacquiao,’’ Mayweather said. “It’s not going to be as big. You know, it gets no bigger than Floyd Mayweather.’’
When the 43-year-old Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs) was asked if he’s still retired, he said: “I been walked. I’ve been walked away. No more fighting for me. That’s for the young guys.”
However, Mayweather Jr. still has an Ocean’s-like sequel and thievery in mind. He recently expressed that he would welcome a rematch against McGregor and even Khabib Nurmagomedov for a combined payday of $600 million.
Mayweather Jr. said he would only consider exhibition matches moving forward, and apparently, he considers facing UFC fighters in sanctioned boxing matches of that variety.
“Why wouldn’t I be happy?’’ Mayweather Jr. continued. “I got all my five senses. God woke me up to see another day. My youngest daughter’s doing great in school. My son is doing his music. My other son is doing apparel. All my investments are doing great. You know, I’ve got fighters fighting on Halloween night. My career went great, and Mayweather Promotions is the best in the business.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the LA Times, Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com.