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The long-rumored rematch between boxing great Floyd Mayweather and UFC star Conor McGregor is in the works for 2023, Mayweather told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
The two faced off in what remains Mayweather’s final professional boxing match back in 2017. The Las Vegas bout, which earned Mayweather $275 million and McGregor $85 million according to Forbes, ended with the boxer scoring a 10th-round technical knockout over the mixed martial artist. With payouts of that size, it is not a huge surprise the two fighters would like to make round two happen, though nothing official has been announced about a fight as of yet.
Even so, Mayweather indicates the two are set to square off for a second time next year.
“I want to go out there this weekend and have fun [against Mikuru Asakura]. Then I have another exhibition Dubai in November and me and Conor McGregor in 2023,” he said in the interview.
“We don’t know if it’s going to be an exhibition or a real fight. But there’s been talks of both. I would prefer an exhibition.”
Mayweather admits he is looking to avoid fights where he may “take any real punishment,” hence the preference for an exhibition.
“So, guys like Conor McGregor and guys that don’t really hit hard such as YouTubers or UFC guys, I don’t really mind colliding with those kinds of individuals but nothing where I am going to put myself in a position where I am going to harm myself or hurt myself,” Mayweather said.
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Not everyone is excited by the prospect to see the two mix it up for a second time, though. After rumors popped up during the summer, UFC president Dana White shot down the idea of McGregor, who is under contract for two more fights with the company, fighting Mayweather again.
“All bulls---,” White said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Those guys are just talking on social media like they do. Whatever the hell that tabloid is called is full of s---.”
Since the 2017 fight, which pushed Mayweather’s professional record to a perfect 50–0, he has taken part in three exhibition fights between ’18 and ’22, with a fourth coming up on Sunday against Japanese MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura.
McGregor, meanwhile, has lost three of his four UFC fights since the 2017 Mayweather fight, including back-to-back fights with Dustin Poirier in ’21. He suffered a broken tibia in the July Poirier fight—his last UFC bout—leaving him unable to continue.
