Bob Arum explains why McGregor Mayweather talk is meaningless

To kick off 2017, talks of a potential Conor McGregor Floyd Mayweather boxing match quickly picked up steam as Mayweather offered the UFC superstar $15 million for a boxing match:

“We tried to make the Conor McGregor fight,” Mayweather said. “They know what my number is. My number is a guaranteed $100 million. That was my number.

“We are willing to give him $15 million and then we can talk about splitting the percentage — the back end — on the pay-per-view. But of course, we’re the ‘A side.’ How can a guy talk about making 20 or 30 million if he has never made 8 or 9 million in a fight.”

This was followed up by UFC President Dana White making an appearance on Fox Sports 1, where he responded to Mayweather’s offer, countering it with an offer of his own, offering Mayweather $25 million to box McGregor, and explaining that the pair could discuss the PPV split.

With both sides now negotiating, many, including UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, believe that the fight will eventually happen. Boxing promoter Bob Arum sees it differently however.

He spoke to TMZ:

“Let me tell you something, Conor McGregor is not a boxer, so if they box on the boxing rules with the regular gloves, a novice would beat him, because he has no experience as a boxer. On the other hand if they did [MMA], Floyd wouldn’t have a chance, so it’s just talk, and it’s absolutely nonsense for these guys to fight each other.”

“He (Dana White) is playing a game. Because Floyd is calling McGregor out, and the point is McGregor has a contract with the UFC, so no fight, even if McGregor wanted, can be done without the UFC so this is Dana White’s way of establishing that point.”

“Floyd can fight a lot of fights, with a lot of fighters for more than $25 million. When he had the contract with Showtime he made over $30 million a fight.”

on 1/17/2017