Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor have set the date: June 10, 2017.
The American known as Money and the Irishman called The Notorious have named the place: The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. They have chosen the weapons: Boxing gloves.
They have named their own price: $100million each, although in reality McGregor will have to settle for less and give his UFC masters a slice of the action.
Mayweather has announced that he is officially coming out of retirement to battle McGregor, who says he wants this war more than any other.
So the event they would like to label The Fight of the Century does look like happening.
More accurately, not least given Mayweather’s pseudonym, it is The Money Maker Of All Time.
Even if it lasts no longer than the time it takes McGregor to blink as Mayweather clocks him, this mix-match of the most lucrative marketeers in the noble art and the cage rage will surely smash all box-office records for combat sports. Which is the principal object.
The other, for Mayweather, is that it offers him a clever way of eclipsing the record of retiring on 49 wins and no defeats which he currently shares with the legendary Rocky Marciano.
When it comes purely to boxing, McGregor as an exponent of mixed martial arts is a virtual novice.
All of which begs the question of whether he has any chance at all against the boxer who calls himself The Best Ever.
To be perfectly honest, he does not.
His best hope would appear to be that Mayweather takes victory for granted and goes easy on the training.
Even that seems unlikely, since the Money mantra has always been ‘hard work, dedication.’
Mayweather did tarry in the UK before travelling to Prague on the latest leg of a world tour which began soon after he hung up the gloves in September 2015.
He has been seen clubbing then eating in McDonald’s in the small hours but Team McGregor would be unwise to read too much into that.
Mayweather lives in Las Vegas, where he is a regular in the nightclubs. His favourite restaurant on The Strip is called Fatburger but he rarely walks about at more than a few pounds over his fighting weight of 147.
With the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena reportedly reserved for his comeback on June 10 he has plenty of time to get back into training camp and full fitness.
If he needs any reminding, McGregor’s boxing is considered the best element of his MMA repertoire with many of his wins coming by way of knockouts inflicted by his sharp left-hook counter-punching.
That will add sufficient mystique to their own brilliance at self-promotion to boost the pay-television sales needed to finance their monetary demands.
The hype is on. It continues with Mayweather in Prague.
Then, in New York this Friday, McGregor leads Michael Conlan into the Theater at Madison Square for his fellow Irishman’s professional debut.
Conlan, who famously raised his two middle fingers at the judges when they ruled against him at last summer’s Rio Games where he was favourite for gold, has the unusual privilege of topping the bill in his first pro fight.
All eyes will be on the smiling Irish with hundreds travelling from the Emerald Isle to support Conlan – while celebrating a boisterous St Patrick’s night in the Big Apple.
Daily Mail
